For the past forty years, the Muslim revolutionaries ruling Iran have been imposing and enforcing rulings that resemble medieval laws. In addition, they have written and issued thousands of bizarre and astonishing decrees and declarations that cannot be found anywhere except in surreal stories.
One of the most recent examples is the letter that Mohammad Reza Alirezaee, chairman of the Islamic Council of Abyaneh, wrote last Wednesday (May 2019), to the head of the Natanz Cultural Heritage Bureau. In the letter, Alirezaee expresses serious dissatisfaction with the “unholy and abnormal behavior outside the (Islamic) social norm and the disrespectful acts” as he observed during visits by tourists to the country. The Islamic Council as a result has ordered the cultural heritage authorities to “not allow any tourist, especially those who are in groups, to visit cities without a reliable and knowledgeable guide.” It is clear that the “well-informed and trusted guide” will most likely be a government officer rather than a tourist guide.
While this order from the chairman of the Islamic Council might seem inconceivable to tourists from different countries visiting Iran, these types of letters and orders are quite normal to officials in Iran who receive other similar letters every day. The letter, without any additional explanation, also says that “a damaging singing act has taken place in Abyaneh.” Of course, anybody who is familiar with Iran knows that singing in Iran is not illegal as male members of the Islamic state frequently sing on different occasions. In addition, the state run TV and radio programs also at times broadcast singing of men. In fact, male singers are allowed to travel abroad and perform. But this “damaging act of singing in Abyaneh” has been called a destructive and damaging act when women take part in the singing. According to these Islamic authorities, the activity is fine if the purpose of singing is to generate sadness or tears, but if it causes dancing and happiness in people then it becomes a destructive and damaging act.
These days, not only has Abyaneh been experiencing these so called “damaging acts,” but the other cities as well have seen similar responses from the Islamic Council. Fereidoun Allahyari, General Director of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of the Isfahan province, stated after this reported incident that their tour had no connection with the licensed tourist destinations and that he and his organization are completely innocent. In addition, the governor of the city of Natanz has released a series of statements saying that “these tourists have undermined the social customs and historical identity of Abyaneh” and as a result they have been identified and dealt with by Natanz’s prosecutor’s office. Based on these statements and reports, the law enforcement authorities also ordered the arrest of the “Singing Woman” along with her companions and other tourists riding two tourist buses.
It seems that this story is not yet over and may reach the capital, Tehran. Perhaps soon enough Zarif and Rouhani may react to this incident, as well as to the impact of the sanctions on the destruction of the identity of the Muslim people of Iran, in particular that of women.