SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region — The abolishment of Iran’s morality police recently caught the attention of the media and politicians, both local and international. The morality police has been suspended and then reactivated three times in 25 years by Iranian officials.
Iranian attorney general Mohammad Jafar Montazeri told ISNA news agency on Sunday that the morality police would be abolished, adding that “the morality police had nothing to do with the judiciary.”
Montazeri said the parliament and the Supreme Revolutionary Council would study mandatory Hijab laws and announce the results within 15 days.
Why the morality police is abolished: An interpretation
Zoom News quoted Reza Kaabi, a member of the Kurdistan Workers of Iran Revolutionary Society political bureau. He said that the abolishment of the morality police would not alter the current situation because “the Iranian regime has deployed hundreds of thousands of repressive forces on the streets.”
According to Kaabi, the suspension of the morality police was merely intended to trick protesters. The Iranian authorities want to convince people that they have “retreated from the crackdown on protests and the conservative laws they are implementing.”
“Those who were working for the morality police, which has been abolished, are now cracking down on protesters among other regime forces,” Kaabi said.
Those who were working for the morality police, which has been abolished, are now cracking down on protesters among other regime forces
Reza Kaabi, member of the Kurdistan Workers of Iran Revolutionary Society political bureau
Meanwhile, speaking to Sky News, Dr. Arif al-Kaabi, chairman of the Ahvaz board of directors, explained that abolishing the morality police is not the answer to its problem. There has been an extensive history of morality police resumptions and abolishments.
During the rule of Mohammad Khatami from 1997 to 2005, the morality police was abolished. From 2005 to 2013, Ahmadinejad reactivated the morality police after becoming president.
Since Hassan Rouhani became president in 2013, the morality police have been suspended.
As of 2021, current President Ebrahim Raisi has reactivated the moral police. Currently, it’s being abolished again.
Dr. Arif al-Kaabi described the abolishment of the morality police as a “tactical” decision to convince Iranian protesters that the authorities would respond to their demands.
Soran Nuri, a member of the central committee of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) told Zoom News on Monday “by abolishing the morality police, the Iranian regime wants to convey that the only protesters’ demand in Iranian cities and Rojhelat (Iranian Kudsitan) is the abolishment of the morality police.”
The Iranian regime wants to tell countries that the protesters demanded the abolishment of the morality police, and we have implemented their demand
“The Iranian regime wants to tell countries that the protesters demanded the abolishment of the morality police, and we have implemented their demand,” he said.
Nuri added that the demands of the protesters in Iran and Rojhelat are not the abolishment of the morality police, but the “fall of the Iranian regime,” so the abolishment of the morality police is only to “mislead the protests.”
Changes in the Iranian constitution
Iranian protesters and critics believe that the “extremist” situation imposed on society is due to Iran’s constitutional principles.
Maulavi Abd al-Hamid, the Sunni “imam” in Zahedan, said that if the authorities want their legitimacy to be confirmed by the people, a referendum on the constitution is necessary.
Meanwhile, Reza Kaabi, who spoke to Zoom News, explained that the constitutional revisions being published by “the regime’s supporters” are also a kind of “deception” against Iranians.
According to him, the entire Iranian constitution should be amended because it is “against humanity” and each article serves the Islamic Republic of Iran. As long as the Islamic Republic is in power, the constitution won’t be amended.”
Soran Nuri, a member of the central committee of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), told Zoom News that rumors are spreading inside Iran that the regime plans to amend its constitution.
The purpose of amending the constitution is to “reduce the widespread revolution and protests in Iran, and to tell the international community that the demands of the protesters have been met.”
After 40 years of the constitution, we have to review some of its articles
Mohammad-Reza Bahonar, a prominent figure in Iran’s Islamic principles
Mohammad-Reza Bahonar, a prominent figure in Iran’s Islamic principles, has called for constitutional amendments. “After 40 years of the constitution, we have to review some of its articles,” said Bahonar in an interview with the Khabar newspaper.
Sadegh Zibakalam, a professor at Tehran University, says the biggest shortcoming of the constitution is that it was not written by “jurists.”
Mahmoud Jaber, an Iranian political analyst, has ruled out holding a constitutional referendum any time soon.
Originally adopted on December 2, 1979, the Iranian constitution was amended in 1989 to unite the positions of President and Prime Minister.
