Two Diaries of War, From Opposing Sides of #Iran’s Political Divide
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/04/03/magazine/iranians-war-regime-us-israel.html?unlocked_article_code=1.YVA.fAnd.UaQUPjKbrlZK&smid=url-share

from #NewYorkTimes #NYT
[gift article] [offers insight]

Iranian society is largely divided into two camps: the supporters of the #Islamic regime, who make up about 20 percent [really?? - PL] of the population and who see the war as an existential, even ideological battle between the Islamic republic and its archenemies, Israel and the #US; and the opponents of the regime, many of whom did not necessarily support foreign military intervention but at first saw an opportunity to finally be freed from a religious dictatorship.

I reached out to Mehrdad and Yassi, whom I interviewed during the course of reporting on the 12-day war with #Israel last June and during the uprising [...] in January 2026.

Mehrdad, 32, is from Ahvaz [...] and fervently defends many of the Islamic republic’s policies. Yassi, 40, lives in Tehran... She [...] has attended antigovernment protests...

#news #politics

Two Diaries of War, From Opposing Sides of Iran’s Political Divide

One supports the regime, the other desires change. Each offers a personal account of the terrifying sights and frayed emotions of a city under attack.

The New York Times

Il Tempo: Brescia, espulso Imam dopo frasi choc: "Per l'Islam, le spose bambine sono permesse"

Diceva che secondo l'Islam, dopo i 9 anni, le bambine fossero adatte per divenire spose. Queste parole, pronunciate dall'Imam di Brescia Ali Kashif ai microfoni della trasmissione Fuori dal coro, gli sono costate l'espulsione dal Paese. A notificarlo è stato il ministro dell'Interno, Matteo Piantedosi: "Aveva affermato che una bambina, dopo i 9 anni di età, potesse essere considerata adulta e quindi sposarsi, arrivando di fatto a legittimare il fenomeno delle cosiddette spose bambine. A seguito del provvedimento di espulsione, è stato imbarcato su un volo da Milano Malpensa e ricondotto nel suo Paese di origine".
Originario del Pakistan, Kashif aveva sottolineato la legittimità secondo il Corano dei matrimoni con giovani bambine: "La religione islamica dice che se i genitori sono contenti, e tutti e due son d'accordo, ci si può sposare anche a 9 anni. Nel nostro Islam, dopo 9 anni una ragazza diventa adulta. Nel Corano si dice che si può fare". Il provvedimento è stato eseguito dalla questura di Brescia su indicazione dell'Interno, che ha motivato la decisione adducendo a motivi di sicurezza, assenza di permesso di soggiorno del soggetto in questione e sua incompatibilità con i valori costituzionali.
Da Fratelli di Italia, il deputato Riccardo De Corato ha espresso "pieno sostegno al provvedimento" a fronte di "dichiarazioni gravissime" a cui lo Stato deve reagire "con fermezza e senza alcuna esitazione". E ha aggiunto: "Chi pensa di poter giustificare nel nostro Paese pratiche barbare, contrarie alla dignità della persona, ai diritti dei minori e ai principi fondamentali del nostro ordinamento, deve sapere che in Italia non c'è spazio per il fanatismo, per l'estremismo e per chi diffonde messaggi incompatibili con la nostra civiltà giuridica. Quello adottato dal questore è un atto giusto, necessario e doveroso. La tutela dei minori, la sicurezza dei cittadini e la difesa della legalità vengono prima di tutto".

Brescia, Imam expelled after shocking statements: "Child brides are permitted for Islam."

He said that according to Islam, girls were suitable for becoming brides after the age of 9. These words, spoken by Imam Ali Kashif of Brescia on the microphones of the program “Fuori dal coro,” cost him expulsion from the country. It was notified by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi: “He had stated that a girl, after the age of 9, could be considered an adult and therefore marry, thereby effectively legitimizing the phenomenon of so-called child brides. Following the expulsion order, he was boarded on a flight from Milan Malpensa and returned to his country of origin.”

Originally from Pakistan, Kashif had emphasized the legitimacy according to the Quran of marriages with young girls: “Islamic religion says that if parents are happy, and both agree, you can marry at 9 years old. In our Islam, after 9 years a girl becomes an adult. In the Quran it says that you can do this.” The order was carried out by the Brescia police headquarters at the direction of the Interior Ministry, which justified the decision citing security reasons, the lack of a residence permit for the individual in question, and his incompatibility with constitutional values.

From Brothers of Italy (Fratelli di Italia), deputy Riccardo De Corato expressed “full support for the measure” in the face of “extremely serious statements” to which the State must react “with firmness and without hesitation.” And he added: “Anyone who thinks they can justify barbaric practices in our country, contrary to the dignity of the person, the rights of minors, and the fundamental principles of our legal system, must know that there is no room in Italy for fanaticism, extremism, or those who spread messages incompatible with our legal civilization. What the police headquarters took action on is a just, necessary, and proper act. The protection of minors, the safety of citizens, and the defense of legality come first.”

