{"id":5244,"date":"2016-08-15T00:38:39","date_gmt":"2016-08-15T05:38:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/?p=5244"},"modified":"2016-08-15T00:38:39","modified_gmt":"2016-08-15T05:38:39","slug":"the-guardian-the-detention-of-homa-hoodfar-is-unjust-and-unislamic-iran-should-release-her","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/2016\/08\/15\/the-guardian-the-detention-of-homa-hoodfar-is-unjust-and-unislamic-iran-should-release-her\/","title":{"rendered":"The Guardian: The detention of Homa Hoodfar is unjust and unIslamic. Iran should release her"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By: <span class=\"content__headline content__headline--byline\"><a class=\"tone-colour\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/profile\/tariqramadan\" rel=\"author\" data-link-name=\"auto tag link\">Tariq Ramadan<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5245\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5245\" style=\"width: 688px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/1038.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-5245\" src=\"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/1038-300x180.jpg\" alt=\"1038\" width=\"688\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/1038-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/1038.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 688px) 100vw, 688px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5245\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Canadian-Iranian professor arrested in Tehran by Revolutionary Guards<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Her work poses no threat to Iran, yet the Canadian-Iranian professor has been imprisoned in Tehran and denied her basic rights <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content__article-body from-content-api js-article__body\" data-test-id=\"article-review-body\">\n<p><span class=\"drop-cap\"><span class=\"drop-cap__inner\">A<\/span><\/span>s a Muslim scholar, I am deeply troubled by the unlawful and unjust detention of <a class=\"u-underline\" title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.homahoodfar.org\/who-is-homa\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">professor Homa Hoodfar<\/a>, an Iranian-Canadian scholar who was detained in March while visiting friends and family in Iran. Members of <a class=\"u-underline\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2016\/jun\/08\/canadian-iranian-professor-arrested-iran-homa-hoodfar\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">the Revolutionary Guard raided her home<\/a>, confiscated her personal belongings and passports, summoned her for interrogations, and <a class=\"u-underline\" title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.homahoodfar.org\/what-happened-to-homa\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">finally imprisoned her<\/a> in Tehran\u2019s Evin prison without access to her family or a lawyer. Her treatment violates principles of intellectual freedom, justice and fairness that are central to the Islamic system of morality.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"element element-pullquote element--supporting\">\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"pullquote-paragraph\"><span style=\"color: #993300;\">As a Muslim thinker and a guardian of the faith, I must plead for the swift release of this respected scholar<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Born in <a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/iran\" data-link-name=\"auto-linked-tag\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Iran<\/a> and now a Canadian and Irish citizen, Hoodfar is a senior anthropologist who has devoted her academic career to studying the family as well as the duties and rights of women in various Muslim contexts. A renowned scholar, she has taught at Concordia University in Montreal for the past three decades. Her research on Muslim women\u2019s struggles \u2013 both in the Middle East and in the west \u2013 is balanced and characterised by respect for those about whom she writes.<\/p>\n<p>Her extensive work on Muslim women living in the west and their veiling strategies has been a particularly important contribution to challenging colonial images of the Muslim veil, while at the same time helping to address Islamophobia in the west. Since she is neither a political activist nor part of any political movement opposing the government of Iran, she never hesitated to visit the Islamic republic to see family or conduct historical research.<\/p>\n<p>While Tehran\u2019s prosecutor <a class=\"u-underline\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/national-security\/iran-indicts-dual-nationals-including-a-us-businessman-but-wont-say-for-what\/2016\/07\/11\/ad6b0b96-4775-11e6-90a8-fb84201e0645_story.html\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">recently announced indictments<\/a> against Hoodfar \u2013 along with several other dual nationals \u2013 the charges she faces remain unknown. Semi-official reports in newspapers with links to the Revolutionary Guard, however, accuse her of \u201cdabbling in feminism\u201d and fomenting a feminist \u201csoft revolution\u201d against the Islamic republic.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"element element-rich-link element--thumbnail element-rich-link--upgraded\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-1 | 1\">\n<div class=\"rich-link tone-news--item \">\n<div class=\"rich-link__container\">\n<div class=\"rich-link__read-more\">\n<div class=\"rich-link__read-more-text\">\u00a0Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Hoodfar\u2019s treatment demonstrates the extent to which her work has been misunderstood by the Iranian authorities. Her research poses no threat to Iran\u2019s government or its people, and her arrest is deeply disturbing for anyone who values academic freedom and independent scholarship.<\/p>\n<p>What is more, Hoodfar\u2019s treatment contradicts Islamic legal principles. In an Islamic system of criminal justice, the accused are innocent until proved guilty, and are entitled to certain rights including access to counsel and an adequate defence, freedom from torture or inhumane treatment, and a fair and speedy trial. Iranian law also recognises these principles, yet despite the fact that no court has found her guilty, Hoodfar is being treated like a criminal and denied her basic, God-given rights.<\/p>\n<p>In a country like Iran \u2013 one founded upon Islamic principles \u2013 I expect core Islamic teachings such as justice and truthfulness to be observed in the treatment of citizens. Indeed, we read in the Qur\u2019an: \u201cGod commands justice and fair dealing \u2026\u201d (Qur\u2019an 16:90); while in another verse we read: \u201cO you who believe! Have fear of God, and be among the truthful\u201d (Qur\u2019an 9:119). Since an Islamic government that sins against the Quranic ethos undermines the faith of the believing community and harms the reputation of Islam, I find myself obliged \u2013 as a Muslim thinker and a guardian of the faith \u2013 to plead for the swift release of this respected scholar. The academic community are united in their outrage over her arrest and are <a class=\"u-underline\" title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.homahoodfar.org\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">asking for her to be released immediately<\/a>. I add my voice to theirs, and plead for the Islamic Republic of Iran to free Homa Hoodfar.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>By: Tariq Ramadan Her work poses no threat to Iran, yet the Canadian-Iranian professor has been imprisoned in Tehran and denied her basic rights As <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/2016\/08\/15\/the-guardian-the-detention-of-homa-hoodfar-is-unjust-and-unislamic-iran-should-release-her\/\" title=\"The Guardian: The detention of Homa Hoodfar is unjust and unIslamic. Iran should release her\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5245,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[35,5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5244"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5244"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5246,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5244\/revisions\/5246"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irandemocratic.org\/public_html\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}