A bad influence. Not like Khomeini or bin Laden. A real bad influence.
By Hiedeh Farmani for AFP (thanks to all who sent this in):
TEHRAN — A group of prominent MPs have warned over the presence of Italian clothing retailer Benetton in Iran, saying its fashions are a bad influence on female consumers, newspapers said Monday.
The reformist Etemad-e Melli said the five MPs – four members of parliament’s cultural commission and a member of its legal commission – had issued their warning in a written protest to parliament.
The protest comes amid a crackdown by Iranian police on dress deemed to be un-Islamic, which has already seen warnings handed out to over-100,000 women.
“The MPs Sunday made a warning about preventing the influence of the Benetton investor in fashion and women’s clothing design,” the newspaper said.
It added that parliament speaker Gholam Ali Hadad-Adel received their protest by himself, protesting that Benetton was not using Farsi language or script on its shop signs in the Islamic republic….
After the Islamic revolution ousted the pro-US shah, it was made obligatory for all women, including non-Muslims, to cover their heads and all bodily contours in public.