Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi Summons Qom's Director of Culture and Islamic Guidance

Continuing the reactions of prominent clerics to the issue of holding a music program in Qom, Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, a religious authority, announced that he has 'summoned' the Director of Culture and Islamic Guidance in Qom and found his responses 'unsatisfactory.' According to a report published on the website of this religious authority, the Director of Culture and Islamic Guidance in Qom 'apologized' and stated that 'such programs will never be repeated.' Mr. Makarem Shirazi emphasized that the 'insistence and investment' of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance in holding concerts in cities like Qom would 'weaken the government and distance it from religious authorities.' He added, 'If programs are to be held for the joy of the youth, they can be organized in coordination with experts from the seminary, free of any issues contrary to Islamic law and in line with Islamic culture.' In recent days, several religious authorities and prominent clerics, including Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamadani and Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani, as well as the Society of Teachers of Qom Seminary, have protested against the execution of a music program in Qom. Ali Jannati, Iran's Minister of Culture, in response to these protests, stated that 'what was performed in Qom was not a concert at all; it was a choral program that had no issues in content or form.' However, a day before the Minister's remarks, Abbas Danesh, the Director of Culture and Islamic Guidance in Qom, had apologized for the 'immoral and inappropriate behaviors of the participants' in this music program. Neither the Director of Culture and Islamic Guidance in Qom nor the protesters mentioned details of this music program. Previously, some news websites, including the Shabestan News Agency, had published images from the music program that showed men and women singing together. The images released by Shabestan also show that one female member of the group, after the performance, likely took a selfie with her family members. The protests regarding the 'margins' of this music program come at a time when some religious authorities have objected to the very idea of holding concerts in Qom. In this context, Hossein Nouri Hamadani, a religious authority, stated that Qom 'is not a place for holding concerts.' Meanwhile, Mohammad Saeedi, the Friday Prayer Imam of Qom, said: 'It is said that do cities not differ, and whatever is permissible in other cities is also permissible in Qom. We must tell them that not every permissible thing is permissible everywhere; why do you not understand this?' The statements of these clerics about the prohibition of holding concerts in Qom come while Ali Jannati, the Minister of Culture, in his latest remarks, announced that this ministry has 'given in' regarding holding concerts in Razavi Khorasan Province and 'more' in the city of Mashhad. This position of the Ministry of Culture was stated after repeated objections from Ahmad Alamolhoda, the representative of the Supreme Leader in Razavi Khorasan Province, against holding concerts in this province. Following the Ministry of Culture's retreat regarding concerts in Razavi Khorasan Province, several other Friday Prayer Imams have also called for the cessation or limitation of music concerts in their cities, with the latest example being the Friday Prayer Imam of Yazd, who, alongside clerical figures from Mashhad and Qom, stated that holding concerts in Yazd Province is also prohibited. This comes at a time when Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, on Tuesday, September 1, criticized the Minister of Culture's retreat, stating: 'Anyone who wakes up in the morning and finds a podium cannot legislate, and the minister should not comply because the minister must abide by the law.' Following this, 32 members of parliament issued a written notice protesting the 'retreat' of the Ministry of Culture from cultural programs in Mashhad. In this context, the Council for the Policy of Friday Prayer Imams of Iran stated: 'We do not seek permission from the government for our admonitions.' The holding of a concert in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari led to a session being canceled due to the protest of the Friday Prayer Imam. The Minister of Culture reiterated his 'giving in' regarding the holding of concerts in Mashhad. Mohammad Yazdi stated that most of the Minister of Culture's actions contain immoralities.