From Saifullah to Our Time's Reciter

The newspaper Shargh has highlighted the statements of the Attorney General regarding the transfer of Tehran municipality properties with 'huge discounts', quoting Mohammad Jafar Montazeri: 'The discounts must be returned.' According to this newspaper, Montazeri stated on Thursday night during a special news dialogue program: 'After the issue was revealed, the head of the judiciary gave me special instructions to follow up on the matter.' He added that he 'tried to gather necessary information in a timely manner, thus we appointed a 'committee of judges' to investigate the issue and review the documents, holding multiple meetings with the mayor and the Islamic Council of Tehran.' Shargh quoted the Attorney General as saying: 'Tehran municipality, based on a permit from the Islamic Council of the city, could form cooperative companies to ensure the welfare of employees, and for these cooperatives, the municipality had considered certain facilities that the law also allowed.' In the course of these transfers, 'there are properties that have been allocated as apartments to another group of managers and those who were employed in the municipality and lacked housing, and with the permission of the city council and the Tehran municipality, they could have been given discounts. Regarding these individuals, we investigated the matter and found that more discounts were given than should have been; of course, the Tehran municipality claimed that they were unaware. Assuming a 30% discount was given, 50% was actually granted.' The Attorney General also mentioned that 'according to our investigations, there are 150 individuals who were part of the municipality and could have used the municipality's facilities but needed to be members of the cooperative, which did not happen, yet properties were given to them with discounts that must be returned. The value of those discounts needs to be assessed, and it must be monitored how much discount they received and how much was authorized and how much was unauthorized, with those deemed unauthorized needing to be returned.' Additionally, 'our investigations revealed that about 29 of these individuals were outside the municipality and were allocated apartments through introductions, which constitutes a definite violation of the law and must be addressed, and the transaction is void.' According to Shargh, the Attorney General emphasized that 'we informed the municipality about the issue; however, there were also others who received properties directly outside the cooperative, totaling 45 individuals whose contracts were void and needed to be annulled.' He stated that so far, the Tehran municipality 'has annulled 36 of those, and of course, the remaining 9 are also certainly void and need to be addressed.' The newspaper Etemad also reported on its front page on Saturday about the referral of the astronomical properties case to the Tehran prosecutor's office, stating: 'Cancellation of contracts' and 'return of unauthorized discounts' are the results of the Attorney General's investigations as the special agent of the head of the judiciary. This newspaper simultaneously published an editorial titled 'Oral Report on Astronomical Properties,' stating: After about two months, a report on definitive violations and tens of billions in the transfer of astronomical properties by the municipality was informally presented by the Attorney General to the public. Although it was expected that an official report would also be made available to the public simultaneously with this dialogue, we hope that as promised, the report will be published by the judiciary and then urgently addressed in the Tehran prosecutor's office to dispel any doubts about bias in handling this case.' Etemad emphasized that 'it is expected that Mr. Yashar Soltani, the main publisher of the report, will also be released, as apparently the content of the report he published does not differ from what the Attorney General has stated.' The key point in the Attorney General's report is that he quoted the mayor of Tehran as saying he was unaware of the discounts during the transfers of astronomical properties to specific individuals, which is a worse excuse than the sin itself. How could he be unaware of such an important issue?' This newspaper raised the question that if Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the mayor of Tehran, claims to be 'unaware' of the special discounts during the transfer of astronomical properties to specific individuals, it asked: 'Why did his subordinates conceal this from him?' Furthermore, 'when someone wants to carry out such an action, they should appoint the most trustworthy individuals to be responsible for it, not assign those who would betray him.' Etemad also questioned, 'Can we say that such occurrences happen in other municipal affairs as well, and the mayor is unaware? Surely the mayor has not forgotten that he used to categorically deny any violations in the municipality; so what has changed