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WPI Briefing interview with
Mina Ahadi, head of the International Committee against Stoning
On Amina Lawal's stay of execution by stoning
Fariborz Pooya: Amina Lawal who was sentenced to death by stoning was freed on September 25, 2003. What was the role of the International Committee against Stoning in gaining her freedom?
Mina Ahadi: Many human rights organisations protested against the stoning sentence passed on Amina Lawal in Nigeria. Her stoning sentence actually became an international issue and many people all over the world objected to this barbarity. Naturally, the International Committee against Stoning, which is a huge global network and the only organisation which specifically works against stoning had a more prominent role. Right from the beginning, we called for an international campaign against this inhumane ruling and managed to attract the attention of the world by writing to the President of Nigeria, collecting petitions from all over the word, organising tens of meetings and protests in many cities, including Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Canada, Turkey, Holland and particularly in Brussels. We were one of the first to call for the boycott of the Miss World Contest in Nigeria. One of our activists in Turkey even walked 500 miles from Ankara to Istanbul in protest against her stoning. This forced the media to take up the issue and talk about it. I, myself, met officials of the European Parliament and the EU Human Rights Commission on several occasions and objected to their silence on the issue of stoning. We wrote many articles on stoning, political Islam, cultural relativism and took part in numerous meetings and conferences in various countries as part of a range of activities that we undertook on this issue.
Fariborz Pooya: How would you assess the effect of this victory against misogynist Islamic laws, particularly in Iran and the Middle East?
Mina Ahadi: I believe that the fate of political Islam in general and such reactionary and inhumane treatments and punishments, such as stoning, will be decided on in Iran. The Islamic Republic of Iran is the source of Islamic terrorism and reactionary Islamic groups in the world. The majority of stonings worldwide have taken place in Iran and currently the Islamic regime in Iran is the staunchest defender of such atrocities and has recognised and sanctioned stoning in its law. Therefore, any defeat of the Islamists anywhere is a defeat for the Islamic Republic of Iran. That is why we believe that it will not be easy for the regime to carry out its sentence of stoning against Shahnaz, a woman who has been condemned to death by stoning there. Our victory in the case of Amina Lawal is a clear victory for humanity against Islamic reaction. This gives us and the people in the Middle East strength to see that civilised humanity will oppose the Islamists. In the Middle East, we should not allow the Islamists to stone people to death for having sex outside of marriage, which is a private matter.
Fariborz Pooya: Some organisations and states were advocating quiet diplomacy. What is your view of such policies? Is this now a defeat for such policies and methods?
Mina Ahadi: One aspect of our campaign was actually to confront such policies of appeasement and conciliation by European governments towards the Islamic Republic and reactionary Islamic groups. To justify their friendship towards the Islamic regime, which is by the way based on economic and political interests, European governments have fashioned a series of racist notions, which in practice abandon the universality of human rights. For example, stoning of women in Islam-ridden countries such as Pakistan, Iran and the Sudan does not attract much attention and does not cause such outrage. Why did people not hear the name of Maryam Ayoobi who despite our huge efforts was stoned to death by the Islamic regime in Iran in July 2002? One important factor is that the media in the west and western governments portray an inverted picture of life of the people in Islam-ridden countries for public opinion. The core of this approach is to portray Islamic dictatorships as the product and outcome of the culture and the popular beliefs of people in these countries and not as reactionary governments in opposition to the people of these countries acting in fact in violation of the interests of the people. In fact, Islamic terrorism is in the first place an attack against women and the population in these countries. Western governments have used these Islamic groups as a means against the Left, the interests of the people and secularism in these countries and to justify this shameful policy they portray such an inverted image.
Fariborz Pooya: What are your future plans in the International Committee against Stoning and what is your message to the activists and organisations involved in this campaign?
Mina Ahadi: In an International Conference, which took palace in Naples, Italy on 26 September 2003, I proposed that July 11, the day that Maryam Ayoobi was stoned to death, be announced and recognised as the International Day against Stoning. I want all women, human rights organisations as well as the UN and the EU to recognise this day as the international day against stoning. We are fighting to abolish stoning in law and practice and to abolish all stoning sentences. We have planned a series of activities, which we hope to achieve with the help of international support. My message to everyone is to join the International Committee against Stoning and help bring an end to this unimaginable barbarity.
The above was translated by Fariborz Pooya. For more information on or to join the Committee, contact Shiva Mahbobi, Email: shiva_mahbobi@yahoo.com, Tel: +447984445278.