The Middle East Media Research Institute has an interesting transcript of Iranian leader Ali Khamenei complaining that his country faces a threat from . . . miniskirts.

MEMRI quotes Khamenei as saying in an address (emphasis added),

More than Iran’s enemies need artillery, guns and so forth, they need to spread cultural values that lead to moral corruption. They have said this many times. I recently read in the news that one of them, a senior official in an important American political center, said: “Instead of bombs, send them miniskirts.” He is right. If they arouse sexual desires in any given country, if they spread unrestrained mixing of men and women, and if they lead youth to behavior to which they are naturally inclined by instincts, there will no longer be any need for artillery and guns against that nation.

Source:

Iranian Leader Khamenei: Iran’s Enemies Want to Destroy it with Miniskirts. MEMRI, January 6, 2005.

In Iran, where conflicts between religious authorities and reformist student movements seems to be growing, authorities have been cracking down on illicit contact between men and women, including anything that smacks of decadent Western values — such as Valentine’s cards.

In February, Iranian police ordered shops to remove Valentine’s cards and decorations and in some cases confiscated “corrupt materials” being sold to promote the holiday.

According to the Associated Press, the crackdown appeared to be limited largely to northern Tehran, a wealthy area where exposure to Western culture is more common than in other parts of Iran.

In March, meanwhile, a Basij militia (religious police) commander told Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency that 68 men and women were arrested in Tehran for running a web sit where young men and women could meet to talk and arrange meetings.

IRNA quoted General Ahmad Rouzbehani as saying,

Some people were using an internet site to allow girls and boys to talk and arrange meetings in a place in north Tehran where they had illegal relations.

According to the BBC, the Basij regularly raid parties and gatherings where both men and women are present, but this is the first time it has targeted an Internet site.

Sources:

Iranians arrested for net dating. The BBC, March 3, 2003.

Iranian cops curtail Cupid’s canoodling. Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press, February 12, 2003.

In late September, the Iranian city of Yazd hosted an awards ceremony for the Iranian film industry. Actress Gohar Kheirandish presented the award for best director to Ali Zamini, and Kheirandish became so excited that she kissed Zamini on the forehead and shook his hand. Kheirandish immediately found herself in court and at the center of a debate over public morality.

Following strict Islamic law, it is illegal in Iran for unrelated men and women to have any sort of physical contact, including handshakes. Former Iranian ambassador to the United States Hadi nejad Hosseinan was quoted by an Iranian newspaper as explaining that while serving in the United States, “During ceremonies, I hold a glass in one hand and my bag in other to avoid shaking women’s hands.”

Kheirnadish’s kiss was condemned by conservative Muslims as nothing more than an assault on public morality by the enemies of Islam.

Mohsen Talebpour, representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Al Kahmenei, organized a protest in Yazd and told the official Iranian news agency that, “Today the enemy has targeted our islamic beliefs.”

An editorial in weekly Iranian newspaper Ya Lessarat lamented that, “Our enemies are trying to harm Islam through our culture and this event is an example of that fact.”

As for the legal repercussions of the kiss, Zamini was arrested and then released on $2,500 bail while Kheirandish was expected to return to Yazd to turn herself in. In addition, a local Culture Ministry official who failed to immediately have Zaminie and Kheirandish arrested was himself arrested and charged as an accomplice and later released on $6,250 bail.

Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson don’t have anything on these folks.

Source:

Kiss lands Iranian actress and director in court. Parisa Hafezi, Reuters, October 3, 2002.