Iran’s military has called the breaking of cultural norms a national security threat and urges all government institutions to help it enforce the law.
The armed forces of Iran has issued a statement stating the breaking of cultural norms in the country has become a national security threat and that they are ready to take action on the matter. The statement, which was mailed to news agencies, reflects a growing concern of conservative officials over the direction of President Hassan Rouhani’s cultural policies.
Culture Minister Ali Jannati has been engaged in a series of public disputes with conservative officials over his promotion of a more lax cultural policy, especially in regard to Internet censorship. The most recent comment came from Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi, who leads the hard-line Endurance Front.
During a speech at the office of the supreme leader in Qom July 11, Mesbah Yazdi said, “Those who take religion as a toy and entertainment and in the name of religion do ineffectual things have been deceived by the world.”
Indirectly addressing Jannati, Mesbah Yazdi continued, “An official some time ago said that ‘The development of culture needs freedom and with filtering websites one cannot develop culture.’ On this, the supreme leader said sometime after the new year [late March], ‘You cannot make everything suitable with the excuse of freedom.’
These comments by Mesbah Yazdi mark perhaps the first time that someone has indirectly quoted Ayatollah Khamenei on the issue of filtering, a practice that Jannati has spent considerable time publicly lobbying against.
The statement by the armed forces reflects some of the many concerns of conservatives with respect to the administration.
“One of the goals and strategies of the domineering countries and a front line for the enemies of the Islamic Revolution …is to weaken the religious will and commitment in order to promote carelessness, promiscuousness and to spread … violations of religious and legal norms in Iran’s Islamic society,” the statement read. “Paying attention to the efforts of the obstinate front [Western countries] to collapse the cultural-religious foundations and replace it with a vulgar Western culture has great importance.”
“There is no doubt that if from society, especially the cultural officials and custodians, in regard to the warnings by the supreme leader about the cultural invasion, ambush, massacre, plunder and the soft war, there was understanding and a feeling of a high and serious responsibility, today we would not witness some people … breaking cultural and norms.”
The statement urged all government institutions to help enforce the law with respect to cultural norms.
“The combined armed forces of the Islamic Republic, especially the cultural, intelligence, security and police departments, with emphasis on the breaking of cultural norms being a platform that threatens and weakens national security, knows it to be its responsibility to preserve cultural and religious values and confront the breaking of norms and violations of legal and religious norms … and will use its capacities to help in this path.”
by Arash Karami
Photo: Culture Minister Ali Jannati
Al-Monitor