Emphasis by two-thirds of Majlis deputies on need to murder Rushdie, turning point in fatwa episode

In a letter read at the public session of the mullahs' Majlis today, more than 160 deputies pointed to the Cook-Kharrazi deal and declared: "We offer our assurances to Muslims around the world that in this respect, in Iran, nothing is credible other than God's decree and the fatwa by His Eminence the Imam [Khomeini]. No one has the power to take any other road."

The stance by nearly two-thirds of Majlis deputies is a turning point in developments pertaining to the fatwa to murder Salman Rushdie in the past 10 days. It demonstrates that the Cook-Kharrazi deal was worthless from the start and that any commitment or guarantee offered by the mullahs' Foreign Minister in this respect was not in the least credible.

The European Union, and particularly Britain, must abandon the policy of appeasement of, and rapprochement with, the religious, terrorist dictatorship ruling Iran and refrain from encouraging the mullahs to suppress the Iranian people and export terrorism any further.

The mullahs' official news agency, IRNA, meanwhile, reported that on October 2, most Friday prayers leaders across the country had underscored that the fatwa to murder Rushdie cannot be changed.

The Friday prayer leader of Ahwaz (southwest Iran), mullah Heidari, said: "The bragging by Western media about the fatwa is a political ploy... The Imam's fatwa is like a bullet that has been fired and will continue until it pierces Salman Rushdie's heart. It is unstoppable."

Kermanshah's Friday prayer leader, mullah Hossein Zarandi, also emphasized that the fatwa "is a religious decree, like prayers, fasting and Hajj... If anyone insults the Great Prophet, he must be killed... He will not be spared even if he repents."

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
October 4, 1998

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