So sad 'Happy' hurts Iranian's 'public chastity'



 
So sad that six young Iranians who posted a version of Pharrell Williams' hit song ‘Happy on YouTube have been arrested by police and paraded on state television for hurting public chastity.  See the video here, LBC.

But even sadder that Mohammed Shafiq from the Ramadhan Foundation in the UK who is, apparently, trying to promote better understanding of Islam, got all defensive and intolerant when asked on an LBC Radio Phone-In what it was about people’s interpretation of the faith that explained the Iranian’s actions.

He wouldn’t answer this question and instead berated presenter Nick Ferrari for the tone of his question which, he said, was itself causing offence.

His intolerance was mirrored by the Iranian’s action and shows what a huge gulf we have of understanding.  There’s a cultural gulf too – the very phrase ‘hurting public chastity’ seems to be a literal Google Translate term that doesn’t reflect the true meaning.  Perhaps the Farsi term was, “scandalising public morals or public decency”?  We’d understand that term better, if not the application in this case.

The amateur video shows three young men and three unveiled women dancing to the tune on Tehran's streets and rooftops.

"We have made this video as Pharrell Williams' Fans in 8 hours, with iPhone 5S.”Happy" was an excuse to be happy. We enjoyed every second of making it. Hope it puts a smile on your face," reads a message at the end of the video, titled Happy We are from Tehran.
Police Chief Hossein Sajedinia was quoted by the ISNA news agency as saying: "After a vulgar clip which hurt public chastity was released in cyberspace, police decided to identify those involved in making that clip.

"Following a series of intelligence and police operations and after coordinating with the judiciary, all the suspects were identified and arrested."  ISNA said the detainees had "confessed to their criminal acts".

State television aired blurred pictures of the video and then showed the six with their backs turned to camera.

Williams, whose song from the film Despicable Me 2 has been one of the biggest hits of the year, commented on the arrests on Twitter.  He wrote: "It's beyond sad these kids were arrested for trying to spread happiness."

Conservatives say many young Iranians are abandoning Islamic values and turning to a more Western way of life.

Under Islamic law, in force in Iran since the 1979 revolution, women must cover themselves from head to toe.

More than a decade ago a "morality police" unit was formed to verify that women scrupulously respect the dress code in public.

The internet is also heavily filtered in Iran, with the authorities blocking access to popular social networking sites.

Civil liberties and women's rights have returned to the forefront since President Hassan Rohani's election last June.

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