TEHRAN - Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that anyone questioning basic Islamic principles could face execution, after a newspaper advocated more liberal laws on capital punishment in Iran.

"If anyone denies Islamic principles, including the Islamic law of retribution, then this person is an apostate and the sentence of an apostate is evident under Islam," state television quoted Khamenei as saying.

Islamic laws usually require that apostates be sentenced to death.

Khamenei was reacting to recent articles in the daily Neshat which advocated a more liberal interpretation of Iran's Islamic laws, saying the law of retribution did not necessarily demand capital punishment.

"It is a clear example of inciting unrest when a newspaper doubts Islam's fundamental principles, including the law of retribution," Khamenei added.

The articles by Neshat have drawn heavy criticism from conservatives and hard-liners who accused it of anti-Islamic propaganda.
 
 

Seminary Instructors Issues Statement, State-Controlled Tehran Times, September 2

TEHRAN - The Society of Qom Seminary Instructors released a statement on Wednesday, expressing concern over what it called attack on religious thought and system of Velayat-e-Faqih. The statement said, in recent years, religious and Islamic thought and the system of Velayat-e-Faqih have been unprecedentedly subjected to attack and insult, adding that such an attempt will only lead to the cultural perversion.

The statement also regretted that the ignorant elements have targeted the fundamentals of Islam, the Qoran and Islamic commandments. Part of the statement stressed that difference of ideas is welcomed, but attempts to weaken the pillars of Islam and its spiritual teachings are something which the three branches of government should deal with in accordance with the law.
 
 

Mullahs’ Foreign Minister Advertises Animosity Towards Peace In Middle East, Reuters, September 1

HELSINKI - … [Mullahs’] Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said on Wednesday the latest peace efforts by Israel and Palestinians were doomed to fail….

"We believe that optimism created after the election of Mr. Barak will not be a lasting one and in general we don't think the rights of Palestinians will be fulfilled", Said Kharrazi…

Mullahs in Iran have consistently opposed the Middle East peace process -- sponsored by its arch-enemy the United States -- saying it would hurt Palestinian interests…

Kharrazi's Finnish host, Foreign Minister Tarja Halonen, was quick to point out the EU did not agree with Iran's pessimistic view on the peace prospects.

"I'm pretty much more optimistic," she said.

"I think we need to come back to this in our later discussions," she told Kharrazi….
 
 

Wanted Hamas Leaders Ponder Return to Jordan, Reuters, September 1

AMMAN - Three political leaders of the militant Palestinian group Hamas are weighing up whether to return to Jordan despite arrest warrants issued for them by Jordanian authorities, militant sources said on Wednesday.

They said Khaled Meshal, Musa Abu Marzook and Ibrahim Ghosheh were in Tehran on a previously arranged visit when Jordanian security forces closed their offices on Monday, arrested 12 activists and issued the arrest warrants.

Hamas, which vehemently opposes Yasser Arafat's peace moves with Israel, maintains good ties with Iran. Its leaders regularly visit Tehran for talks with Iranian officials.

Iran and radical Palestinian groups denounced the crackdown.
 
 

Dialogue Among Civilizations And Abolition of Revolution, State-Controlled Daily Iran, August 31

Masoud Dehnamaki, managing director of the hard-line weekly Jebh-e said in an interview with Time magazine that dialogue among civilizations would send this message to the West that they have no choice but abolishing the Islamic Revolution.

Time wrote that Dehnamaki's office in Tehran is a safe shelter equipped by sacks of sand, gas masks, steel helmet and boxes containing ammunition.

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