Khamenei's 'War' Against Clerics and the Judge of the '67 Massacre in the Virtual Space

Note--The judiciary, under the directive of Ayatollah Khamenei - and in accordance with the tradition of clerics and that apparatus - proceeds through repression. For example, Montazeri, the Attorney General of the country, stated on February 11, 2017: "Utilizing the potential of social networks is an enemy activity aimed at separating the younger generation from the revolution. Every week, we close between 15,000 to 20,000 immoral and anti-religious social networks in the country, but they still emerge from elsewhere... Anti-moral social networks have become a hell for Islamic societies and our country, questioning beliefs." This is aside from the arrests of activists in the virtual space. Sultan and the Virtual Space Ayatollah Khamenei, to fend off the 'danger', established the Supreme Council of Cyberspace on March 7, 2012, through a decree. He appointed new members of this council on September 5, 2015. Nevertheless, he is extremely angry and constantly speaks of the cultural laxity of the government. To confirm this claim, just look at four witnesses from the last two years: a-Khamenei stated on March 21, 2015: "These young people are the same young people who are under bombardment of destruction by audio, visual, and internet media day and night; there is chaos in the world; in the virtual world. In the world of audio and visual media, hundreds of media outlets, and with a credibility of thousands of media, are bombarding the thoughts of our youth; some of them try to turn the youth away from religion, some try to divert them from the Islamic system, some try to incite them to create discord, some try to use them for their wicked goals, some try to lead them to moral laxity and idleness; this bombardment is constantly taking place over our youth by these same devices and audio, visual, and internet media." b-Khamenei said on August 25, 2016: "I want to ask Mr. President to pursue this [issue]; because the virtual space is truly an unstoppable growing world, meaning it really has no end; whatever one looks at, it is ultimately the virtual space. As one progresses in this space, it continues in this way... We must keep ourselves as detached from these threats as possible... That national information network - which is very important, that internal network - we have not advanced yet." c-Khamenei told clerics on June 5, 2016: "Today, our enemies spend huge amounts of money... to distract the minds of the believing Muslim youth of Iran, divert them. From what? From the essence of religion; not just from the Islamic Republic system, or from the rule of the cleric or similar matters; [but] from the essence of religion, from adherence to religion, from the issue of Shiism to reach the Islamic Republic system and other existing matters; they are constantly creating doubts... Today, the virtual space is an endless desert that can be moved from all sides... Every person who can work with a computer is a media outlet. They sit and spread doubts, words, mislead believing youth, healthy youth. These must be recognized... There are numerous internet bases whose goal is to destroy the chastity of youth, the modesty of the Muslim youth - whether boy or girl - to tear their veil of modesty; this is their aim, and they plan for this. Well, some of the titles are criminal; various state agencies have the duty to confront them and do so... The realm of virtual space is like this; maximum benefits can be gained from it; the same work that the enemy does, you [too] can do in the opposite direction." d-Khamenei said on February 15, 2017: "Throughout the year, with the money of the CIA and Mossad and the intelligence and espionage apparatus of England and the oil dollars of the Qarun, hundreds of media outlets speak against the revolution. Throughout the year, day and night, they are busy; they find dozens of politically bankrupt fugitives who have fled Iran, pay them a wage to sit and write analyses, write news, prepare speeches against the revolution and against the system; to belittle Imam, the people of Iran, and various revolutionary activities, accuse the revolution, accuse the system, weaken them... The real war is a cultural war. All these various televisions and different internet networks are busy working to distance our youth's hearts and minds from religion and sacred matters and modesty and chastity; they are seriously trying, spending money for this work! This is the real war." "Recitation of the Clerics' Mourning" Almost all court clerics are reciting mourning about the virtual space daily. Look at two examples below: a-Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi has recited mourning more than any other clerics regarding the dangers of virtual space. In his view, virtual space is very corrupt and has "turned into a polluted, filthy space, and corruption is rampant in it." It promotes sexual deviation and severely attacks faith, ethics, and religious beliefs (Makarem Shirazi's website has gathered his views in the article "Consequences and Impacts of Social Networks from His Perspective"). b-Sadegh Larijani - the head of the judiciary - said in a television interview on June 26, 2016: "The virtual space has become a vast platform for the occurrence of crimes. From fraud, insults to individuals, baseless rumors, public mind disturbances occur as a crime platform. For example, if this platform of crime is in a vehicle, or in a house, you would definitely stop them, but the virtual space is not like that. We decided that if this issue is not corrected, we will confront it... If we see the direction of crime, we must confront it decisively. We spoke with the audiences and the Supreme Council of Cyberspace to reduce crimes through methods such as filtering." Sadegh Larijani has also called social networks anti-revolutionary, deceitful, and poisonous. The threatening recitations of Alim al-Huda and his son-in-law - Ebrahim Raisi - are also noteworthy. a-Ayatollah Alim al-Huda - the father-in-law of the 'Massacre Ayatollah' and representative of the Supreme Leader in Razavi Khorasan province - said on February 9, 2017: "If we want to eliminate the cultural losses of our country in any field and against any vice, the issue of the corruption of the virtual space and the development of immorality in it is such that it puts us in a state of despair to eliminate it. If a father and mother monitor