And it's accompanied by the usual Orwellian rhetoric. "Iran steps up policing of Islamic dress - report," from Reuters, September 24:
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has doubled the number of police assigned to its more than year-long crackdown against women flouting Islamic dress codes, Kargozaran newspaper said on Wednesday.
The daily gave no figures but the report, as well as remarks made by a police official to Reuters on Wednesday, indicate the authorities' determination to press ahead with the longest clampdown against "immoral behaviour" in recent years.
The latest campaign began in mid-2007. Such strict codes were tightly enforced in the early years after the 1979 Islamic revolution but in more recent years campaigns have tended to last just weeks or months at most.
"The crackdown on non-Islamic hijab (Muslim veil) will continue until the society is clean of any immoralities," Kargozaran quoted a police statement as saying.
The dress code requires women to cover their hair and wear long, loose clothes to disguise the shape of their bodies.
Violators can receive lashes, fines or imprisonment, although most usually receive a stern warning by street patrols looking for women with veils that are pushed back to show too much hair or coats which are not long enough or too tight.
Kargozaran quoted the head of Iran's airports police as saying 128 women had been prevented from taking their flights because of "bad hijab". It did not give dates and said the figure for those stopped had been published previously. [...]
Tehran prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi said this month the crackdown will intensify after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, although he did not elaborate.
"The police regards the crackdown on immoral behaviour which includes fighting bandits, drug smugglers and people with improper clothing, as an inseparable part of its responsibilities," police spokesman Mehdi Ahmadi told Reuters.
"Police will continue with the plan as before," he added, declining to give details of police numbers.
In addition to women flouting the dress codes, police have have stopped men with spiky haircuts deemed "Western". Barber shops have been temporarily shut for offering such haircuts....
What a gorgeous intro to Autumn, Marisol. Thanks for that.
As everyone knows, Autumn is historically known for improper, AKA "haram" dress, and rightly needs to be dealt with in short order, and quite harshly.
OK, /sarc obviously on!
P.S. your "Thomas Crapper" comment I am still laughing about.
"128 women had been prevented from taking their flights because of "bad hijab""
These fascist animals breathe new life and meaning into the expression "having a Bad Hair day"!
"women flouting Islamic dress codes"
You would think the Iranians would have more pressing issues.
I guess fighting "bad hijab" rates high, up there with fighting gay people, destroying Music CD shops and killing Jews...
I don't recall the Iranian government doing anything to improve their economy, or striving to make advances in medical technology, or building new manufacturing plants or textile mills, or developing new agricultural methods to develope ways to grow food to feed the people, or to improve the educational system to better give the youth of Iran a decent education....
but the Iranians will hunt you down if you have a "bad hijab"..
Ultimately, it is in our best interests.
The more draconian, punitive, and oppressive they are, the sooner the public will rise up against them.
This regime has to be overthrown soon. Once the mullahs get their nuclear weapons, they will be in a position to start a war whenever they feel insecure, due to a restive population.
re: The recent thread that mentioned the film, "Not Without My Daughter". I recently found this old news, but bad news at the Internet Movie Data Base site about the production.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102555/news#ni0089103
Muslims Force Change In Amazon Review
26 August 1999 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news
Meanwhile the Council on American-Islamic Relations is taking credit for forcing Amazon.com to alter a review of the movie Not Without My Daughter (1991). CAIR said Wednesday that the original review stated, "Sally Field plays Betty Mahmoody, an American who marries an Iranian (Alfred Molina) and has a child. They go back to Iran for a visit and, to her horror, he tells her he's decided to stay there and -- guess what? -- she has no rights. If she wants to leave, she has to leave her daughter behind. But if she stays, she has to live by Islamic law, under which women are subservient; she may be subject to beatings and a slave-like existence..." The new wording: "They go back to Iran for a visit and, to her horror, he tells her he's decided to stay there. If she wants to leave, she must leave her daughter behind. If she stays, Betty must live in a culture vastly different and, she believes, very dangerous. Part thriller, part culture clash, the film certainly takes advantage of Americans' perceptions of Iran after the unrest of the '70s and early '80s." CAIR said the change took place after it wrote to Amazon.com complaining that the original wording was "inaccurate and offensive." In reply, CAIR said that it received an apology from Amazon.com that stated, "It is certainly not our intention to malign anyone's religious faith."
skevin - thanks for posting that tidbit. Fortunately, CAIR has absolutely NO control over what I post online and I will take the original wording and intentionally post it with links to the movie - now and in the future. CAIR and company can go 'pound sand' as far as I am concerned.
Speaking of un-Islamic dress code...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1062375/Daughter-hate-preacher-secret-life-pole-dancer.html
:)
I was about to post the same link DaninVan. Does that getup qualify as un-Islamic attire? just wondering...
The same article claims that Omar Bakri paid for those big melons out of his own pocket! Wouldn't that be delicious if true?! Says she tricked him into doing it by saying that she could better breastfeed her baby with bigger boobies. Too funny!