Mad Mullahs
As if women were not sufficiently suppressed in Iran - the fairer sex is also being blamed for causing earthquakes, would you believe.
An Iranian cleric - Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi - is quoted as saying:
"Many women who do not dress modestly ... lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which increases earthquakes."
Now 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 - by wearing 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 last week. "There is no other solution but to take refuge in religion and to adapt our lives to Islam's moral codes."
Complete baloney, of course, but instead of being slapped down and being told to stop preaching such offensive rubbish - Iran's politicians are using the mullahs to help to spread a sense of fear and alarm.
For example, President Ahmadinejad made an earthquake prediction two weeks ago and while he did not an exact date for such a disater to occur he warned Tehran's 12 million citizens to be prepared "... at least 5 million should leave Tehran so it is less crowded," - he said.
Meanwhile, the welfare minister, Sadeq Mahsooli, said prayers and pleas for forgiveness were the best "formulae 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."
But back to the religious soothsayer Sedighi who sounds just like an old-fashioned snake oil salesman to me:
"A divine authority told me to tell the people to make a general repentance. Why? Because calamities threaten us".
Referring to the violence that followed last June's disputed presidential election, Sedighi continued:
"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."
Now scientists and seismologists have been warning for at least two decades that Tehran could be struck by a catastrophic quake in the near future - because the Iranian capital straddles of fault lines in the earth's crust - one of which is more than 50 miles long.
But even though women were not responsible for creating these fault lines - as far as anyone can tell - they are nonetheless getting the blame which is, plainly, as daft as it sounds.
