Ali Jannati: No Permits Will Be Granted for Women's Solo Singing

The Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Ali Jannati, emphasized during a meeting with Ayatollah Wahid Khorasani that "no permits" will be granted for women's solo singing and that the publication of "vulgar and divisive novels" has also been halted. According to the state news agency IRNA, Jannati announced on Thursday, November 21, that the Ministry of Culture "has not granted any permits for women's solo singing so far and will not do so, but unfortunately, we are witnessing rumors about this issue." Jannati stated that President Hassan Rouhani expressed his "displeasure" regarding this matter during the opening ceremony of the press exhibition. He added, "A few individuals oppose this government and consider themselves valuable in all matters, but with moral decay, fabricating lies, and spreading rumors, they take up a lot of our time issuing denials and clarifying the real story." Ayatollah Wahid Khorasani also mentioned during his meeting with Jannati that "the danger of promoting Baha'ism, Wahhabism, and Christianity threatens the thoughts of the nation, and countering these dangers is the responsibility of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance." Last Bahman (January) two clerics, Hossein Noori Hamedani and Nasser Makarem Shirazi, protested the Ministry's permit for the release of an album in which, according to them, a woman sang, stating that they would prevent women's singing in Iran. Their criticism was directed at the album "To Ra Ey Kohan Boom o Bar Doost Daram" published by Cheshmeh, featuring simultaneous singing by Mohsen Karamati and Noushin Tafi. Ultimately, some critics, including Morteza Aqa Tehrani, Secretary General of the Front of Steadfastness, announced that after listening to it, they realized that this album did not feature women's solo singing. Jannati also mentioned that some individuals are spreading misinformation to clerics, scholars, Friday prayer leaders, and members of parliament, providing them with false information. He stated that those who are not "compatible with the government" and had candidates other than Hassan Rouhani in the presidential elections are seeking "division" between the government and clerics. He emphasized that they have a think tank in political, cultural, and economic areas and coordinate with each other to publish fabricated and distorted news, sending it to parliament members, Friday prayer leaders, and the offices of the Grand Ayatollahs, which requires us to constantly issue denials. Jannati referred to the distribution of some bulletins and publications against personalities in Qom and other cities, adding, "Unfortunately, some are distributing pamphlets, and since they are unauthorized, we have no basis to confront them, but this is not the right thing to do." He had previously stated that some bulletins prepared by certain institutions with government funding "are full of lies." Furthermore, the Saham News website, close to Mehdi Karroubi, reported that "political forces affiliated with the Islamic Revolution's Martyrs Foundation, the Path of the Revolution Society, and forces related to the IRGC's intelligence have created centers for 'bulletin-making, preparing destructive reports, feeding the media, news subject creation, and psychological warfare against the government.'" However, Mahmoud Alavi, Iran's Minister of Intelligence, stated that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned the actions of some bulletin makers against the government. Regarding the issue of banned writers, Jannati said, "We do not have a specific list of banned writers, but naturally, anti-revolution individuals and those who write against the revolution and the system and are notorious and work abroad do not have permission to publish in the country." Jannati had previously mentioned the "notification" from security agencies regarding the banning of certain individuals while stating that the general policy of this ministry for issuing book permits is based on content. Earlier, President Hassan Rouhani had reported in his 100-day performance report that many writers had been "banned" and they had converted them to "explicitly permitted."