An Iranian chess player who moved to Spain in January after she competed without a hijab and had an arrest warrant issued against her at home has been granted Spanish citizenship, Spain said on Wednesday.

MADRID, July 26 (Reuters) - An Iranian chess player who moved to Spain in January after she competed without a hijab and had an arrest warrant issued against her at home has been granted Spanish citizenship, Spain said on Wednesday.

Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, better known as Sara Khadem, took part in the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships held in Kazakhstan in late December without the headscarf that is mandatory under Iran’s strict Islamic dress codes.

Laws enforcing mandatory hijab-wearing became a flashpoint during the unrest that swept Iran when a 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, died in the custody of the morality police in mid-September.

The 26-year-old has told Reuters she had no regrets over her gesture in support of the protest movement against her country’s clerical leadership.

Spain’s official gazette said the cabinet approved granting Khadem citizenship on Tuesday “taking into account the special circumstances” of her case.

  • @CantSt0pPoppinOPEnglish
    14•1 year ago

    Yeah the whole thing sucks just remember their are religious fanatics within all religions.

    • @[email protected]English
      32•1 year ago

      Fanatics and extremists exist regardless of religions. The latter just allows them to control people easier, and islam happens to be particularly good at that.

      Of course, most ‘religious’ people have enough common sense to not follow them to the T. When the government is religious though, like islam encourages, you have a big problem

      • Carighan MaconarEnglish
        23•1 year ago

        Fanatics and extremists exist regardless of religions. The latter just allows them to control people easier, and islam happens to be particularly good at that.

        This is more accurate.

        It’s not that “fanatics exist in all religions”, it’s “fanatics exist”, and religions just give them a cover that is depending on society difficult to challenge as in many places, a religion’s influence on society and rules is quite normalized, completely ignoring how ridiculous this influence is.

        • @[email protected]English
          2•1 year ago

          it’s “fanatics exist”, and religions just give them a cover

          It isn’t much of a leap to understanding that religions have always served the purpose of controlling people.

          When a leader has a tool that allows the people to think his pronouncements have the endorsement of a God, that leader is going to use that tool.

      • oce 🐆English
        12•1 year ago

        Islam isn’t better at it than other religions it just happens to be the major religions in the countries where those fanatics managed to seize the power. You can find similar examples with Christianism (Europe, USA), Judaism (Israel), Hinduism (India), Buddhism (Myanmar) and probably many more.

        • @[email protected]English
          11•1 year ago

          Islam isn’t better at it than other religions it just happens to be the major religions in the countries where those fanatics managed to seize the power

          That’s no coincidence imo.

          I see all religions as negative, but Islam is the only one I can personally attest to, being an ex muslim. It’s cult-y and tends to bring out the worst in people, more so than most religions from what I’ve seen.

      • @[email protected]English
        0•1 year ago

        Islam doesn’t encourage any more for theocracy than other Abrahamic religions. The existence of religious fundamentalist Islamic theocracies is a lot more complex than Islam. A lot of it can be traced to colonialism, the decolonization process and Western interference in Islamic countries. This is largely why Iran is one of those. The last Shah was seen corrupt autocratic puppet of the West by many. As a counter to it, the country over-corrected and landed in fundamentalist Islamic theocracy. Radicalization of Islam leading to similar governments happened in other Islam-majority countries. Before the 60s and 70s, many Islamic countries didn’t differ a lot from Western countries when it came to social liberties. There are a lot of images of Tehran and Kabul with women in mini skirts for example.

        While I am not saying that modern Islamic countries are not problem or thousand when it comes to civil liberties and democracy, Islam in my knowledge was more tool and less reason behind it.

    • @AceticonEnglish
      6•1 year ago

      The problem is when a government is captured by religion.

      There is nothing quite so bad as religious types getting power based purelly on being religious types.

      I suspect that, because it’s the most fanatical power-hungry types (Moralism is really just a way of justifying the forcing of others to your will) who both have the most motivation to seek positions were they can have free rain to really go on powertrips on other people, and display more overtly the very religiosity that is the whole reason for a government whose power is based on religion.

      Certainly those who feel no need to impose their will on others and who can even *gasp* see some actions as overzealous, don’t have anywhere the same drive, zealotry and backstabbing instincts to climb up the ladder in such power structures.

      • @CantSt0pPoppinOPEnglish
        6•1 year ago

        You are very right the same is being seen in the united states with Evangelical fanatics taking over all forms of government and a disturbing pace.