Approaches to and Challenges of Criminalizing Insults to Sacred Values in the Iranian Legal System

Abstract

The offense of insulting sacred values is a highly significant issue in Islamic jurisprudence and legal systems. Insults directed at sacred values may provoke strong emotional reactions among members of society and create conditions conducive to security threats. The present study aims to propose an appropriate model concerning the foundations for criminalizing insults to sacred values, reduce the associated challenges, and prevent conduct and serious security risks at both national and international levels. In terms of its nature and data-collection method, this study employs a descriptive–analytical approach and adopts a mixed-methods research strategy combining qualitative and quantitative methods. The relevant dimensions, components, challenges, and outcomes were extracted from the selected sources and subsequently analyzed. The findings indicated that, to implement the principle of the rule of justice, any factor conflicting with this principle must either be disregarded or appropriately modified. The logical conclusion regarding the offense of insulting sacred values is that the concept of sacred values encompasses all matters and persons whose sanctity must be respected under Islamic law, statutory law, and prevailing social custom. Within the Iranian legal system, the legislature has addressed the legal foundations for punishing insults to sacred values under Article 513 of the Islamic Penal Code, enacted in 1996. Such conduct has also been criminalized under Article 26 of the Press Law and, more specifically, under Articles 262 and 263 of the Islamic Penal Code. Furthermore, pursuant to international conventions and treaties, including human rights instruments and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, any form of religious insult and any unlawful conduct against individuals or groups on the grounds of religion are prohibited. Nevertheless, from the perspective of human rights law, particularly within common-law jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom and the United States, legal protection has traditionally been afforded primarily to the sacred tenets of Christianity, while other divinely revealed religions have not received equivalent legal protection. The results further demonstrated that the broad concept of sacred values is now implicated through new forms and methods of insult, including insults directed at national flags and prominent scientific, cultural, and political figures, and is therefore not confined to a single form of conduct.