Jon Holato

Iran’s parliament voted today in favor of the death penalty for persons convicted of working in the production of pornographic material. In a 148-5 vote, Iranian lawmakers declared that “producers of pornographic works and main elements in their production are considered corruptors of the world and could be sentenced to punishment as corruptors of the world.”

The fact that the statement released by parliament declares offenders “corruptors of the world” is significant, because it is taken directly from the Quran and one of the highest individual offenses a Muslim can commit and is punishable by death. According to the bill, such corruptors would include producers, directors, cameramen and actors. In addition, Web site operators will be targeted as well if material appears on their sites.

In recent years pornography has been on the rise in Iran, one of the Middle East’s most conservative Islamic countries, as it is easily accessible via foreign satellite television and on the black market on street corners. However, any open discussion of sex or anything sexual is banned and considered taboo in the face of the country’s strict public morality laws.

First off, every country has the inherent right to sovereignty over its people and can enact whatever laws it wants. That being said, this is pretty ridiculous, even for Iran. It seems like this is just another move by the Iranian government to keep the population as under control as possible and free from Western influence, but this time with a very stiff penalty. It will be interesting to see if they actually carry this thing out.

Can you imagine if Washington enacted a law like this in the US? There would be an immediate mass exodus from Southern California or else half of the population would be targeted. So look out Jenna Jameson, while it’s not likely to happen, you certainly can’t put anything past the Bush administration these days.