Iran to launch new dress code crackdown

[Psephos]

Source: France 24

Iran is to launch a new crackdown Monday on slack dressing that targets both men and women whose clothing and haircuts are deemed to be unIslamic, police said. "The police will act against those whose trousers are too short, have skin-tight coats, shirts with Western logos and Western hairstyles," said Ahmad Reza Radan, the head of Tehran's police force. "We will ask those arrested where they bought their clothes and where they had their hair cut so those outlets can be closed down," state broadcasting's website quoted him as saying.

Radan said anyone arrested would receive a warning and have their name added to a list. "If they reoffend, there will be no pardon."

Since the drive began in April, thousands have been warned and hundreds arrested across Iran for failing to adhere to the country's Islamic dress code, its toughest such crackdown in years. Women in Iran are obliged to cover all bodily contours and their heads but in recent years many have pushed the boundaries by showing off bare ankles and fashionably styled hair beneath their headscarves.

<snip>

Read more: http://www.france24.com/france24Public/en/administration/afp-news.html?id=070722152958.d5wzs73b&cat=null

[applegrove]

1. Just a shame.

[purduejake]

2. Indeed, but this certainly isn't justification for another war.

Not that you were suggesting that, but I just hope the world gets together someday to find solutions for these theocratic and oppressive governments that too many fellow world citizens live under.

[applegrove]

4. No I certainly don't want to see another war. To tell you the truth I worry

more about Iran getting the bomb than I do human rights in Iran. But it is so sad to hear that.

[Judi Lynn]

7. It's done in stages. First comes the hate campaign, giving the public reasons to condemn, then hate

the "enemy," with the goal in mind of guiding public perception to greater mindless hatred, disprespect, contempt that finally many would support bumping them off at the right moment, and to hell with the pain and suffering it would cause these people. Who cares, if it allows a fine, upstanding public somewhere else to feel a little satisfaction in its "moral superiority," as twisted, perverse, and diseased as THAT sell would be.

[applegrove]

9. I don't understand why the USA is not engaged in breaking the trade

embargoes (like airplane parts the Iranians direly need) to get Iran to the table - really - on the bomb issue. I just don't understand why there are not desperate negotiations with Iran.

The Middle East just makes me feel like weeping these days.

[rodeodance]

3. going back to the 'old ways" does not always work----esp. when the

the old ways are interpreted differently.

[LadyAziz]

5. How lame can they be?

What makes a haircut unIslamic? Mohawks, mullets, the bald look :shrug:. Religion and Politics should never be mixed.

[phillysuse]

8. A PIGTAIL

is UnIslamic!!

Pony tails should be ok

[LadyAziz]

11. Oh the Horror

:rofl: It took me a couple of seconds to get that.

[happyslug]

38. Moslem's prefer full beards.

Mohammad is created with this demand, but probably a reaction to the "Normal" dress of the Romans of his time, AND the extreme dress of the Ruling Roman Elites of his time (The sixth Century has been called the worse century for dress till 18th century France, both had their wigs, excessive makeup and overly tailored clothing).

As to "Normal" Roman style, short hair and shaved face has been the "Standard" for western male wear since the time of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (236-186 BC). IT is believed that he first ordered men to have short hair and to be clean shaved so that in battle the enemy could have NOT have hair to grab. Thus short hair and a clean shave have been the norm for Western Europe since about 200 BC (You have had periods when long hair and or breads have come into fashion, but rarely do these last more than a couple of Generations, for example wigs ere popular in the 1700s but died out in the first years of th French Revolution, Beards were popular about the Civil War, but died out by the time of WWI. the long hair of the 1960s lasted even less).

While Shot hair and to be clean shaved has been the Norm for us in the west since about 200 BC, that has NOT been the rule elsewhere in the world. The Arabs seems to have rejected it even before Muhammad, and Muhammad made it clear his rejection of the Roman Fashion. Thus as to men short hair and clean shaved is UN-ISLAMIC.

As to women's fashion, we have to look at the style of the 6th century Constantinople. Constantinople had replaced Rome as the largest City in the World sometime between the Vandals Sacking of Rome in 460 AD and the Italian Wars of the 540s (Probably right after 460, but the Record is unclear). As part of being the largest City in the world, was to be be the center of Style. Style during this period involved a lot of Makeup and wigs much like 18th Century France but the exact style of wigs and dress was different, but the size of both was not. Like 18th Century France this excessive style was reserved for the Richest, no one else could afford it. You did see some in the lower classes but that was all for most of the poor could not afford such makeup, wigs and dress. Thus when Muhammad came into history, like the French Revolutionaries in the 1790s, both rejected the excessive wigs, makeup and clothing of the existing regime and embraced simpler styles.

Thus Muhammad rejected both the traditional Roman dress AND the Extravagant style of the 6th Century. His people were to be dress simply and "traditionally". Thus BOTH sexes came to be expected to wear beards and long hair (Thus rejecting Traditional Roman Styles) but also rejected Wigs, Makeup and clothes that one can NOT work in (Thus rejecting the Court Dress of th 6th Century). Moslem's wrote these rules down and have enforced them off and on ever since. It is a way to tell everyone they are NOT Westerners, but followers of Islam.

