Jews and Christians in Iran to wear distinctive insignia

Pastorius has another scary post up. Canada's National Post is reporting [UPDATE: This story has now been removed from the National Post website, casting doubt as to its accuracy - see update below, and the NP follow-up story, here]:

Human rights groups are raising alarms over a new law passed by the Iranian parliament that would require the country's Jews and Christians to wear coloured badges to identify them and other religious minorities as non-Muslims.

"This is reminiscent of the Holocaust," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, the dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. "Iran is moving closer and closer to the ideology of the Nazis."

Iranian expatriates living in Canada yesterday confirmed reports that the Iranian parliament, called the Islamic Majlis, passed a law this week setting a dress code for all Iranians, requiring them to wear almost identical "standard Islamic garments."

The law, which must still be approved by Iran's "Supreme Guide" Ali Khamenehi before being put into effect, also establishes special insignia to be worn by non-Muslims.

Iran's roughly 25,000 Jews would have to sew a yellow strip of cloth on the front of their clothes, while Christians would wear red badges and Zoroastrians would be forced to wear blue cloth.

"There's no reason to believe they won't pass this," said Rabbi Hier. "It will certainly pass unless there's some sort of international outcry over this."

Pastorius neatly asks:

Ok, so Ahmadinejad is a Holocaust denier, who, at the same time, uses all the methods and rhetoric of Hitler.

Still having trouble figuring it out?

The current rulers of Iran came of age in the Iran-Iraq war. Ahmadinejad's job was to brainwash children to run into mine fields to explode the mines and become martyrs. The kids were given keys to hang around their necks to open the gates of heaven. This is why I find all comparisons to Hitler scary. Hitler was obsessed with redeeming the great sacrifices of his youthful compatriots in World War I. In his mind, World War II and the Holocaust was an effort to make good the previous sacrifices for the fatherland. Unless Ahmadinejad is a completely unfeeling psychopath, how do you figure he is coming to terms with his very evil job in the first war? As Dag said last night, the psychology to fear is that of the gambler throwing good money after bad.

(Photoshop Credit: BL)
UPDATE: Dag has more from an unattributed source:

independent reporter Meir Javedanfar, an Israeli Middle East expert who was born and raised in Tehran, says the report is false.

"It's absolutely factually incorrect," he told The New 940 Montreal.

"Nowhere in the law is there any talk of Jews and Christians having to wear different colours. I've checked it with sources both inside Iran and outside."

"The Iranian people would never stand for it. The Iranian government wouldn't be stupid enough to do it."

Political commentator and 940 Montreal host Beryl Waysman says the report is true, that the law was passed two years ago.

"Jews should wear yellow strips, Christians red strips, because according to the Iranian mullahs, if a Mulsim shakes hands with a non-Muslim he becomes unclean."

I would also add that the Nazis themselves received their idea of forcing Jews to wear the yellow star from the Dhimmi codes of the Middle East.