Iran justified state-sponsored killings by invoking the Prophet’s example

Evidence

The traditional Muslim way of defending any idea or action is by showing that it was the practice of the Prophet. So in the Islamic Republic of Iran, from 1989 onwards, articles from time to time appeared in the press, (e.g. Tehran Times, International Weekly, February 23, 1989, p. 12) saying that on this or that occasion, according to reliable biograph­ ical traditions, the Prophet condoned or approved or instigated the murder of one or other of his opponents. A poet, for example, who composed poetry lam­ pooning the Prophet, a singing girl whose offence was singing some of these poems, were murdered, according to these traditions, with the approval, or even at the behest, of the Prophet. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 585 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Iranian defenders justified the assassination bounty by citing prophetic precedent — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans: Interpreting…, 585; Shia rebel method of propaganda then armed attack mirrors the Prophet’s own career — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans: Interpreting…, 1436

Broader Connections

• Iranian defenders justified the assassination bounty by citing prophetic precedent #corroborates (0.95) — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 585