mofsed-e-filarz
{{Short description|Capital crime in Iran}}
{{Fiqh |criminal}}
Mofsed-e-filarz ({{langx|fa|مفسد فی الارض}}, also Mofsed fel-Arz, Afsad-i fil Arz, or fasad-fel-arz, {{langx|ar|المفسد في الأرض}} Al-Mufsid fi al-Arḍ, also fasad fi 'l-ard; {{literal|Corruption on the Earth }}) is the title of capital crimes, or the person guilty of them, in Iran, which has been translated in English-language sources variously as "spreading corruption on Earth",[https://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2008/09/10/last-holdouts The Last Holdouts], 10, September 2008 "spreading corruption that threatens social and political well-being",[http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/101129 MPs demand death for opposition leaders] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524143412/http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/101129 |date=2012-05-24 }}, morningstaronline.co.uk, 15 February 2011 "corrupt of the Earth; one who is charged with spreading corruption",[https://books.google.com/books?id=s5ys1_DjhtYC&q=mofsed+&pg=PA128 Post-revolutionary politics in Iran: religion, society, and power] By Daṿid Menashri "gross offenders of the moral order",[https://books.google.com/books?id=xbtjAAAAMAAJ&q=mofsed+iran Language and culture in Persian], Paul Sprauchman, and "enemies of God on Earth".[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elham-gheytanchi/hardliner-repression-of-i_b_125530.html Hardliner Repression of Iranians Online], September 10, 2008
Quran, Shariah
{{see|Fasad}}
In classical sharia law and a Quranic context fasad fi 'l-ard has been described as the "antithesis" of the "political prosperity" that is "God's order for mankind".{{cite book|last1=Montgomery|first1=James Edward|title=ʻAbbasid Studies: Occasional Papers of the School of ʻAbbasid ..., Volume 1|date=July 2002|publisher=Peeters Publishers.|page=91|isbn=9789042914339|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VHZXeOs_xYsC&q=corruption+on+earth+fi+ard&pg=PA91|access-date=13 November 2015}}
According to scholar John Esposito, the term is used in the Quran to refer to “corrupt conditions, caused by unbelievers and unjust people, that threaten social and political well-being".[http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/2737 On Mofsed fel-Arz – Spreading Corruption on Earth] By Geoffrey Cameron, May 15, 2009, quoting The Oxford Dictionary of Islam It is found in Quran in the verse
They said, "O Zul-Qarnain, Gog and Magog are corruptors of the Earth. Can we pay you to create a barrier between us and them?"{{cite quran|18|94}}
And also {{Cite quran|2|27|style=nosup}} and {{Cite quran|13|25|style=nosup}}.
The crime is similar to and sometimes lumped together with{{cite book|last1=Kadri|first1=Sadakat|title=Heaven on Earth: A Journey Through Shari'a Law from the Deserts of Ancient Arabia ...|date=2012|publisher=macmillan|isbn=9780099523277|page=219|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ztCRZOhJ10wC&q=Heaven+on+Earth%3A+A+Journey+Through+Shari%27a+Law|quote="Exposure from a cross is a punishment that the Qur'an authorizes for anyone who has `[made] war against God and His apostle` or `spread disorder in the land.` ... Most classical jurist had construed their definition with commensurate care, establishing a thousand or so years ago that they referred specifically to banditry in open country: a uniquely destabilizing threat to civil order in a premodern society.}} "moharebeh" (civil unrest/waging war on God and people), and people have been charged with both crimes.
Iran
The charge, as enforced by Iran, has been called by those in the American media "a catchall indictment of political dissent" and carries the death sentence.[https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/16/world/middleeast/16iran.html?hp Iran Lawmakers Want Opposition Leaders Killed], ALAN COWELL and NEIL MacFARQUHAR, nyt.com, February 15, 2011
According to at least one source, Mofsed-e-filarz was first introduced as a crime in Iran by Ayatollah Khomeini.[http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/2737 On Mofsed fel-Arz – Spreading Corruption on Earth], By Geoffrey Cameron, May 15, 2009] It was used by Islamic Republican judicial authorities in the early days of the Iranian Revolution, resulting in many imprisonments and executions. Possibly more than 8,000 people suffered that fate, ranging from former members of the Shah's government, leaders of opposition or terrorist groups, or simply opponents of the regime.[http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2010/01/threat-execution/ Detained Protesters Threatened with Execution], ICHRI, 4 January 2010 It was used against leaders of the Baháʼí Faith on a number of occasions,[http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2009/05/oneyearbahai/ Baha’i Leaders Remain Unjustly Detained After One Year], ICHRI, 14 May 2009 and in February 2011 a large majority of members of the Iranian parliament called for the prosecution and execution of Iranian opposition leaders Mehdi Karroubi and Mir-Hossein Mousavi on the charge of mofsed-e-filarz.
=Criminal Code=
The Criminal Codes of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) that include Mofsed-e-filarz were adopted in 1996 by the Islamic Consultative Assembly; some changes were made in 2012. Muhareb and Mufsid-i fil Arz are defined as persons drawing weapons with intent to threaten or cause fear and security risk in society in Article 190 of the Codes. Article 284 of the Codes is dedicated to Baghi [armed rebellion], and Afsad-i fil Arz, and was revised with a broadening of who may be punished by execution. Article 284 states that those subject to execution include,
“Whosoever engages extensively in:
- commission of widespread crime against masses;
- crimes against homeland or external security;
- spreading rumors and/or uttering slander;
- financial malfeasance in the affairs of the State;
- spreading hazardous and poisonous substances;
- establishing brothels or involvement in their operation, causing extensive disturbance in public order;
- causing security risks or inflicting substantial physical harm to individuals or damage to public or private properties;
- widespread moral corruption and offenses".{{cite web|last1=Mostafaei|first1=Mohammad|title=Crimes Against Children in Iran|url=http://www.iranhrdc.org/english/publications/legal-commentary/1000000183-crimes-against-children-in-iran.html|website=Iran Human Rights Documentation Center|access-date=13 November 2015|date=August 2012}}