For its quirky qualities, BackChannels draws a low but steady stream of viewers daily from around the world.  Apart from SEO spammers, few to none offer helpful comment, and when attempts are made, the qualities of the transmission may be sketchy.

Responding to an October 2013 story about imam Yusuf Kavakci, formerly of the Dallas Mosque Center and now living somewhere in Istanbul, this note arrived under pseudonym with an e-mail address traceable to a list of untraceable available e-mail addresses 🙂 —

Imam yusuf was not fit to be the imam,because he hide the true deen of Allah,without the sunnah of Prophet Mohammad mpbuh the deen is not complete. he was not following the sunnah in daily prayers and Janaza prayer. may Allah guide him,I am so glad he left the main mosque.

This spam-looking message responded to a piece critical of the Iranian regime’s little boy at the top and the flow down of that personality into the cruelty meted to Rayhaneh Jabbari:

***Please ACT & SHARE***
These petitions for #ReyhanehJabbari seem to have worsened the state of reconciliation for the two families. Please DO NOT sign or share such petitions, and also ask @Avaaz to remove this petition (there are also other sites such as the Amnesty international, Amnesty USA and…. please tell them, too):
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/contact
and
https://secure.avaaz.org/act/?aSRcjhb
Choose campaign feedback in the section topic area and write sth like this:
Hello
Thanks for the petitions. You do a great job, but this petition on #ReyhanehJabbari’s case may worsen the state of the two families in reconciliation and saving Reyhaneh. I have heard that these petitions have increased the rage of the late Mr. Sarbandi’s family. So please remove this petition, it is so urgent. Reyhaneh may be hanged because of the impact of this petition. Thank you.

An Iranian engineer sent it.

Allegedly, Rayhaneh Jabbari fended off her would-be rapist, which is the only story that makes any sense of “Mr. Sarbandi’s” death, either at Jabbari’s hands or some other.

The truth may never be known, for to preserve the family honor of the deceased, Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi, with Ayatollah Khamenei’s complicity, the alleged primary crime, that of alleged attempted rape, must be erased, and to that end, evidence has been mangled and prosecution-side stories changed while Jabbari sits in jail under pressure to sign a “confession” to a murder without motive.

Someone living in fear of the despot, perhaps in his pay, or just plainly cognizant of how things work in the culture — a voice for the realpolitik that might spare a life — has sought fit to attempt to quiet the worldwide attention garnered by the Jabbari case.  The approach, however, would seem ventured far at the expense of justice and the kind of cold hard truthful examination that would lead to the same for Jabbari and all Iranians.

While BackChannels appreciates the attention, its comment and contact guidance has been updated.

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