HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF?

I have made the comparisons between Germany in the early 1930s and Iran today a number of times, and I am not alone. But this story is downright eerie.

Human rights groups are raising alarms over a new law passed by the Iranian parliament that would require the country's Jews and Christians to wear coloured badges to identify them and other religious minorities as non-Muslims.

"This is reminiscent of the Holocaust," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, the dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. "Iran is moving closer and closer to the ideology of the Nazis."

Iranian expatriates living in Canada yesterday confirmed reports that the Iranian parliament, called the Islamic Majlis, passed a law this week setting a dress code for all Iranians, requiring them to wear almost identical "standard Islamic garments."

The law, which must still be approved by Iran's "Supreme Guide" Ali Khamenehi before being put into effect, also establishes special insignia to be worn by non-Muslims.

Iran's roughly 25,000 Jews would have to sew a yellow strip of cloth on the front of their clothes, while Christians would wear red badges and Zoroastrians would be forced to wear blue cloth.

Read the whole thing. Rabbi Hier is quoted later in the article as saying, "The world should not ignore this," said Rabbi Hier. "The world ignored Hitler for many years -- he was dismissed as a demagogue, they said he'd never come to power -- and we were all wrong." Could it be happening again? Could the world be looking on as a powerful, growing nation is taken over by fanatical ideologues led by a messianic figure? Could the people of the powerful institutions of that country, arrogant in their belief that they can 'control' that demagogue, soon find themselves unable to stand up to him? Will he then launch them into a destructive war to achieve his apocalyptic goals? The parallels are chilling.