--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa to that…" description: "\"Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa to that effect, which was then given effect in the Islamic Republic of Iran, so in the Islamic Republic of Iran, it's..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f8/sadakat-kadri-20613_book_ayatollah-khomeini-issued-a-fatwa-to-tha_1423180.jpg" --- # Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa to that effect, which… ![“Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa to that effect, which was then given effect in the Islamic Republic of Iran, so in the Islamic Republic of Iran, it's flexible enough to allow for sex changes, and it encourages sex changes. But if you want to change your religion in Iran, you've got some serious…” quote by Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f8/sadakat-kadri-20613_book_ayatollah-khomeini-issued-a-fatwa-to-tha_1423180.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f8/sadakat-kadri-20613_book_ayatollah-khomeini-issued-a-fatwa-to-tha_1423180.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5f8/sadakat-kadri-20613_book_ayatollah-khomeini-issued-a-fatwa-to-tha_1423180.jpg) > “Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa to that effect, which was then given effect in the Islamic Republic of Iran, so in the Islamic Republic of Iran, it's flexible enough to allow for sex changes, and it encourages sex changes. But if you want to change your religion in Iran, you've got some serious problems. There are other problems. You're allowed to change sex, but if you want to be a homosexual, theoretically at least, you face the death penalty. Quite how often these penalties are carried out is a moot point, but it's there on the statute books.” [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Iran permits sex reassignment but criminalizes homosexuality, showing selective legal flexibility. **In simple terms:** Iran allows gender change but punishes same‑sex orientation. Key Takeaway Understand nuanced legal rights. Themes law human rights sexuality Mood critical analytical Type policy human rights When to use this quote - legal reform - activism Key Concepts gender identity L law religious freedom Questions to Reflect On - What reforms could balance rights? - How do cultural attitudes affect law? A Different Perspective Legal allowances may be limited and uneven. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ayatollah Khomeini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ayatollah-khomeini/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Death penalty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-penalty/) [Homosexual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homosexual/) [Islamic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islamic/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) ## Related quotes > [One of things that surprised me when I was in Iran was to find out that the country finances seven times as many sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/one-of-things-that-surprised-me-when-i-was-in-iran-was-to-find-out/) [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) > [“as in the Islamic Republic of Iran, where large numbers of women turned out during the June 2009 post-election demonstrations. Clearly, these women’s grievances…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-spencer/as-in-the-islamic-republic-of-iran-where-large-numbers-of-women/) [Robert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-spencer/) > [It's very difficult to talk about religion in Iran because religion has gotten so mixed up with politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asghar-farhadi/it-s-very-difficult-to-talk-about-religion-in-iran-because-religion/) [Asghar Farhadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asghar-farhadi/) > [The politicized version of Shia Islam that we see in the Islamic Republic post-1979 clearly is very conservative, but, there are other things one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/the-politicized-version-of-shia-islam-that-we-see-in-the-islamic/) [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) > [If you want to change from sex towards love, try to understand your sexuality. Watch it, watch the mechanicalness of it. See the futility,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/if-you-want-to-change-from-sex-towards-love-try-to-understand-your/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“But every woman thinks she'll be the one to change me. That our sex will be so magical, I'll be star-struck by her goods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angeline-kace/but-every-woman-thinks-she-ll-be-the-one-to-change-me-that-our-sex/) [Angeline Kace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angeline-kace/) > [“I wish I could change my sex as easily as I can change my shirt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/i-wish-i-could-change-my-sex-as-easily-as-i-can-change-my-shirt/) [André Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [I always say, I'm a woman, I can't change my sex. I can't get angry about it. I'm too busy desperately trying to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruba-nadda/i-always-say-i-m-a-woman-i-can-t-change-my-sex-i-can-t-get-angry/) [Ruba Nadda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruba-nadda/) > [It's very rare that a character comes to mind complete in himself. He needs additional traits that I often pick from actual people. One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-auchincloss/it-s-very-rare-that-a-character-comes-to-mind-complete-in-himself-he/) [Louis Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-auchincloss/) > [When I was very young, I wanted to be a girl. I was jealous that girls got to be princesses and wear skirts. