an unnecessary, unprovoked war that, according to the former chief justice Lord Bingham, was a 'serious violation of international law'. Iran A regular contributor to The Guardian, Hasan argued in November 2011 regarding the issue of Iran's alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons: "Wouldn't it be rational for Iran – geographically encircled, politically isolated, feeling threatened – to want its own arsenal of nukes, for defensive and deterrent purposes?" Pointing out the difference between America, and its allies, going to "war with non-nuclear Iraq" and their "diplomacy with nuclear-armed North Korea", Hasan concluded: "The simple fact is there is no alternative to diplomacy, no matter how truculent or paranoid the leaders of Iran might seem to western eyes." Hasan wrote an article in The Guardian in September 2011 condemning the Iranian government for its proposed execution of Youcef Nadarkhani, who had been arrested on charges of apostasy. "The death sentence given to Youcef Nadarkhani in Iran is an affront to universal moral values and a disservice to Muslims." Islam and Muslims Hasan, a Shia Muslim, has written articles about Islam and Muslims for the New Statesman and newspapers. "My Islamic faith is based on the principles of peace, moderation and mercy", he wrote in September 2012. He also said that while Muslims "have every right to be angry", such "anger, however, is not an excuse for extremism." In April 2009, Hasan argued against the concept and idea of an Islamic state. He argues that "Today it is difficult, if not impossible, to identify a Muslim-majority nation that could plausibly be identified as a modern, viable and legitimate 'Islamic state'" and that "contrary to popular Muslim opinion, there is not a shred of theological, historical or empirical evidence to support the existence of such an entity." In November 2009, Hasan wrote a column denouncing suicide bombing from an Islamic perspective. Hasan argued that "There is, in fact, nothing Islamic about so-called Islamic terrorism… So why are many Muslims so reluctant to condemn such cold-blooded tactics of terror?" In April 2010, Hasan wrote a piece condemning the controversial Islamic advocacy of the death penalty for apostasy in the New Statesman. He states that "The sharia (or Islamic law), it is claimed, sanctions the death penalty for any adult Muslim who chooses to leave the faith, or apostatise. This is an intellectually, morally and, perhaps above all, theologically unsustainable position." In January 2012, Hasan