An Iranian official has raised eyebrows by claiming that women owning pet dogs is a Western conspiracy to stop them from having children.
Seyyed Mohammad Mahdi Hosseini Hamedani, Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist representative in the Iranian province of Alborz, said that having pet dogs is a “planned scheme by colonial powers”.
Hamedani is Imam of Friday Prayers in the city of Karaj, and his comments were made during the sermon in which he took aim at women’s lifestyles in the Islamic Republic, criticising them for “adopting animals instead of having and raising kids”.
Pet dogs have long been a thorn in the side of Iran’s religious-political class, with the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Iranian Parliament) passing a law banning dog walking in public in 2019.
Iran’s conservative clergy views dogs as dirty and regards owning pet dogs as copying Western behaviour. Despite the ban, pet dogs remain popular among Iranians, particularly the young.
Anti-Western conspiracy theories proliferate in the Middle Eastern nation, with the Islamic regime regularly promoting a number of bizarre and irrational claims.
Some of the conspiracies posited by the Islamic regime include that the West created ISIS to divide Muslims, that Israel spreads homosexuality for world domination, and that immodest, promiscuous women are causing earthquakes in the country.
In addition to banning pet dogs, the Iranian regime has closed down shops selling Barbie dolls, outlawed Valentine’s Day, and launched a crackdown on Western hairstyles including the mullet, ponytails, and long hair for men.
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Story By: William McGee, Sub-Editor: James King, Agency: Newsflash
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