IRGC Commander: Society's Morality is Worrying, No Progress Made

The Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) declared the "cultural and moral state of Iranian society" to be "very worrying" and stated that "we have made no progress in these areas." According to Fars News Agency, Mohammad Ali Jafari mentioned on Wednesday, August 21, that the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic has assigned the mission of "countering cultural threats" to this institution "for years." The IRGC Commander added that after the presidential elections on Khordad 2, 1997, "serious threats against the Islamic Revolution emerged." He continued: "From the years 1998 and 1999, another type of threat, apart from security and defense threats, became tangible for us, which could pose problems for the Islamic Revolution, hinder its progress, and lead it astray." Jafari's reference may pertain to the events known as the Tehran University dormitory riots, which followed an attack by a group of plainclothes forces on the Tehran University dormitory on July 9, 1999, leading to several days of student protests in parts of Tehran. Furthermore, according to IRNA, Jafari stated that the leadership of the Islamic Republic "has entrusted the critical mission of countering cultural threats to the IRGC for years." He also added: "However, these missions are also a form of confrontation that relates to the beliefs and convictions of the people, which is not... the IRGC's job." Jafari emphasized: "The IRGC can prepare the grounds and create the environment, but the main burden of this mission lies with our seminaries and clergy." In 2011, Jafari also noted that the IRGC's success in security missions indicated that "from today onwards, the important issue in Tehran is cultural issues." After the rise of Hassan Rouhani's government, Iranian lawmakers approved the "Support for Promoters of Virtue and Preventers of Vice" plan and also proposed initiatives like "Protection of the Privacy of Chastity and Hijab," seeking to enact new penalties for issues such as "bad hijab," "having satellite dishes," and "dog ownership." However, members of Hassan Rouhani's government have emphasized "cultural confrontations" regarding issues like hijab. Meanwhile, Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, on Sunday, July 21, regarded "chastity and hijab" as "an internal issue like fasting" and stated that "can you force someone to fast? If you say so, they will claim they are fasting but will go to another room and drink water." "Defending the Revolution is different from defending the territorial integrity of the country." The IRGC Commander, in another part of his speech, emphasized that "defending the Islamic Revolution is different from defending the territorial integrity of the country." Jafari also referred to the Supreme Leader's statements, calling the "fourth phase of the Islamic Revolution" the "Islamization of society" and the fifth phase the "formation of a global Islamic community." He added: "Some individuals said that the Islamic system has been established, and now we should manage our people, and it doesn't concern us what happens in other countries. This was the same dangerous slogan that some individuals expressed." According to Jafari, the "keffiyeh" that the Supreme Leader wears is a "sign" of the danger of the "deviation of the Islamic Revolution inside." The IRGC Commander stated on Tuesday, April 14, that the status of the export of the Islamic Revolution outside of Iran is "very favorable" and mentioned that the revolution "needs faster progress" inside Iran. Jafari also referred to the "ideal of the Islamic Revolution" as "moving towards a great civilization." His statements come at a time when in recent months, officials from several regional countries, including Turkey and Saudi Arabia, have expressed concern over Iran's growing influence in the region. The IRGC Commander also labeled the humanities in Iranian universities as "Western" humanities, which, according to him, "do not conform to Islamic and religious principles." He identified one of the main tasks of the mobilization of clerical professors as "transforming university humanities using religious principles." The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic had previously stated in September 2009, shortly after widespread protests against the results of that year's presidential election, that the teaching of many humanities disciplines leads to doubts about religious and ideological foundations and emphasized the need to Islamize humanities and universities. However, Hassan Rouhani, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, stated on Saturday, January 31, 2015, that "the world of science cannot be viewed with suspicion" and that the Islamization of humanities and social sciences has not been "well articulated."