Iranian cleric: Promiscuous women cause earthquakes
Cleric says there is no solution but to take refuge in religion and to adapt to Islam's moral codes.
By The Associated Press Tags: Iran Israel newsA senior Iranian cleric said Monday women who wear revealing clothing and behave promiscuously are to blame for earthquakes.
Iran is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, and the cleric's unusual explanation for why the earth shakes follows a prediction by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that a quake is certain to hit Tehran and that many of its 12 million inhabitants should relocate.
"Many women who do not dress modestly ... lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes," Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi was quoted as saying by Iranian media.
Women in the Islamic Republic are required by law to cover from head to toe, but many, especially the young, ignore some of the more strict codes and wear tight coats and scarves pulled back that show much of the hair.
"What can we do to avoid being buried under the rubble?" Sedighi asked during a prayer sermon Friday. "There is no other solution but to take refuge in religion and to adapt our lives to Islam's moral codes."
Seismologists have warned for at least two decades that it is likely the sprawling capital will be struck by a catastrophic quake in the near future.
Some experts have even suggested Iran should move its capital to a less seismically active location. Tehran straddles scores of fault lines, including one more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) long, though it has not suffered a major quake since 1830.
In 2003, a powerful earthquake hit the southern city of Bam, killing 31,000 people - about a quarter of that city's population - and destroying its ancient mud-built citadel.
"A divine authority told me to tell the people to make a general repentance. Why? Because calamities threaten us," said Sedighi, Tehran's acting Friday prayer leader.
Referring to the violence that followed last June's disputed presidential election, he said, "The political earthquake that occurred was a reaction to some of the actions (that took place). And now, if a natural earthquake hits Tehran, no one will be able to confront such a calamity but God's power, only God's power.... So let's not disappoint God."
The Iranian government and its security forces have been locked in a bloody battle with a large opposition movement that accuses Ahmadinejad of winning last year's vote by fraud.
Ahmadinejad made his quake prediction two weeks ago but said he could not give an exact date. He acknowledged that he could not order all of Tehran's 12 million people to evacuate. "But provisions have to be made.... At least 5 million should leave Tehran so it is less crowded," the president said.
Minister of Welfare and Social Security Sadeq Mahsooli said prayers and pleas for forgiveness were the best formulas to repel earthquakes.
"We cannot invent a system that prevents earthquakes, but God has created this system and that is to avoid sins, to pray, to seek forgiveness, pay alms and self-sacrifice," Mahsooli said.
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Abraham did not know where He Was Going,it was some place chosen for Him because of the wickedness of the canaanites ....and the land of babylon was given to all the animals from Noas ark iheritance,becouse even becouse of the distruction of HIS very own Temple in Jerusalem,..also prepared to slay 3or4 bilione people if ther is a Euphetes river ownership agument .?what if the eathquackes last all day all month or all year?
Iranian Women, Some time back,Asia Times published an article claiming that some 300,000 Iranian women went into prostitution in Europe,especially in Belgium & Holland. Is that one of the reasons they cover their entire body & only leave two holes to peep at the world !? They probably have a lot of fun among themselves,poking all kinds of vulgar jokes at the innocent passerby. Can anyone explain why there are so many Iranian prostitutes in Europe ?
This is an Israeli website. Go have another coffee.
"for electing a loney, crazy, barbaric animal like Ahmadinejad." "Please don`t call him a "Loney"" Please don't bring animals into it, either...
Considering that Iran is for the most part is a theocracy it should give us great comfort that the leading theologians have such a great grasp of science. Who would have thunk it!! Yes that's it! Promiscuous women are the cause of earthquakes. Clearly insecure Iranian men who are afraid to let their women go out because of their small endowment...shall we say...petrified they will meet a larger more satisfying earthquake. What is the cause of rain or lack thereof insecure men with tiny bedfellows. No Nukes for these guys, please!
Amazing the Iranians are blaming their own women for the earthquakes instead of the zionists. Are the mullahs feeling alright, do they need a doctor?
It's a surprise and a relief: on such a day, Haaretz is capable to even make articles that do not criticize Israel. Well done
With such brilliance emanating from Iranian religious scholars, and who powerful sway over government laws and decisions, yep let them have nukes. I feel safer already.
