Neckties, Liberty & Democracy
Neckties, liberty & democracy make strange bedfellows - but seeing this article after writing about neckties being deemed un-Islamic - one starts to wonder what certain religious fundamentalists from a certain community might have in mind …
Generally speaking, it is not permissible to wear a tie, or other kinds of clothes that are considered as the attire of non-Muslims, in such a way that their wearing will promote vile Western culture. The ruling is not confined to people of the Islamic Republic.
If this had come from an “Islamaphobic” site I would have thought it was a joke - but actually it comes from The Office of the Supreme Leader Sayyid Ali Khamenei in Qom - which, I would argue, is pretty authoritative as these things go.
It turned out that I shouldn’t have been worried after all - it wasn’t just that a necktie was the sign of “vile western culture” - it because it was also a symbol of the cross - so that’s OK then - because its Christian symbols the “Supreme Leader” hates and not just “vile western culture” in general …
But then - when I read this today - I wondered again - is there anything that these guys don’t disapprove of?
Liberty & Democracy “Satan’s Tools”
Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi - one of the current hardline government’s key reference points - has described Western values such as freedom and democracy as “the instruments of Satan.” Addressing the faithful in the holy Iranian city of Qom, he said: “The devil presents himself in many forms, and employs every means to convey his message. He uses each concept such as liberty and democracy to achieve his plans.”
Interesting that its “the devil” that promotes “liberty and democracy” - as opposed to a “god” which promotes something that isn’t actually specified here ..
- but wait - the best bit is to come …
“Only in appearance have human rights been invented to safeguard the rights of the people. In actual fact, they are just a way of spreading immorality,” the revered cleric added
Neckties a promotion of “vile western culture”, “human rights” a method of “spreading immorality” and “freedom and democracy” the “instruments of Satan”.
Crikey - what will they think of next? This is almost as bad as relabelling Pluto a “non-planet”.
All these years I’ve been encouraged to wear a necktie to work and believe that such things as human rights, freedom and democracy were important - and it turns out that I’m promoting the “instruments of Satan” and “vile western culture”
But what really gets me - I mean really, really annoys me - is that all the people who normally rally in droves to defend “human rights, freedom and democracy” - are totally silent - even about the proclamation about neckties being an expression of “vile western culture”.
Now if somebody, e.g. the Fundamentalist Christian Right, expressed the view that “human rights, freedom and democracy” were the “tools of Satan” - then I can imagine the howls of rage and subsequent seething and whining.
But in this case all I hear is a deafening silence. Why?
Tags: iran, islam, new cold war, khamenei, shirazi, human rights, western culture, satanic instruments