According to PEN's information, Grand Ayatollah Yasub al-Din Rastgari was arrested in his home city of Qom on 27 April 2004 after the publication of his book"The Reality of Religious Unity". His two sons were also arrested with him and the book's publisher closed down. He is accused of insulting Islam and" causing schism" in the book, which is allegedly critical of the policies of some historic characters and"denigrates the sanctity" of some Wahhabi sect personalities. . . .

He is aged 78 and said to be in frail health, suffering from diabetes and heart disease.

At a time when dozens of young Muslims are turning themselves into human bombs in the name of Islam and vicious demeaning attacks are routinely hurled by Islamists at practitioners of other religions, mainstream Muslim organization have the Chutzpa to complain that it is their religion which is under attack. Not only have they succeeded in making Islamophobia an accepted term but"insulting Islam" has become a sword easily brandished against internal and external critics.

In addition to the famous murder of Theo Van Gogh and the anti-Copt Egyptian riots, the charge which according to the Sharia carries a death sentence was hurled an editor in Afghanistan and even a Ayatolla in Iran:

If truth be told, the real insulters of Islam are not Yasub al-Din Rastgari, Salman Rushdi, the Copts or Van Gogh. The real insulters of Islam are those who give Islam a bad name by persecuting these critics and the majority of Muslims who do not stand up to defend their faith from those who cause it real harm.

For the sake of Islam, if not for the sake of humanity as a whole, they should end their crime of silence.