Congressman Keith Self Introduces Bill Requiring Sanctions Determinations for Iranian Regime Clerics Who Issued Sharia-Based Fatwas Against President Donald J. Trump and Other Leaders

Congressman Keith Self (TX-03), Europe Subcommittee Chairman on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced a bill requiring the Administration to determine whether certain Iranian regime clerics should be Special Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs). These individuals are responsible for issuing and amplifying fatwas advocating for the deaths of U.S. President Donald J. Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and other political leaders.

Those identified in the bill have charged President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu with Moharebeh (waging war against God), with being a Mahdur al-Dam (one whose blood must be spilled), a Mufsid fil-Arz (a spreader of corruption on earth), and a Kafir Harbi (a waring infidel), all of which under Islamic Law (Sharia) invite violence against the offender. Religious decrees issued under the Islamic Penal Code of Iran status of Moharebeh explicitly call for the death penalty.

The Moharebeh status is codified in Iran on the basis of Islamic Sharia law, which calls not only for death but also for brutal methods of torture, including crucifixion or cross-amputation of the hands and feet. Such brutal forms of execution are explicitly stated in Quran 5:33 (transliterated by Abdel Haleem)—"Those who wage war against God and His Messenger and strive to spread corruption in the land should be punished by death, crucifixion, the amputation of an alternate hand and foot, or banishment from the land: a disgrace for them in this world, and then a terrible punishment in the Hereafter.”

Historically, Iranian Moharebeh fatwas have led to consequences within the country and around the world. In 2022, author Salman Rushdie was stabbed multiple times in the face, neck, arm, abdomen, and eye in response to Iran’s former Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s fatwa calling for Rushdie’s assassination in 1989.

“The American way of life is under siege by radicals from a culture waging war against our Constitution and Western values. Now, these same radicals are waging war against President Trump,” said Congressman Self. “When radical Islamists issue Sharia-based fatwas against our President, which include crucifixion and cross-amputation, we should take them seriously. Sharia has no place in America, and these insidious fatwas prove just that.”

These actions represent clear incitement to violence against U.S. and allied officials and constitute grounds for designation as SDGTs.

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