#Brescia #Islam #ImamAliKashif #Fuoridalcoro #Interior #MatteoPiantedosi #MilanMalpensa #Pakistan #Kashif #Islamic #theInteriorMinistry #BrothersofItaly #FratellidiItalia #RiccardoDeCorato #State #Italy #first

https://www.iltempo.it/attualita/2026/04/04/news/ewbbrescia-espulso-imam-dopo-frasi-choc-per-islam-le-spose-bambine-sono-permesse-intervistati-a-fuori-dal-coro-47137444/

Brescia, l'Imam e le frasi sulle spose bambine: espulso

Diceva che secondo l'Islam, dopo i 9 anni, le bambine fossero adatte per divenire spose. Queste parole, pronunciate dall'Imam di Brescia Ali K...

#HowardBloom

I lived in 4 #Islamic nations to study #ScienceFiction popularity during the #ArabSpring2010

#RescueFriendsOpera Rescue friends from media cults, magical science fiction outer-space voice stories.

#Islam is the newest of the "classic science fiction" stories from the #Levant - but the fiction addiction is all over. #FoxNews etc.

RaiNews: “Chi non salta è musulmano”, bufera dopo Spagna-Egitto

A Barcellona cori islamofobi da migliaia tifosi: la condanna di Yamal. Polizia catalana e Fifa indagano

“Whoever doesn’t jump is a Muslim,” storm after Spain-Egypt

In Barcelona, Islamic chants from thousands of fans: condemnation of Yamal. Catalan police and FIFA are investigating.

#Muslim #Spain #Barcelona #Islamic #Yamal #Catalan

https://www.rainews.it/articoli/2026/04/chi-non-salta-e-musulmano-bufera-dopo-spagna-egitto-cori-islamofobi-yamal-condanna-sono-anche-io-musulmano-reazioni-politiche-razzismo-43eabaa6-b651-4547-9491-112787a45b13.html

“Chi non salta è musulmano”, bufera dopo Spagna-Egitto

A Barcellona cori islamofobi da migliaia tifosi: la condanna di Yamal. Polizia catalana e Fifa indagano

RaiNews
@jd-vance-1.bsky.social How is #American #Crusade different than #Islamic #Jihad? Please remind me of the difference again? Is there a footnote in the #Nationalist translation version of The #Holy #Bible #commandment to not kill that says except #Muslims?

Pentagon readies ‘for weeks of...
Pentagon readies ‘for weeks of US ground operations’ in Iran

Uncertainty looms over Trump’s approval of the Pentagon’s plans for limited ground operations in Iran’s strategic regions.

Al Jazeera

Domani: Un genio luminoso come una cometa Svelare il volto di Pico della Mirandola

È stato una figura fondamentale dell’umanesimo: un libro dello studioso di Oxford Edward Wilson-Lee indaga i «magici poteri del linguaggio sublime» illustrando l’immenso sapere – classico, ebraico, cristiano, islamico – assorbito da Pico e nell’estendersi alle tradizioni induiste e all’America precolombiana. Con domande inattese

A brilliant mind like a comet
Revealing the face of Pico della Mirandola

He was a fundamental figure of humanism: a book by Oxford scholar Edward Wilson-Lee investigates the “magical powers of sublime language,” illustrating the immense knowledge – classical, Hebrew, Christian, Islamic – absorbed by Pico and extending to Hindu traditions and pre-Columbian America. With unexpected questions

#Oxford #EdwardWilson-Lee #Hebrew #Christian #Islamic #Hindu

https://www.editorialedomani.it/idee/cultura/un-genio-luminoso-come-una-cometa-svelare-il-volto-di-pico-della-mirandola-mh8ry376

Un genio luminoso come una cometa Svelare il volto di Pico della Mirandola

È stato una figura fondamentale dell’umanesimo: un libro dello studioso di Oxford Edward Wilson-Lee indaga i «magici poteri del linguaggio ... Scopri di più!

Domani

Did you know #coffee was, according to #legend, discovered by accident?

In 850 CE, a #goat herder noticed that his goats liked to nibble on an unknown berry. Curious about their energetic behaviour, he tried the fruit himself.

Elated, he brought the fruit to the #Islamic leader of his village, who declared it evil. The berries were thrown into a fire.
The fruit emitted such a lovely smell that the religious leader added the fruit to water & drank it. Coffee quickly spread.

#mythology

I read
.... I don't know if it's true
that for the #Islamic faith
the use of weapons like the #Atomic Bomb
is contrary to their faith.

If it were true,
and being #Iran a 'fundamentalist' #Nation
fanatically religious

one would wonder...
have they ever tried to build weapons contrary to their religious beliefs?

...

Tucker Carlson: 'Sharia Law has...': Tucker Carlson says Islamic societies are 'more advanced' than Western societies, draws flak - The Times of India

US News: A viral clip of US commentator Tucker Carlson has stirred a row after he suggested that societies governed by Sharia law are “more advanced” than thos.

The Times of India
Israeli Media Reports Alleged Cracks in the Islamic Republic

Signs of deepening fractures within Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are mounting, with reports of unit-level desertions, sen...