[msongs]

6. isnt religion wonderful? nt

[maxsolomon]

10. iran's mullahs will never be able to suppress modernity

islam's fear of the future & fetishing of a non-existent past rivals american conservatism in its delusion.

please note: the koran is JUST A BOOK.

[LadyAziz]

12. I don't think they care if it is just a book,

but it is terrifying how so many grip a hold and twist scriptures to their liking. Christan fundies are one thing but boy are Islamist fundies another. I am surprised that the two groups have not hooked up. But then again it's good thing that they haven't, and if they do they maybe so busy fighting each other they may just leave the rest of us alone.

just a thought.

[AndyTiedye]

14. Never? Looks Like They're Doing It Right Now

What do you think is going to happen? "The people will rise up"???

Has that EVER happened to a theocracy?
I can't think of even one example, in all of recorded history.

[silverojo]

19. Including here in America

:scared:

[maxsolomon]

24. not true

our culture becomes more liberated every day. the rear guard actions of cultural conservatives always fail. there is no idealized past to return to.

just think: gay marriage would have been laughed at by a large majority of americans 10 years ago - now most americans just laugh at marriage, period! <zing!>

[maxsolomon]

23. i mean in terms of supressing all modernity

you can't let some of it in (cars, AC, the internet) without letting the rest in (moral decay, individual thought, women's humanity).

give iran 20 years to let the old guard fanatics die out, or have the oil run out.

one thing i know is that we're not going to kill them into loving us.

[daleo]

13. Bush plans to help Iranians dress more fashionably

Battle fatigues, body armor, nice trim military haircuts, mourning clothes...

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

15. Dresscode of mass destruction!!!!

:scared:

[leftchick]

16. The US Needs to Bomb The Hell out Of Them!!!!!

:sarcasm:

RW/DLC advice here.

[ohio2007]

20. Looks like it will be face to face talks with Iran tuesday

snip

The two sides will sit down together on Tuesday, according to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and U.S. Embassy spokesman Philip Reeker, amid U.S. allegations that Tehran is supporting violent Shiite militias in the country.

Zebari told The Associated Press by telephone that the discussions would be at the ambassadorial level and would focus on the situation in Iraq, not U.S.-Iran tensions.


snip

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8QHVAE80&show_article=1

[dipsydoodle]

17. If we criticise their values

doesn't that make us the same as Bush spreading his brand of democracy ? :shrug:

[Psephos]

18. They have no problem criticizing ours; the disparity is unsettling

Judgment is a tricky business. When it flows from appeals to authority, it seems to almost always increase the world's supply of misery.

But when it flows from a desire to improve the lot of others (as well as ourselves), it's vital and humanistic.

How strange we live in times that teach us to abandon judgment. (If you think about it, that's an unquestioned judgment itself.) Civilization depends upon considered judgment - amplifying what's just and healthy, rooting out what's degenerative or dehumanizing.

Our spiritual and ethical problems as a country and as human beings come from fear, withered judgment skills, and aversion to the sound principles of critical thinking...which lead to a loss of will to confront that which needs improvement.

[msmcghee]

25. I think you overestimate the wisdom of "judgment".

Beneath the belief that we each harbor - that our own judgment about things is inherently correct - the fact is that peoples' judgments can differ greatly - especially on important matters - meaning matters that affect us emotionally. And the differences have little to do with "reasoning ability" or "critical thinking skills".

For just one example, the judgments of the members of the USSC regarding the 2000 election were exactly according to the political / philosophical affiliation of those members. Yet, these are supposedly the most reasoned experts in the US legal system with the greatest amount of experience in such matters - people who have pledged their lives and reputation on their ability to make objective "judgments" on matters of law - where the clues and even answers are mostly written as precedent.

Judgment (on important matters) is always greatly subject to underlying emotions - no matter how much wisdom one supposedly has. Only when one has an exceptional emotional commitment to objectivity itself - can that trap be avoided. Not even SC justices can avoid the trap when the emotional stakes of the outcome are strong enough.

There are good evolutionary reasons for this IMO - but betting on good judgment in human affairs is a losing proposition in most cases.

[Psephos]

37. A thoughtful response...but the asymmetry of judgment persists despite good intentions

Which leaves those who refuse to judge at a considerable disadvantage. A neat system, if you think about, for separating winners from losers.

Seriously, you make some great points. Objectivity is nearly impossible (and maybe not even always desirable) when it comes to political matters.

However, admitting that we cannot make the process of judgment perfect doesn't mean we shouldn't work to improve it. Raw emotion is like a wild horse. It must be harnessed if it is to do any useful work. The best judgments come from a combination of deeply-held emotion, and deeply-reasoned analysis. Having a lack of discipline is hardly an argument against acquiring discipline.

