Powerful Iranian Cleric Says Gays Are Lower Than Dogs & Pigs

The Iranian regime is known for its brutal tactics and freedom infringements. Considering the stories that have emerged as well as the push that some have made within the country for democratic ideals, it's evident that the situation, from a human rights perspective, is grim. Gays, Christians and other minority groups are regularly targeted, condemned and killed (take, for instance, Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani's tragic story).

Recently, Iranian scholar Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi-Amoli perfectly illustrated just how much homosexuals -- and the West -- are agitating Iranian theocrats. Javadi-Amoli, who resides in the city of Qom and who has the power to issue rulings according to Sharia law, heavily condemned the West, while claiming that those politicians who have decriminalized homosexuality are at abysmal, The Guardian reports.

His comments were made during a speech to his followers. Initially, they were reported on the news site Khabaronline. The Guardian continues:

"If a society commits a new sin, it will face a new punishment," he said while interpreting Qur'anic verses about prophet Lot whose tribe Isalmic scholars say was punished by God for sodomy. "Problems like Aids did not exist before."

Citing the Qur'an, Javadi-Amoli said politicians who pass laws in favour of homosexuals are lower than animals. "Even animals ... dogs and pigs don't engage in this disgusting act [homosexuality] but yet they [western politicians] pass laws in favour of them in their parliaments."

In Iran, homosexuality is punishably by death -- at least according to the fatwas that are issued by most Iranian religious leaders. Even more odd than the notion that such a "crime" would cost one his or her life is the fact that laws governing sodomy among men (referred to as "Lavat") have recently changed.

Originally, both parties in a consensual relationship would be put to death, but The Guardian breaks down the oddball legislative changes that have now unfolded:

But under new amendments approved recently in the Iranian parliament the person who played an active role will be flogged 100 times if the sex was consensual and he was not married, but the one who played a passive role will still be put to death regardless of his marriage status.

In Iran, homosexuality, faith in Jesus Christ and other non-mainstream ideals in the overwhelming Islamic society, are regularly punished to the harshest of extremes. Javadi-Amoli's words, while disturbing, are symptomatic of the greater theocratic issues that are rampant in the Middle Eastern nation. Sadly, this is the Iranian peoples' reality.

(H/T: The Guardian)