This article is by far the largest piece of excrement I have ever seen. Earthquakes are caused by seismic shifts in the Earth's crust and not by "promiscuous" women. Your men bastardize the Quran just to keep women under your evil thumbs. You are evil incarnate! What about your promiscous men who rape other women or in other words are sexually active by force with other women? This is cheating on your wives. You are the heretics! Keep your garbage articles out of America!
If only one could partition the world so that a part could be for religious nutters of whatever faith - and the rest of us could be left to get on with life in comparative sanity.
"Ovadia Yosef, a prominent ultra-Orthodox Israeli rabbi, declared that Hurricane Katrina to be "God's punishment for President Bush's support of the August 2005 withdrawal of Jewish settlers from the Gaza strip"."
"but the people who justify Jews taking back Palestine rely on that Bible" Really? FYI, only religious people do - Jews and Christians alike. Secular people justify the return of the Jewish people to their ancestral homeland with the undisputed and unbroken historical, cultural and linguistic ties of Jews to their land. Facts, not myths. Early Zionists where mostly secular. The Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel does not mention a divine promise or God among the reasons for the foundation of the state.
How many people died in the recent rain and mud slides,not an earthquake,but just as deadly.
There's a very simple solution to this problem. If Ahmadinejad feels the need to relocate 5 million people from Tehran, to ease potential earthquake devastation, he can send all the promiscuous women here. We would happily take all the promiscuous women here in Toronto. Problem solved. Everybody wins.
and view naked women and men riding bikes through streets , or go to melbourn and drink tea in acafe where all customers are naked ,or go swim in naked beaches in europe and usa and south america ,or visit private clubs where all members must undress fully before going in ,or ride the subway trains in NY without pants or watch the annual gay-pride parades in houston and chicago .the cleric would be amazed and come up with less-fanatic sermons .
Sadly, I doubt they are joking.
O.K. You are absolutely right Ahmadinejad is not a loney, but he certainly is a looney.
"Did you feel the earth shake too?" "Oh, definitely. Let's be promiscuous and make it shake again."
I'm rothl! What about the promiscuous men they are being promiscuous with? Are they not also to blame for the earthquakes?
"Sadeq Mahsooli said prayers and pleas for forgiveness were the best formulas to repel earthquakes." A divine authority told me to tell the people to make a general repentance. Why? Because calamities threaten us," said Sedighi.He should see a doctor to diagnose him with a faulty X25 brain region, that is what causes people to hear voices. The Nineveh syndrome causes him to think that he is the prophet Jonah.By all means repent, but don't expell 5 million women from Teheran, because that would set off an earthquake and then Israeli rescue teams would come to the rescue. the horror.
where in their beaches there are more naked women than anywhere else
Maybe we should think twice about reaching out to Iran et al. It's possible that rather than our moderates making common cause with their moderates, our loonies will realize how much they share with their loonies.
Finally - A cleric in Iran who has a sense of humour!
They DIDN'T elect A'Jad. But all that aside, please, girls, show some more hair and ankles. Tehran is built on a fault line.
They're all the same... Religious extremism, whether from Muslims, Jews, Christians or any other group, is something the world would be a lot better off without.
interesting but the bible doesn't just blame women
The day before the earthquake in Haiti, 1000 women marched completly naked through the city. The same thing happened in Chile. Naked women were seen dancinhg in the street the day before the quake. Therefore, here is how we can bring down the regime in Iran. Organize a nude parade.
Didn't know the Iranian Muslim men were so weak of character that they lose control like that. The west should definitely exploit the Iranians weakness.
Why are they so afraid of womam. We know woman could do a better job in the ME. If Meir still alive and woman in Arab countries had more power their would be ppeace
..you, yourself, are on crack. Have you been tripping since the last June elections? It was rigged...
..let my people go....
We don't have to rely solely on the bible to establish our claims, there are artifacts and ancient cities that indicate our entitlement, all bearing Hebrew writings, none with Arabic inscriptions anywhee to be found Lots of old Jewish coins abound, hardly hide nor hair of an old Arabic coin I'm sure you've hear of Solomon's Stables, well I've actually visited a couple Can you tell me where I can find a similar site that was used by your Prophet?