Politics is the process of unequally allocating resources. Some lose so that others may win; often, the winners are cunning enough to have gamed the system to create an appearance of "fairness" (whatever that is) at the expense of those who either have less cunning, less ambition, or less interest.

Frankly, I'm not that interested in political judgment. It cleaves along party lines. It really isn't about judgment at all, but instead, about one's in-group prevailing over other peoples' out-group. Law of the jungle...except more vicious, because in the jungle the predator doesn't hate its prey, it just dispatches it.

But there are entire realms of judgment that do not involve political apportionment. These are more purely moral, which in practical terms, means they are for the common good, rather than the good of just one in-group. These are what I was addressing.

In practical terms, when we refuse to judge those who absolutely are judging us and are then acting on those judgments in menacing ways, we're slaves in thrall to an abstraction ("judgment is uncouth"). As I pointed out earlier, that abstraction is paradoxically a judgment itself. There's really no escaping it.

Nature has a proven system for dealing with creatures who fail to judge as dangerous those who would do them harm. It's called natural selection.

[ohio2007]

21. The goon squad fashion police are comming to town

beep beep

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQQN5gccMqk

[donsu]

22. religiously insane men are dangerous to women and children

and dangerous to the health of a country

[Bacchus39]

26. Iran launches new crackdown on unIslamic dress

Source: AP

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran on Monday launched a new wave of a moral crackdown against women who "dress like models" and men whose hairstyles are deemed unIslamic, police said.


Tehran's police force dispatched dozens of police cars and minibuses into the early evening rush-hour to enforce the dress rules at major squares in the city centre, an AFP correspondent said.

The new "plan to increase security in society" -- which is limited to Tehran but will later extend nationwide -- comes after a pre-summer drive by the police resulted in thousands of warnings and hundreds of arrests.

He said that the campaign would target women who were badly veiled, wore overly tight overcoats, sported excessively short trousers and were "dressed like models

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070723/wl_mideast_afp/iranwomenfashion_070723175421

[BOSSHOG]

27. Religious zealots running loose in the streets

beating women because of the way they are dressed. james dobson's wet dream.

My last deployment was in Saudi in the 90's. T and A was toes and ankles in servicemember speak.

[superconnected]

28. terrifying

Plus there's no society that suppresses womens rights that allows gays to exist.

I feel sorry for the people of Iran. A few extremist get to choose for all.

[AllexxisF1]

29. LOL

What was that old quote..."There are no bad men, just men with bad haircuts".- Sam Malone "Cheers"

[tonkatoy57]

30. "overly tight overcoats"

That's pushing it, don't you think? Overly tight overcoats? What kind of demented, repressed, nutball do you have to be to get worked up over, "overly tight overcoats"?

I ask myself about the Iranians the same question people all over the world must ask about Americans, "how did such nice people wind up with such a deranged government"?

I'm sorry, there are some fantastically beautiful Iranian women. Let's see as much of them as they are comfortable in showing.

[BrokenBeyondRepair]

31. is there any way to verify that this is even true?

anyone here currently in Iran?

[aquart]

32. Which means attacking women.

How manly.

[AnneD]

33. two different people

terrorized by their governments. Frankly, I see very little difference.

[rodeodance]

34. sure has been lots of headlines about this issue

[hatrack]

35. My, how productive.

The Iranian government is certainly grappling straight up with the many economic, social and international problems they currently face, huh?

:eyes:

[TheBaldyMan]

36. Did the Chief of Fashion Police get a gut feeling about something?

"I think hemlines may be going up next few months"

[happyslug]

39. What the Economy is going to improve?

The traditional rule in the 20th Century was when good times return, hemlines go up. As recessions kick in, hemlines go down.

The scary part is that this "Rule" seems to even apply to Playboy models. During Booms, the models are more a sex object, while during recessions the Models tend to portray themselves as more able to take care of themselves and help a man as opposes to being just a sex object. This seems to be what men find attractive in women during such times, when times are bad, men to look for someone who can help them out. while during booms men have a tendency to look at women as sex objects.

I do NOT support the above, I am just reporting what I have heard about men. women, recessions and booms. This seems to be reflected in Playboy models, and how women are portrayed during such times. Overall Hemlines going UP means a boom in underway.

[TheBaldyMan]

41. correlation doesn't mean causality

I remember that report when it first came out, the Iranian economy might be improving but that would be news to me. Ahmedinijad was elected on a platform of a better deal for the ordinary joe in the street. Rural underdevelopment is a problem and has been since the revolution in '79, the president doesn't seem too strong on his economic record. He doesn't seem to be delivering on his promises.

Thanks to Bush he has been able to use the constant attacks on Iran as a distraction from his domestic policy failures.

[Socal31]

40. Ruck Feligion!

No, really.

[Orsino]

42. "Decency" crackdowns are always used to distract from genuine issues...

...and to quell dissent.

The same might be true of many news stories about "decency" crackdowns.