The Entry of Basij into Qarz al-Hasana Activities

The newspaper Shahrvand has highlighted the 'Entry of Basij into Qarz al-Hasana Activities' and reported that Gholamhossein Ghaibparvar, the head of the Basij Organization, stated at a signing ceremony between the Basij and the Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation that 'this organization has decided to establish Qarz al-Hasana funds in 7,600 mosques.' The newspaper noted that the Basij commander 'argued that since the banking system is not responsive to the needy in many places, this decision has been made.' This issue arises at a time when the Astan Quds has recently announced its intention to engage in banking activities and establish a Qarz al-Hasana fund, while the Central Bank is still dealing with various financial institutions. According to Shahrvand, 'in a situation where the Central Bank has decided to reduce the money market by merging institutions and even banks, this decision, according to banking experts, could create some problems.' Economist Hadi Haqshenas told the newspaper: 'The 7,600 Qarz al-Hasana funds in mosques could disrupt the monetary system if these funds operate centrally and their financial resources are not distributed among members but enter an economic flow or if loans are given to non-members or if the scope of these funds' activities is transferred to another location.' Furthermore, 'the greatest concern regarding the Qarz al-Hasana funds in mosques is the potential for abuses that may occur from these funds, abuses that have a history in this type of fund.' The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, in a note titled 'Hospital or Anti-Regime Hangout,' has introduced the Tehran Heart Center as a 'hangout' for anti-regime activists due to its acceptance of political prisoners and detainees, calling on the Tehran prosecutor to take action against the hospital's officials. The newspaper pointed out that 'the Tehran Heart Center has recently become a topic of discussion, as security convicts and political detainees have frequent visits to this hospital, but it seems these visits are not without purpose.' It wrote: 'Only as one of the controversial actions of this hospital, there is an unwritten agreement between this state institution and the hypocrites, anti-regime elements, and those who have been sentenced as security prisoners and are serving their sentences, according to which these convicts and hypocrites spend their sentences in this hospital instead of prison.' The Javan newspaper also referred to the months-long hospitalization of Isa Saharkhiz due to 'acute heart disease' at the Tehran Heart Center, as well as the acceptance of 'detainees' including the surgeries of Mehdi Karroubi and the treatment of Mir Hossein Mousavi at this center, stating: 'Each time one of these individuals is hospitalized, political-security meetings are held in this hospital under the pretext of visits. It seems that behind-the-scenes hands are trying to establish a permanent and safe hangout for anti-regime elements in the heart of Tehran.' The newspaper close to the Revolutionary Guards also listed accusations against the managers, doctors, and staff of the Tehran Heart Center, stating: 'For several years, significant moral, economic, political, security, and legal corruption has infiltrated and taken root in the Tehran Heart Center. The ruling faction over this so-called state hospital has apparently tied medical issues to political-security matters that are often against the regime, in coordination with specific political-party institutions.' The Javan newspaper then called for the Tehran prosecutor's office to intervene with the Tehran Heart Center, stating: 'What requires urgent action from the public prosecutor is to address the issue of fake certificates for anti-regime elements who are trying to turn the Tehran Heart Center into a 'hotel' and an unparalleled hangout for specific parties.' The newspaper Iran reported on 'criticism of excess costs beyond the approved budget' of the Tehran municipality during the Arbaeen ceremony in Iraq, stating: 'Yesterday's meeting of the Tehran City Council was initially dedicated to the financial performance of the Tehran municipality during Arbaeen. In this meeting, the deputy mayor provided explanations about the costs of Arbaeen, which faced reactions from members.' According to this newspaper, Mojtaba Abdollahi, the cultural and social deputy of the Tehran municipality, stated in this meeting regarding the municipality's performance during the Arbaeen ceremony: 'You are right that we have spent more than the approved budget, and I myself wrote to the members of the fourth council that we have spent 10 billion and 400 million tomans due to preparing the infrastructure.' However, 'we did not have construction in Iraq, but we prepared some schools for accommodation and may have even painted some schools, yet part of the accommodation in Najaf and Karbala is the responsibility of the Tehran municipality, but note that these costs are an investment because we have built restrooms and showers at the borders, and now, due to the readiness of the infrastructure, costs will decrease year by year.' The Iran newspaper noted that 'members of the Tehran City Council raised questions about the financial performance of Arbaeen, and it was decided to prepare a report on this matter and provide it to Najafi, the mayor of Tehran.' Among them, Hassan Rasouli, a member of the city council, reacted to the report on the municipality's performance during Arbaeen, stating: 