The death of Mahsa Amini (22) in Iran shocks the whole world. The young woman had to die because she did not fully comply with the headscarf laws of the Mullah regime.
And the German public broadcaster ZDF? Does not tolerate any criticism of the Islamic headscarf and even accuses one user of “anti-Muslim racism”!
▶︎ Under a Facebook post of the ZDF programme “ZDF heute” on Amini’s death, a user commented on the case. He expressed criticism of the headscarf: “And in our country the woke people claim that headscarf and burqa are a sign of freedom. You can be so wrong!”
Fact: In Germany, too, many Muslim women are forced to wear a headscarf.
ZDF replied: “The incident concerns the death of a woman in police custody, the circumstances of which have not yet been clarified. However, there are allegations of police violence. Her arrest took place under the relevant laws in Iran, which you justifiably criticise.”
▶︎ The arrest of Mahsa Amini thus complied with the local headscarf laws of the mullahs, according to ZDF. After all: According to the public broadcaster, this can be “justifiably criticised”.
But ZDF goes even further, defending the headscarf – accusing the user of racism: “However, transferring your criticism of the laws in Iran to the wearing of a headscarf in general ignores the context discussed here, defames headscarf wearers and reproduces anti-Muslim racism.”
▶︎ The “discussed context” in Amini’s case is the death of a young woman who did not wear her imposed headscarf “properly”. But for ZDF, a justified criticism of the headscarf in this context is a “defamation of headscarf wearers” that “reproduces anti-Muslim racism”.
Photo: Source: ZDFheute/Facebook
Islamism expert Ahmad Mansour (46) told the newspaper BILD that this argumentation of the ZDF team is scandalous: “Criticism of the headscarf as a patriarchal symbol and instrument of oppression is not racist and not anti-Muslim! This is exactly the discourse that is going on in Iran and many Muslim countries right now, and it would be good to have it in Germany too.”
“Insulting or attacking women for wearing or not wearing a headscarf is racist, but the ZDF online team does not seem to be capable of this differentiation,” Mansour told BILD.
For the Berlin imam Seyran Ates (59), the reaction of ZDF is “a level of misogyny I would never have imagined in Germany”. Ates to BILD: “The only reason this woman had to die is that she didn’t want to wear a headscarf. The answer is a huge scandal full of contempt for humanity.”
Mansour is also irritated by ZDF’s attempt to relate what is happening in Iran to Germany. “Using the term ‘police violence’ in the context of Iran implies a comparison with Germany and deflects the blame onto the police, although this is a murderous, ideological regime! The police in Iran are just an instrument,” Mansour told BILD.
Background: Amini had not worn her headscarf correctly according to the strict mullah laws. A few hairs were visible, contrary to the strict regulations. She was arrested on September 13 by the morality police in Tehran, who allegedly beat her into a coma shortly afterwards. The young woman finally died on Friday.
Iranian women are massively oppressed and discriminated against, many women are currently in prison because they do not want to wear the headscarf. This makes it a serious offence in Iran.
In Mahsa Amini’s case, there is also the fact that the young woman was Kurdish. Amini’s real first name is Jina – this is forbidden in Iran because it is Kurdish. This population group has been oppressed and persecuted by the mullahs for decades, sometimes punished more severely than other citizens.
► Demonstrations have been taking place in Amini’s home region since her death. Women and men chanted “Death to the dictator” at Amini’s funeral in the city of Saghes. The Iranian police have been brutally attacking the demonstrators for days, firing with live ammunition.
At least five people have reportedly been killed and dozens injured in protests since Amini’s death.