You know you’ve got a problem when Ahmadinejad is the one momentarily sounding more “moderate” than the next guy (though that’s all “moderation” is — a position relative to others). And the photo above from May, which accompanied this report, shows Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati has some supporters… except that for all we know, the one on the right could be Rip Taylor with a bag of confetti.
“Ahmadinejad Rebuked By Hardline Cleri [sic] Over Hijab,” from Radio Zamaneh, June 19:
Hardline cleric, Ahamd [sic] Jannati delivered unusual rebukes to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in his Friday Mass Prayers sermon in Tehran for his remarks on women’s hijab.
In a live interview aired on Sunday, Ahamdinejad said he is against the harsh confrontation of Security Forces with people donning unacceptable forms of hijab (Muslim attire). He stressed that he is against such confrontations and will not condone it.
Iranian women, who are obligated by Islamic Republic laws to cover themselves from head to foot in public, have worn the compulsory outfit in different forms fashioning out unique styles. A recent wave of conservative backlash has charged various government bodies with confrontation of hijab transgressions.
More moderate sources have urged a more cultural recourse to resolving the offences against Islamic attire in public.
ILNA reports that Ayatollah Janati has rebuked Ahmadinejad for interfering in the business of the security forces. He suggested that if the government does not dare address the violations against appropriate hijab on the streets, it should start confronting it in government offices.
Priorities:
The conservative cleric argued: “The corruption that is spread by a woman with inappropriate hijab is worse [than] poison and as a result of it a young man who should be ready for jihad and self-sacrifice will be drawn to lust.”
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was also criticized by Mashhad Friday Prayers Leader saying Ahmadinejad was not attentive to religious matters.
The member of the Assembly of Experts stated that the issue of hijab was a religious issue and not subject to people’s will or acceptance..
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s recent moderate exclamations regarding adherence to hijab appears in complete contradiction to his policy of deploying female morality patrols to arrest women with inappropriate hijab after he first came to power in 2005.