Shahin Najafi the 31 year old Iranian musician singer and social activist residing in Germany, has gone into hiding following Iranian clerics placing a $100,000 bounty on his murder. Najafi has been condemned for violating a ‘fatwa’ that calls for the execution of anyone who blasphemes Ali an-Naqi, one of the 12 imams or religious figures revered by Shia Muslims. Najafi released a song “Naqi” that takes its name from Ali an-Naqi, its lyrics oppose the oppression and human rights abuse following the 2009 contested Iranian presidential election. Its lyrics call on Naqi to intervene and save the country. Najafi’s songs generally touch on sensitive issues such as “theocracy, poverty, sexism, censorship, child labor, execution, drug addiction and homophobia”. The Independent reports the “The Iranian religious website, Shia-Online, put a $100,000 bounty on the singer’s head and said he deserved to die for “grossly insulting” Ali an-Naqi. More than 100 people have joined an online “campaign to execute Shahin Najafi”. Mr Najafi is popular within the 120,000-strong Iranian community in Germany. Brought up in a small port in southern Iran, he fled to Germany in 2005 after being threatened, apparently by Iranian intelligence, for staging underground concerts. Tehran has so far made no comment on the fatwas against Mr Najafi.”

 

Inspired by The Independent ow.ly/bgE2m image source Wikipedia ow.ly/bgDYs