The “court,” if it can be called that, found history professor Hashem Aghajari guilty of insulting the “prophet” Muhammad and questioning the clergy’s interpretation of Islam during a speech in June. “Are people monkeys to imitate [the clerics]?” Aghajari asked during his speech. “According to the clerics, students who study and understand the Quran have committed a crime because they didn’t go back to the clerics for guidance.” Apparently the court agrees, and Aghajari will die for his “crime.”
Although this might appear unjust to non-Berkeley Americans, it must be remembered that Iran’s form of government is a different but equally valid one, and the United States should not attempt to impose Western ideals on those simple, happy, people.