Recently, the Iranian woman’s anti-Hijab movement drew praise and support from all around the world while infuriating the country’s Islamic leadership. Now, according to Maulana Mohammad Abolghassem Doulabi, out of the 75,000 mosques in the country, 50,000 have been shuttered, reflecting a decline in the number of people who attend.
On June 1, he voiced concern about the alarming situation and stated that the statistics represent a troubling admission for a country based on Islamic beliefs.
Notably, Maulana Mohammad Abolghassem Doulabi serves as the liaison between the administration of Sayyid Ebrahim Raisolsadati, commonly known as Ebrahim Raisi and the country’s seminaries as well as included in the Assembly of Experts a deliberative body charged with selecting Iran’s Supreme Leader.
He stressed that the society’s religiosity is waning, and pointed out that the legitimacy of a government driven by religious decree is undermined. He mentioned, “When people look at the output of the religion, they decide to enter the religion or leave the religion with reasons including ‘the humiliation of people in the name of religion,’ ‘falsification of religious concepts and teachings,’ and ‘depriving people of a decent life and creating poverty in the name of religion.’
The prominent Muslim cleric vocalised his distress as more Iranians of all ages grew weary of the government’s pretext of Islam as the cornerstone of its brutal dictatorship, as evidenced by months of violent protest since September of last year in response to Mahsa Amini’s untimely death while in the care of the morality police after being imprisoned for wearing her hijab inappropriately.
Iran has over 60% of its mosques closed due to a lack of devotees for prayer. He proclaimed people choose to quit or join a religion based on its repercussions when they are brought up.
It is crucial to remember that Iran is regulated by an extremely rigid Islamic law, and even the slightest deviance from it can lead to severe penalties.