Makarem Shirazi: Rouhani's Remarks on Hijab and Cyberspace Were Distasteful

Nasser Makarem Shirazi, a prominent cleric, described recent remarks by Hassan Rouhani regarding cyberspace and hijab as 'distasteful' and warned him that he is the president of an 'Islamic Republic' and not the president of a 'secular democratic country.' His comments follow Rouhani's speech to officials of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, where he called Iran's filtering policy 'unsuccessful' and 'wrong' and criticized the arrest of women and girls for their hijab. He stated that 'unfortunately, in the issue of hijab, we start with women, while the Quran first admonishes men to avert their gaze from lust; yet we go and arrest girls and women for hijab.' The president also explicitly questioned the policy of blocking social networks and websites in the Islamic Republic, saying, 'We must accept that we made a mistake. We thought that if we said the use of such and such service was banned and filtered, everyone would listen. We saw that after filtering any service, a circumvention tool was created.' Now, Nasser Makarem Shirazi has reacted to these remarks, saying, 'Recently, the president made two statements about the issue of hijab and cyberspace that were unfortunately both distasteful.' In his advanced jurisprudence class at the Grand Mosque of Qom, he added, 'Regarding cyberspace, look at the corruption that has occurred; we do not deny this space; however, we must prevent corruption.' This cleric quoted 'judges of the judiciary' stating that 'most divorces' in Iran are 'related to temptations from cyberspace, and most misguidances and deviations are also related to this space.' Makarem, referring to the president's statement that 'when people want everything, their wishes should not be blocked,' said, 'If people understand everything, then close the doors of the judiciary and the penal code; certainly, there are some wrongdoers in the country that must be stopped.' This cleric warned Hassan Rouhani: 'If we are, as the West says, the first power in the region, it is due to Islam; this must be preserved; you are the president of an Islamic Republic, not the president of a secular democratic country.' He also reminded Rouhani that 'he swore to uphold Islamic values, and he must adhere to his oath.' Mr. Makarem also asked Hassan Rouhani to 'correct his mistakes' and described his recent remarks as 'distracting the people with peripheral issues,' which he believes 'is not right.' He stated, 'One of the principles of politics is that if you encounter a complicated issue, you should turn to peripheral issues; this is part of politics; now that there are economic problems, officials turn to peripheral discussions.' Nasser Makarem Shirazi is known for his strict views on hijab and women's presence in places such as stadiums. He had previously called the selective presence of some women at the Persepolis game against Kashima Antlers in November, which occurred after FIFA pressure, a 'disgrace.' This cleric has also called for action against the phenomenon of 'unveiling,' but rejected the notion of mandatory hijab in Iran, calling it 'obligatory.' According to him, 'the term mandatory hijab is a wrong term; obligation differs from compulsion; hijab is obligatory, not compulsory, and wherever a law is made, obligation exists alongside it. For example, traffic regulations are obligatory, not compulsory.' However, he has supported the government in some cases, including the attempts by some members of parliament to impeach Mohammad Javad Zarif, the foreign minister, stating that if we want to change a minister, especially those who stand against enemies, it is not right, and the government should not be weakened in this situation. He recently criticized the airing of 'confessions' from Ismail Bakhshi, a board member of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Workers' Syndicate, and Sepideh Gholian, a civil activist, stating that this act is not only illegitimate but also morally wrong against human dignity and honor, and according to reliable and documented narratives, such confessions in court are not admissible.