that he suddenly claims ignorance?' This newspaper also refuted parts of the Attorney General's statements, stating: 'The Attorney General has announced that the violation in the transfer of properties to specific individuals was in the amount of discounts given, and the transfers were made to individuals lacking housing. This second point is certainly inaccurate. Some individuals who received apartments have stated that they already own homes and have previously acquired similar houses with significant discounts.' Additionally, 'what has not been mentioned in the Attorney General's report is the issue of the mismatch between the expert prices and the actual prices, which are sometimes half the actual price,' while 'the fundamental violations seem to have been left unaddressed.' The editorial of Etemad also pointed out that 'another question regarding the Attorney General's report is the acceptance of the principle of transferring public properties with discounts and other considerations to individuals, which such a right has been granted by the city council to the mayor, but not for transferring to every friend and acquaintance.' This newspaper referred to the Attorney General's televised statements, which indicated that in the case of the transfer of astronomical properties by the Tehran municipality, 'in one case 29 and in another case 45 individuals were illegally allocated properties,' stating: 'Who were these individuals? How did they get involved in this matter? Did they just happen to pass by the municipality and suddenly remember they lacked housing and requested housing from the mayor, or is the matter much more significant than the principle of transfer? These are the main issues regarding these transfers, and why were the names not mentioned?' The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, in its editorial on Saturday titled 'From Saifullah to Our Time's Reciter,' wrote: 'Saeed Toosi has a beautiful and God-given voice for reciting the Quran, and the system has not given a blank check for his innocence; if his deviation is proven, he must be punished. We must be prepared for anything from acquittal to execution regarding him.' Abdullah Ganji, the editor-in-chief and editorial writer of this newspaper, narrated a story from the early days of Islam, stating: 'Khalid ibn al-Walid, a commander in the early days of Islam who made many sacrifices for Islam to the extent that the Prophet named him Saifullah, was tasked during Abu Bakr's caliphate with collecting taxes from an individual named Malik who lived outside Medina and did not pay taxes to the government. Khalid, along with another person, reached Malik's residence and upon seeing the beauty of his wife, bound Malik's hands and feet and in front of her, raped his wife.' However, 'that day no one attributed Khalid's actions to the Prophet's regime, and no one said, 'Here is Saifullah of the Prophet,' no one said, 'This is a great warrior of Islam,' but now the story of Saeed Toosi, whose boundaries are still unclear, is unfolding in such a way that it seems the Islamic Republic initially made him a Quran reciter and then a corrupt agent in society.' The editorial writer of Javan pointed out that after Saeed Toosi, a famous reciter, was accused of sexually abusing child and adolescent reciters, 'no one is taking action against Toosi and no one is saying that every Quran reciter is necessarily virtuous, just as not every cleric is necessarily a promoter of religion, and for this reason, Imam (Ayatollah Khomeini) said that the history of Islam is full of the betrayals of Islamic scholars to Islam, as there is impurity in every class.' This newspaper emphasized that 'the moral critique of the authority,' 'discrediting the capable arms of the system,' and 'attacks on its efficiency' are three main issues that 'have been and will be on the agenda, and social media has facilitated this.' It stated: 'Saeed Toosi has a beautiful and God-given voice for reciting the Quran, and the system has not given a blank check for his innocence; if his deviation is proven, he must be punished. We must be prepared for anything from acquittal to execution regarding him. Those who do not accept the judiciary's final word are the same people who follow the notion that 'Toosi is an excuse, the system is the target.' The editorial writer of Javan also mentioned that after the revelation of the sexual abuse of child and adolescent reciters by Saeed Toosi, some who 'have tainted the recitation and teaching of the Quran with various jokes and mockery, and have done no less than Toosi himself,' stated: 'If we are not sick, assuming the crime is proven, we consider a reciter to be lacking in virtue and must keep him away from the sanctity of the Quran and the public sphere of Quran recitation. However, that anyone who feels a connection to the system encounters problems, the entire system should be sacrificed, is part of the same soft war.' This newspaper close to the Revolutionary Guards stated that if Toosi and others