'I am concerned about the members' oath regarding financial discipline,' addressing the deputy mayor: 'You say you have spent 15 billion tomans, but your approved figure was 5 billion tomans, so it raises the question of where you got the difference from.' According to this newspaper, Mohammad Javad Haqshenas, another council member, emphasized that 'in the context of bonuses and mission allowances, we should not overshadow voluntary actions and it is suggested that individuals willing to provide services in Najaf and Karbala go voluntarily and without mission allowances and bonuses.' Ahmad Masjed-Jamayi, pointing out that 'due to the large amount of money spent by the municipality during Arbaeen, we are concerned about the loss of grassroots actions,' said: 'In Karbala, restrooms are very necessary, and it is suggested that the municipality build restrooms instead of blankets and food, and the municipality's actions should complement the actions of the officials in Karbala, as the governor of Karbala told me that we plant saplings, but you come to set up tents and the actions should not conflict with each other.' The newspaper Shargh also emphasized in its front page that the Tehran municipality 'requires investigation,' stating 'now Hojjatoleslam Mohseni Ejei, the first deputy and spokesman of the judiciary, has announced that Isa Sharifi, the deputy of Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, has been arrested on financial charges. Reformist representatives in the parliament have taken advantage of this opportunity, stating that a new investigation should be initiated into the municipality, especially now that the legacy of Qalibaf's 12-year management has reached a group of reformists and the opportunity for auditing is more than ever.' This newspaper recalled that 'just before Nowruz 96, the investigation into the Tehran municipality did not receive a vote in the Civil Engineering Commission of the parliament. It seems that only four representatives were in favor of the investigation. The investigation came to the floor and, surprisingly, the parliament voted against it.' Abdolkarim Hosseinzadeh, the deputy head of the Hope faction, who supports the new investigation into the municipality, told Shargh: 'We will soon initiate our new investigation into the Tehran municipality; this time it will be a more technical and less political investigation,' just as Parvaneh Salahshouri emphasized: 'The Tehran municipality must answer how, with all this income, it has sold the sky of this city and caused so much damage to human development issues. In the investigation, aside from financial issues, attention must be paid to citizens' rights; to the level of violations and damages these violations have caused to the rights of each individual Iranian citizen.' Meanwhile, Abolfazl Mousavi Bidaki told Shargh that 'a rough draft of an investigation has reached the Civil Engineering Commission of the parliament, but due to the holidays, no further details have been provided.' However, Hadi Bahadori, a representative from Urmia in the tenth parliament, stated that the subject of this investigation is 'astronomical properties,' but 'the investigation will be postponed until after the parliament's holidays.' The newspaper Bahar reported with the headline 'The Child Protection Bill is Aging in Parliament,' stating that this bill has been awaiting review in parliament since the ninth parliament. This newspaper quoted Zahra Karimi, the CEO of the Imam Ali Charity Society, saying: 'For years, the Child Rights Protection Bill has been gathering dust in parliament, and representatives are not fulfilling their duties in this area, to the extent that we still need two basic laws for the protection of children against violence.' The newspaper emphasized that 'these days, the alarm bells of violence against children are ringing louder,' reporting that on Sunday, Habibollah Masoudi Farid, the Deputy for Social Affairs of the Welfare Organization, stated: 'Last year, 13,000 cases of child abuse were reported to the social emergency, and the occurrence of child abuse was confirmed in about half of them.' The newspaper Bahar quoted the Deputy of the Welfare Organization as saying: 'Last year, we had 700,000 calls to the social emergency, with the majority of reports being about child abuse, followed by spousal abuse,' and 'these repetitions are a warning that displays the depth of the impending disaster, a disaster that is lurking close to our children, and passing through it easily presents an unclear future for our children.' The newspaper Hamdeli reported on 'a 34% increase in the demand for abortion in Tehran province,' stating that 'therapeutic abortion has seen an unprecedented increase; this is reported by the forensic medicine of Tehran province, explaining that during the first four months of this year, 792 people applied for a therapeutic abortion permit, which shows a 34% increase compared to the same period in 1995.' This newspaper noted that 'not all cases related to abortion are reflected in official statistics, as there are places and individuals, with or without the identity of the mother, who have sought their own abortions,' quoting Mohammad Reza Niknejad, a researcher in the field of education, saying: 'Abortion among students, especially in large cities, exists; government statistics confirm this. The increase in relationships between boys and girls in metropolises, for various reasons, has increased; this increase in relationships can have consequences, one of which is abortion.'