Promoting hijab by beating / Their work is not right, but we need them

1984 August 28 Iranian airliner was hijacked. The final destination of the hijackers was Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. The passengers were in Iraq for a week and in addition to visiting parts of Baghdad city and the market of this city, they were also taken to visit Karbala. They were stationed in a hotel and Iraqi cameras filmed them and broadcast them on Iraqi TV.

In the middle of this, one of the scenes that was broadcasted on Iraqi TV was reflected in Hashemi Rafsanjani's diary; 1984 August 29; "Today, the passengers of the hijacked plane were taken to Karbala for pilgrimage. "The film that they broadcast on Iraqi TV showed many female passengers without veils."

On September 4, after a week of challenge and pursuit, Iraq refused to return the plane, but the passengers and crew arrived in Tehran on a Dutch flight. These returns can be the scene of a national welcome, but according to Hashemi, a strange thing happened to the passengers at the airport; "About thirty of them were taken from the airport to Evin prison by the Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office [Tehran] to investigate their behavior in Iraq. It seems that [the Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office] did not do a good job, I warned them to release them."

About a month before this incident, the public prosecutor of Tehran made a strong statement that the custodians of offices, public places, hotels, and wedding halls should not allow women who "do not observe hijab and correct Islamic clothing" to enter, otherwise they will be prosecuted.

Recently, Tehran witnessed demonstrations against hijab, which were sometimes accompanied by strange violence. In his speech, the spokesman of the Minister of Interior, Natiq Nouri, criticized the actions taken in these demonstrations, despite criticizing the hijab, and said: "Are you a revolutionary? Hizbullah certainly does not punch the naked eye. He doesn't pull a razor and doesn't accuse anyone of adultery." (Information newspaper, July 28, 1984)

In Friday prayer sermons, Hashemi Rafsanjani defended the principle of the protests by attacking the hijab wearers and said: "If the government officials do not do their duty well, the people will enter the stage themselves." But he said that people don't need to come to the stage to fight against hijab, and they will ask people to come whenever necessary. Hashemi did not consider some violent acts to be the work of Hezbollah, but advised the Hezbollah: "You who curse a person without a veil, he may also curse your sacred things." (Information Newspaper, July 28, 1984)
The presence of motorcyclists in the demonstrations gave a terrible face to the protests against hijab and terrified women and children; The panic that was multiplied by breaking the windows of the shops.

On March 3, Hashemi has a story about the meeting of the heads of the forces in the presence of the Imam; "At night, we were guests of Ahmad Agha. Mr. Velayati, Ardabili, Khamenei and [Mir Hossein] Mousavi. Imam also participated in this meeting; They are fine. There was a discussion about Hezbollah's demonstration against veiling. Some people think that it was a good thing and that this demonstration was a threat to those who are not veiled.

Despite the criticism of extremists, these demonstrations were repeated in the same way in 1985. March 1985, Tehran was again the scene of demonstrations against veiling. Hashemi's note on April 17, 1985, is very readable: "We were the guests of the Prime Minister that night; There, there was a discussion about the movements of Hezbollah motorcyclists in the streets and their dealings with homeless people, which has increased these days. It was decided to prevent their action without harshly criticizing them, because a non-signing notice has been distributed to call for demonstrations against the war, and it may be necessary for Hezbollah forces to be on the streets on Saturday." They stayed in the street and violent protests continued for several days. Hashemi, 1985 April 21: "Mr. Natiq, on the phone, raised the problem of controlling Hezbollah; Especially after the approval of the president in the last Friday prayer. It was decided to talk to Mr. Khamenei himself to solve the problem."

Two days later, the president gave an interview: "Whatever this demonstration was and how many days it was, it is enough and it should not continue... Some of the events that have happened include entering a doctor's office or, for example, inside a cafe drinking tea. It is not the work of Hezbollah, but the work of influential groups. We don't." (Jumhouri newspaper, 1985 April 24)

Jafar Shir Ali Nia