Seminaries Enter the Medical Field; Two Thousand 'Psychologist Students' Active in the Country

In a time when the country's health and treatment network is facing a wave of extensive migration of nurses and doctors, the Deputy for 'Ethics and Education' of the seminaries has stated that some university psychologists recommend 'forbidden actions' to adolescents for their psychological comfort, which is why two thousand psychologist students are active in the country. Mohammad Alamzadeh Noori has accused the healthcare network, claiming that 'some university psychologists have advised adolescents to engage in forbidden actions for mental peace.' This cleric emphasized that 'we have about two thousand students in the seminaries who have specialized university education in psychology and counseling.' Experts believe that the presence of clerics and the interference of seminaries in all governance matters is one of the harms that has intensified in recent years and is supported by power circles. This approach is so pronounced that the Secretary of the Strategic Council for the Islamic Advancement Model of the seminaries stated to the newspaper Shargh on July 7 of this year that 'there is a lack of disease prevention literacy in the Ministry of Health; it is the duty of the seminaries to revive it.' Ali Keshvari emphasized that 'we will take responsibility for the lack of knowledge and expertise in the Ministry of Health and promote health narratives.' The interference of clerics in recent years has also faced opposition, as on Saturday, August 5, 2017, the then-advisor to the Minister and Director General of the Traditional Medicine Office of the Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education called for the seminaries to intervene to counter the entry of some individuals in clerical clothing into the educational field and interference in treatment matters. However, these oppositions have been sporadic, and in recent years, the seminaries have systematically entered areas such as treatment and economics. Observers believe that the increasing presence of clerics in education, treatment, and other sectors is part of the Islamic Republic's planning to advance programs referred to as the 'Second Step of the Revolution.' Mojtaba Hashemi: The Islamic Republic is trying to turn universities into places like seminaries. A newspaper's revelation; forcing 'student teachers' to teach for an hourly wage of 18,000 tomans. Investigative report; specialized fields in Iranian seminaries: from purification rituals to computer games. The Secretary of the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council of the Islamic Republic considered hijab a 'political and security issue.' A clerical official stated: women's hijab is due to 'habit' and not 'choice.' Efforts to 'Islamize the economy'; formation of working groups in various fields, following the cooperation of seminaries with the Ministry of Economy.