Arrest of Hamadan City Council Member on Charges of 'Insulting the Prophet'

Javad Giahshenas, the secretary of the People's Party of Hamadan and the first alternate member of the city council, was arrested on charges described by Iranian news agencies as 'insulting the Prophet of Islam' following a bail order issued by the third branch of the public prosecutor's office in Hamadan. Previously, news agencies reported on protests from provincial officials regarding Mr. Giahshenas's debate at the Islamic Azad University in Hamadan. On May 17, Fars News Agency quoted the head of the leadership office at the Islamic Azad University of Hamadan stating that 'the secretary of the People's Party of Hamadan insulted the Prophet Muhammad during a presidential election debate at the university, calling him secular and equating Islam with liberalism!' At the same time, Dan News Agency, citing the Sobhe Alvand website, reported comments from the head of the seminary in Hamadan and a member of the Assembly of Experts, Ayatollah Mousavi Isfahani, who stated: 'Expressing opinions on Islamic issues, especially attributing them to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), is a mistake.' According to this website, the member of the Assembly of Experts urged students not to remain silent on such issues, adding: 'I ask students, scholars, and the people involved in the political scene of Hamadan province and across the country not to ignore such statements and to demand explanations.' At the time of writing this news, access to the Sobhe Alvand website was not possible. Although the news of Mr. Giahshenas's arrest has been reported by the media, no official judicial authority has commented on it yet. 'Secular' is considered an insult to the Prophet of Islam. According to Article 513 of the Islamic Penal Code, insulting Islamic sanctities, if the act falls under the category of 'sabb al-nabi' (severe insult to the Prophet of Islam and the Imams and Lady Fatimah Zahra, etc.), can lead to execution; otherwise, it is punishable by imprisonment from one to five years. Mohammad Javad Akbarin, a religious scholar residing in France, responded to Radio Farda's question about whether calling the Prophet of Islam secular is considered an insult, stating: 'Whether the institution of religion can be separated from the institution of politics is a theoretical discussion, and whether a secular Muslim can exist or not, and how the Prophet of Islam's experience relates to secularism are all theoretical discussions arising from different foundations and viewpoints. As soon as you bring a viewpoint to court, you are acting unconstitutionally and have entered the realm of thought control, repeating the backward behavior of the Middle Ages.' According to Mr. Akbarin: 'Someone who says that a secular interpretation of the Prophet's experience is an insult either does not understand the meaning of secularism or lacks a legal understanding of the term insult or is unfamiliar with the basics of theoretical discussions. After the revolution, they made 'liberal' a curse and removed the best of this land from the scene by accusing them of being liberal. I believe the psychological pressure from electoral defeat is the main reason for these behaviors, and similar incidents may occur again.' According to the Islamic Republic newspaper, Chengiz Aslani, the head of the reformists' policy council in Hamadan, also stated: 'Given our understanding of Mr. Giahshenas as a believing individual, it would have been better for the authorities to clarify and analyze the issue.' According to Fars News Agency, Hamidreza Varkeshi, the head of the leadership representation in Islamic Azad Universities of Hamadan, also issued a statement saying: 'While respecting the decisions of the judicial system, the university will fulfill its duty regarding this regrettable behavior, and this person will be summoned to the disciplinary committee of the professors according to university regulations, and his offense will be examined without any leniency, and after issuing a verdict, it will be communicated to the honorable public.' Based on information published on the blog attributed to Javad Giahshenas, he was born in 1976 in Hamadan and holds a master's degree in political science, currently pursuing a PhD in public policy at the University of Science and Research. According to Ana News Agency, he has been appointed as the head of the High Supervisory Board of Islamic Azad University in Hamadan since September 2015.