?Imodestly dressed women cause earthquakes? Arent these the same zeolots that believe supporting terrorists, and blowing up non believers is the will of God. The Persian nation went from the pearl of the mideast to a standup comedy routine.
This cleric seems to lack faith in the power of God to spark imagination in his favorite creation, man, and enable him to devise an earthquake prevention system. "We cannot invent a system that prevents earthquakes, but God has created this system and that is to avoid sins, to pray, to seek forgiveness, pay alms and self-sacrifice," Mahsooli said.
In what way is the opinion of Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi any different from the the Rabbinic Alliance of America?s opinion that the the earthquake in Haiti was due to homosexuality. Ultra-religious buffoons are all alike no matter which religion they profess to represent. It is only when governments kowtow to the religious right, be it in Iran, Israel, or Texas, that the opinions of morons threatens all the rest of us.
What a bunch of clowns. If this is Iran's plan for responding to an earthquake, imagine their plan for responding to other threats.
for an Iranian earthquake, what will fist clenching and threats to wiping out Israel get you. To the Iranian cleric who judges women, pray to the tweth imam and repent from your hipocrisy before Iran gets it it deserves. The prune hook will be placed deep within your jaws and suddendly Islams lies about the Judge that sits in Jerusalem, will let it catch all of your crones that comes for the feast.
2004 earthquakes & tsunami that kill and buried hundreds of thousand of Indonesian, else why the big shake.
Although Jews were banned from the Holy Land by edict of Roman Emperor Hadrian, Some remained in Palestine from those days to this. I submit as an example the Zeinati family in Peki'in. Moreover, when Mark Twain and others visited Jerusalem during the 19th century, they found that the city actually had a Jewish majority.
Maybe he's a convert to Islam? Now honestly, the author of this scoop has never heard of rabbis who issue opinions from anything from Holocaust to the racking the nose on Sabbath. He's neither a woman who ever tried to pass by the Meah-Shearim Orthodox neighborhood in Jerusalem with the trousers above knees. S(he) would know then what the arranged, targeted earthquake looks like.
I think we should get a second opinion on this important issue from some Neturei Karta rabbis.
Yes, some religious Jews justify Israel taking back "Palestine" for biblical reasons. These Jews are a tiny minority. The remainder rely on resitution, "necessity" (the sanctuary argument), history and morality, as well as the principle of not rewarding wrongdoers. The religious arguments are a mere distraction but of course focussed on by the very large anti-Jewish crowd.
if they want to attribute it to something else, so be it!
if they want to attribute it to something else, so be it!
Jeez thats all my girlfriend needed is another excuse. Not tonight dear it might cause an earthquake. Perhaps thats the meaning of the phrase "Did the earth move for you"
I want that woman!
this says everything one wants to know about the iranian "leadership"!!! but luckily, not about the iranian people.....
We can joke all we want but pity most Iranians, peolpe with great culture and history who are being hijacked by a few crazy dictators who use religion as a tool. Iranians need to somehow revolt and bring true democracy to this great country that once was.
...lol.. A while ago,we had the "aids infected melons"and "spy squirrels". How does this regime expect to be taken seriously?
I'm a pretty religious person myself, but I can't see how one particular vice could cause so much calamity. I'm already convinced we're living in the end times, but it takes more than showing a little skin to bring down the fire and brimstone.
This islamic regime has taken Iran back to the stone ages. Where are all the smart intelectuals of Iran? How much more of this embaressing comments can we take? If we don't get rid of this regime asap, the Iran that was so great and wonderful will be a laughing stock of the rest of the world. Down with the Islamic Republic! Long live Israel! Happy 63rd birthday!
Your observation does not hold water. The Jews follow the Bible while the Moslems follow the Koran, which for your information are two totally different books.
"for electing a loney, crazy, barbaric animal like Ahmadinejad." Please don't call him a "Loney"
A bit of Public nudity in Tehran should clinch it for the Israelis
I don't happen to believe him, but the people who justify Jews taking back Palestine rely on that Bible which cites a number of natural disasters caused by moral failures. You can't have it both ways; if the Bible stories about this are just myths, what about claims of ownership based on that bible?
of the way Iranian dress, etc but for electing a loney, crazy, barbaric animal like Ahmadinejad.