all their child's communications, but still the mobile phones they have show them a lot of corruption and exchange values with anti-values. How can a father put a hijab on his six-year-old daughter while in a cultural laxity that has formed in social networks and virtual space, communication with a young boy is considered a value? Just as if we have a glass of poison in our child's hand, we would not let them drink it, we must say that the mobile phone in their hand and the virtual space and social networks that they have access to through this mobile phone are more dangerous for the chastity and religion of our children than a glass of poison." b-Ebrahim Raisi - the Attorney General - said on January 1, 2016, regarding the virtual space that it must be made healthy and the internal national information network must be established. He said that social networks cannot operate completely freely and unconditionally. Thus, "the continuity of the presence of social networks in the virtual space of Islamic Iran depends on their adherence to the regulations of our Islamic system, otherwise their activities will definitely be prevented." Ebrahim Raisi - the 'Massacre Ayatollah' - also spoke about the impact of virtual space on elections, saying: "It must be noted that we will not tolerate the slightest violation that occurs in this space and any action to influence the upcoming elections will be dealt with severely, especially during the elections." The virtual space and presidential elections Given the media monopoly of Ayatollah Khamenei and conservatives; opponents, critics, and rivals use virtual space to convey their opinions. The presidential elections of 2013 and the Assembly of Experts and Islamic Council elections in 2015 showed that virtual space and social networks are very influential. In the run-up to the presidential elections of May 19, 2017, radical conservatives seeking to overthrow Hassan Rouhani and the presidency of the 'Massacre Ayatollah' do not hide their fear of virtual space. Montazeri, the Attorney General, stated on April 2, 2017: "I emphasize to the relevant department in the Attorney General's office and prosecutors across the country to monitor the virtual space moment by moment, and if they see any violations, immediate appropriate and legal action must be taken. We announce to all those who intend to enter the electoral competition and all individuals who will be active in this regard that they should not go towards defamation and insults to others and towards violations and crimes in the virtual space, and if they do so, they should not complain later about why a certain website was filtered or closed." The target of this threat was the supporters of Hassan Rouhani; otherwise, on the same day, Ayatollah Jannati - the lifelong secretary of the Guardian Council - described Hassan Rouhani as someone who "thinks we should make peace with America and enemies? Why do they think that our water and bread are provided by America?! What kind of disbelief in Islam, the Quran, and jihad for the sake of God has emerged among some officials? Did our youth sacrifice themselves so that we sit at the same table with America and reconcile?" Alim al-Huda also claimed in Friday prayers in Mashhad that "the American and European governments are looking for a presidency of Hassan Rouhani who only dances for the youth and commits the greatest betrayal to them." Ezzatollah Zarghami also said in a gathering: "The enemy on one side and the rival faction on the other have numerous plans to utilize virtual space and have designed extensively. Many reports indicate that many websites, channels, and virtual pages have been purchased, and their managers have started serious cooperation, and as soon as the advertising time begins, they will begin heavy and comprehensive advertising as widespread dissemination in virtual space; although many of these actions have already begun." Conclusion Religion and clergy were completely compatible with a monophonic world. Clerics could reduce all of history to Karbala and Ashura. They constantly recited mourning for that tyrannical tragedy and turned it into an unparalleled tragedy in human history - for Shiites. Gradually, serious competitors of natural experimental sciences, human experimental sciences, first and second-rate philosophies, and modern arts arrived, each opening their shop and offering their goods to customers in the market. Religion and clergy had to adapt themselves to this new market full of serious competitors. In the 1990s, the communication revolution peaked. The communication revolution has made the existence of totalitarian and fascist regimes - monophonic societies - impossible. This revolution has created new technologies that allow each individual to create and realize alternative value systems and lifestyles against the value system and lifestyle of the ruling regime. The state - in the sense of the political regime - has two parts: military/police and ideological. No government can sustain itself solely through repression. The ideological part of the state - schools, universities, mosques, Friday prayers, state media, seminaries, newspapers, etc. - plays an important role in producing satisfaction in civil society in favor of the state and compels people to voluntarily follow the regime and its laws. The virtual space/social networks have become a serious competitor to this part of the state. They not only expose and criticize the repressions and corruptions of the Sultanate of the clerical regime of the Islamic Republic but have also challenged the ideological part of the Islamic Republic and severely weakened its power. Religion and clergy and the rulers of the Islamic Republic and the military are unable to compete with opponents and critics in this area. The issue is not that they are not present in this area. In fact, they have an active presence with billions of tomans in investment. However, dictatorship and structural repression cannot be washed away with any water. When the military and radical conservatives decide to make Ebrahim Raisi the president, the virtual space and social networks expose his crimes and show that he is indeed the 'Massacre Ayatollah'. The mourning of clerics and military for virtual space and the 'Massacre Ayatollah' is only sorrowful for themselves. Opponents, critics, and rivals are pleased that modern man has closed the paths of fascist and totalitarian regimes with such constructs.