Resolution of 'Religious Objection' to Parliament's Bill; Fridays Replaced Saturdays as Days Off in Iran

The Islamic Consultative Assembly, following a 'religious' objection from the Guardian Council regarding the addition of Saturdays to the weekend holidays, has replaced 'Saturday' with 'Thursday' and approved it. According to the Parliament's resolution on Wednesday, March 6, the working days of the week will be from Saturday to Wednesday, and the working hours for employees will also be 40 hours a week. Thus, Iran will be the only country in the world, even among Islamic countries, where its weekend holidays will be Thursdays and Fridays. In most countries, weekend holidays are on Saturdays and Sundays, and in some Islamic countries, they are on Fridays and Saturdays. The history of this plan dates back to May of this year when the Parliament approved a plan to increase weekend holidays but left it to the government to decide whether to take Thursday or Saturday off. However, the Guardian Council demanded that the holiday be specified in the approved text. Subsequently, the Parliament designated 'Saturday' as the second weekend holiday, but ultimately, after much debate regarding the closure of Saturdays and opposition from the Supreme Supervisory Board in the Expediency Discernment Council, the Guardian Council opposed it in mid-August, deeming it 'incompatible with Sharia.' At that time, the spokesperson for the Guardian Council did not provide further explanation for the incompatibility of Saturday holidays with 'Islamic Sharia,' but previously, some religious authorities, including Naser Makarem Shirazi, had stated that since 'the holiday on Saturday is one of the laws, customs, and symbols of the Jewish religion,' doing so would be 'similar to the Jews and a weakening of Islamic culture.' Ja'far Subhani, another religious authority, also wrote in a letter to Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the then Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, opposing the closure on Saturday, stating: 'The Persian language... is the official language of the country... Can Hebrew also be recognized? The flag of the Islamic country consists of three colors... Can a fourth color be added?' Mr. Subhani also described Saturday in a separate speech as 'the day of the enemy's holiday.' Following the announcement of the new Parliament resolution, several journalists and media activists on social networks, referring to international holidays and the addition of two weekend holidays in Iran, have protested, reminding that from now on, international working days will be reduced to three days. In Clause 3 of this bill, it is stated that all executive agencies, both central and provincial, except for military, police, and security units and the operational section of service units such as banks, customs, hospitals, health centers, and sports facilities, are obliged to set their working hours only from Saturday to Wednesday. Article 17 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran states that 'the official date of the country is based on the migration of the Prophet of Islam, and both the solar and lunar Hijri dates are valid, but the basis for the work of government offices is the solar Hijri. The official weekly holiday is Friday.' Efforts after the 1979 revolution to change the days of the week have always faced closed doors and uncertainties. However, it remains to be seen whether, after today's approval by the Islamic Consultative Assembly and what has been called the 'removal of objections' from the Guardian Council, this supervisory body will ultimately agree to this change or not.