While a court in Iran announced the execution of one of the street protesters against the Iranian presidential election results, calling him ‘mohareb’ (enemy of God and the community of believers), the reformist Grand Ayatollah Saanei yesterday gave an official answer to the question of one of his religious followers on the meaning and application of the term ‘mohareb’. “This term applies to a person or a group of people who have intimidated individuals and society by using a weapon and attacking people, by stealing from people their feeling of safety and freedom, and by doing so bringing unjustice into the world.”
He concluded: “So when this term is used to punish a person or a group, it implies that he or they have been using weapons and deliberately try to create chaos and anarchy using violence, and damaging the stability of a legitimate state. Even if an individual has been involved in this but not been using a weapon himself, the term ‘mohareb’ doesn’t appply to him.”
Ayatollah Saanei explicitly insisted: “When a group of people with a clear demand is protesting against a government and its deeds by street demonstrations, the term ‘mohareb’ does not apply at all. It is their right to stand up for their rights. From an Islamic point of view, when people feel there has been a collective injustice against the community, it is not only not a crime but in some situations even their duty to defend their rights. Arresting, punishing or executing such protesters and accusing them of being against Islam and the community of muslims is in itself a blasphemous act and the leaders and organizations who are responsible for such behavior should pry to God that he may forgive them.”