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-theyskens/when-i-was-very-young-i-wanted-to-be-a-girl-i-was-jealous-that-girls/) [Olivier Theyskens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-theyskens/) > [Is it written that equality between men and women means one can change sex? Obviously not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/najat-vallaud-belkacem/is-it-written-that-equality-between-men-and-women-means-one-can/) [Najat Vallaud-Belkacem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/najat-vallaud-belkacem/) > [It's such a private thing. It's a huge decision. It's not like you wake up one day and say, 'Oh, I'm going to change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candis-cayne/it-s-such-a-private-thing-it-s-a-huge-decision-it-s-not-like-you-wake/) [Candis Cayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candis-cayne/) > [Instead of talking to a nigga straight up you'd rather send a text. Well I think you a bitch and you should change your...sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludacris/instead-of-talking-to-a-nigga-straight-up-you-d-rather-send-a-text/) [Ludacris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludacris/) > [BP is accused of destroying the wildlife and coastline of America, but if you look back into history, you find that BP did something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-curtis/bp-is-accused-of-destroying-the-wildlife-and-coastline-of-america-but/) [Adam Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-curtis/) > [“When the Washington Post telephoned me at home on Valentine's Day 1989 to ask my opinion about the Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwah , I felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/when-the-washington-post-telephoned-me-at-home-on-valentine-s-day/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More by Sadakat Kadri > [There's crucial distinction that has to be drawn between the Shari'a, which is this hugely expansive vision of cosmic order that I've been describing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/there-s-crucial-distinction-that-has-to-be-drawn-between-the-shari-a/) [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) > [I realized that the ignorance was profound. I don't mean that in a pejorative sense, it's just that people didn't know what the Shari'a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/i-realized-that-the-ignorance-was-profound-i-don-t-mean-that-in-a/) [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) > [The Shari'a itself - this is possibly a kind of verbal debate - is understood to be something different from the Fiqh, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/the-shari-a-itself-this-is-possibly-a-kind-of-verbal-debate-is/) [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) > [My father's from Pakistan and he has been a secularist all his life. In the Pakistani context, there's no messing with religion. There's been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/my-father-s-from-pakistan-and-he-has-been-a-secularist-all-his-life/) [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) > [I work in the human rights field and there are serious conflicts between certain interpretations of Islamic law and human rights. That's something which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/i-work-in-the-human-rights-field-and-there-are-serious-conflicts/) [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) > [One of the big problems in this field is that there's so much mystification that surrounds talk of the Shari'a, whether its saying that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/one-of-the-big-problems-in-this-field-is-that-there-s-so-much/) [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) > [I was a teenager when General Zia took power in the Pakistan; I was in my twenties when I went there during the late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/i-was-a-teenager-when-general-zia-took-power-in-the-pakistan-i-was-in/) [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) > [People are coupling and decoupling all the time in Great Britain. The fact that Muslims choose to precede it with a certain formula of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/people-are-coupling-and-decoupling-all-the-time-in-great-britain-the/) [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) > [I think it's important to understand Shari'a to be rooted in history - what we know about the history and what we don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/i-think-it-s-important-to-understand-shari-a-to-be-rooted-in-history/) [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) > [There's a feminist critique of Muslim Arbitration Tribunals, which I'm certainly not unsympathetic to, because as I keep saying, I come from a human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/there-s-a-feminist-critique-of-muslim-arbitration-tribunals-which-i-m/) [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) > [I didn't quite know whether I was writing for the non-Muslim or the Muslim, and at the end of the day I'm writing, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/i-didn-t-quite-know-whether-i-was-writing-for-the-non-muslim-or-the/) [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) > [In 1979, you had the revolution in Iran. You had the Hudood Ordinances in Pakistan, which are the laws that are notoriously used against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/in-1979-you-had-the-revolution-in-iran-you-had-the-hudood-ordinances/) [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) > [Whereas a man is entitled to marry three more times and that fosters great abuse, even scholars accept that. So certainly since the 1980s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/whereas-a-man-is-entitled-to-marry-three-more-times-and-that-fosters/) [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) > [The politicized version of Shia Islam that we see in the Islamic Republic post-1979 clearly is very conservative, but, there are other things one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/the-politicized-version-of-shia-islam-that-we-see-in-the-islamic/) [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) > [There is an issue about the discrimination provisions because the Qur'an does say that women should have half the share of men. Again, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadakat-kadri/there-is-an-issue-about-the-discrimination-provisions-because-the-qur/) [Sadakat Kadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) [Explore all 30 Sadakat Kadri quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadakat-kadri/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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