Jawadi Amoli: Those Who Hang Their Hijabs on a Stick Oppose the Conditions of the Country

Abdollah Jawadi Amoli, a cleric residing in Qom, in remarks that differ from his previous statements, has described the protests against compulsory hijab as 'opposition to the economic conditions of the country.' On Thursday, April 23, during a meeting with Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, he stated: 'Those who hang their hijabs on a stick are not opposing the Quran but are opposing the conditions of the country.' According to the website of this religious authority, he referred to the words of the Prophet of Islam that 'a country with financial problems has its religion at risk,' and said: 'If negligence occurs in the management and economic sectors of the country, the religion of the people will definitely be harmed.' Jawadi Amoli's remarks come after he had previously described hanging a hijab on a stick as 'opposition to the Quran' on April 20. He had stated that through 'enjoining good and forbidding wrong' and 'ignoring' those who are 'unveiled' and having a 'contemptuous view' towards them, 'definitely, unveiledness' will be eradicated. Recent public protests against compulsory hijab began in various cities of Iran in December 2017 and have led to the arrest of over 35 women. Vida Mohadd, Narges Hosseini, Azam Jangravi, Shaparak Shajari-Zadeh, and Maryam Shari'atmadari are among the women who were arrested and later released. In this context, Maryam Shari'atmadari has been sentenced to one year in prison, and Narges Hosseini has been sentenced to two years, three months of which is punitive. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, on Thursday, March 8, 2018, described the public protests against compulsory hijab in Tehran and other cities as 'small and insignificant' while also criticizing 'the issue of compulsory hijab being raised by some elites.' Several conservative clerics have reacted strongly to the protests against compulsory hijab. For instance, Nasser Makarem Shirazi has called removing the hijab 'questioning the essence of the regime,' and Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi has stated that 'with the removal of the hijab, there will be no place left for Islamic rulings.' However, some political figures in Iran have opposed the compulsory hijab, and Alireza Beheshti, the son of Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti, the first head of the Supreme Court of Iran after the revolution, has also said that his father opposed compulsory hijab and did not enforce it as 'compulsory' until the last day of his work in the judiciary. Following the public protests against compulsory hijab, Friday prayer leaders and judiciary officials emphasized the enforcement of the 'hijab ruling,' and Ahmad Khatami, a member of the Assembly of Experts, stressed that they will implement this 'ruling' 'in the eyes of the opponents.'