like him are acquitted, they will say: 'It was their own doing that brought them to this point,' and if he is executed, they will say, 'It is a violation of human rights, and the European Union will issue statements against us and impose sanctions.' It added: 'We must ask the opponents of the system that if you have no religion, at least be a free man. Saifullah of the early Islam resorted to adultery, but the people did not attack the ruling authority and did not mock the Prophet and Islam. Now, the possible mistake and deviation of an unvirtuous individual has become the focal point for the repressed grievances of this group against the system.' Abdullah Ganji also pointed out two other points: first, 'the judiciary, as a pillar of the authority, cannot merely emphasize its legal duties, but must be accountable for why it has not concluded a case that has been open since 2010 and why it has not clarified the social arena before others.' Second, 'there is no need for revolutionary forces to defend every issue, as this itself multiplies the motivation for polarization on the other side. The revolutionary current in the country must lead the fight against any corruption; otherwise, it is possible that Western media, which conceal the corruption of certain aligned forces in Iran, may be introduced as supporters of the system.' Simultaneously, the newspaper Arman published 'a letter from the family of one of the plaintiffs against Saeed Toosi,' stating: 'The plaintiffs in the Saeed Toosi case, in a letter to the head of the judiciary, while expressing their disavowal and disgust at the recent actions of hostile networks, called for serious follow-up on this case.' According to this newspaper, in the letter addressed to Sadegh Larijani, the head of the judiciary, the family of one of the plaintiffs emphasized support for the leader of the Islamic Republic, while also stating: 'Preventing the entry of corrupt and unworthy elements into the sacred realm of Quranic and cultural activities in the Islamic government is one of the most important directives of the leader.' They stated: 'We believe that one of the first and closest examples of preserving this sacred system and its lofty ideals is to confront and even fight against those who are greedy and transgress the divine limits. Those who shamelessly seek to enhance or even revive their acceptance among others by associating themselves with senior officials of the system.' According to Arman, the families of the plaintiffs against Saeed Toosi referred to the sexual abuse and assault of child and adolescent reciters by this famous reciter as a 'crisis' and stated: 'We consider the recent crisis to be a result of the negligence and lack of attention of the relevant officials in issuing a definitive ruling on this case, which has been open since 2011.' The newspaper Iran, close to the government, dedicated its front page to Fakhruddin Danesh Ashteyani, the proposed minister of education, who introduced 'honoring and respecting teachers' and 'increasing teachers' salaries' as his priorities in this ministry. Meanwhile, Kayhan, in its front page titled 'What was the background of the proposed ministers who did not receive votes?' has leveled various accusations against the proposed ministers of Hassan Rouhani. This newspaper introduced Reza Salehi Amiri, the proposed minister of culture and Islamic guidance, as a 'security figure' who, during his tenure as the director of intelligence in Khuzestan, while he was involved in 'oil smuggling with tankers, imprisoned several leftist defenders of the sacred defense under the pretext of the explosion of a gas pipeline, and they were so severely beaten that one of them committed suicide.' Kayhan even wrote that Reza Salehi Amiri, while having a record such as 'head of the social committee of the Supreme National Security Council, member of the board of the Strategic Studies Center of the Presidency, advisor to the President in Khatami's government, member of the national social council, member of the government information council, deputy of cultural and social research at the Strategic Research Center of the Expediency Council,' also received '30 million tomans' from one of the defendants in the 'Iran Insurance' embezzlement case. This newspaper also wrote about Fakhruddin Ahmad Danesh Ashteyani, the proposed minister of education, stating: 'The question of what relevance there is between the position of deputy for construction or between the field of seismology and the management of the Ministry of Education should be explained by Mr. Rouhani, but it is clear that in all the extensive structures of education, there is not a capable and efficient person to manage this position.' Kayhan also mentioned that during the sit-in of the sixth parliament representatives, 'along with 119 other professors, issued an official statement and on February 7, 2004, fasted politically in favor of the sit-in participants.' In this context, Iran's low ranking in gender gap has been 'praised.'