2006 Iranian sumptuary law controversy

On May 19, 2006, the "National Post" of Canada published pieces by Amir Taheri and Chris Wattie falsely claiming that the Iranian parliament had passed a sumptuary law mandating a national dress code for all Iranians, Muslim and non-Muslim alike.

Both "National Post" articles went on to say that non-Muslim religious minorities in Iran would be required to wear "special insignia": yellow for Jews, red for Christians and blue for Zoroastrian. According to the article by Taheri, " [t] he new codes would enable Muslims to easily recognize non-Muslims so that they can avoid shaking hands with them by mistake, and thus becoming najis (unclean)." [cite news|author=Amir Taheri|title=A colour code for Iran's 'infidels'|publication="National Post"|date=May 19, 2006|url=http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=398274b5-9210-43e4-ba59-fa24f4c66ad4&k=28534&p=1] According to both articles, Iranian Muslims would have to wear "standard Islamic garments".

Numerous other sources, including Maurice Motamed, the Jewish member of the Iranian parliament and the Iranian Embassy in Canada, refuted the report as untrue. The "National Post" later retracted Wattie's original article ("Iran eyes badges for Jews: Law would require non-Muslim insignia") and published an article, also by Wattie, to the contrary ("Experts say reports of badges for Jews in Iran is untrue"). cite news|author=Chris Wattie|title=Experts say report of badges for Jews in Iran is untrue|publication=National Post|date=2006-05-19|url=http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=6626a0fa-99de-4f1e-aebe-bb91af82abb3|accessdate=2006-05-20] .Wattie's original article listed only "human rights groups" and "Iranian expatriates living in Canada" as its sources. Amir Taheri made a statement on May 22 saying the National Post story he authored was used by "a number of reports that somehow jumped the gun" and that he stands by the article. Amir states he raised the issue "not as a news story" but rather "as an opinion column". [cite news|author=Amir Taheri|title=PRESS RELEASE: AMIR TAHERI ADDRESSES QUERIES ABOUT DRESS CODE STORY |publication=Benador Associates|date=2006-05-22|url=http://www.benadorassociates.com/article/19508|accessdate=2006-05-22] .

The Associated Press later refuted the "Post" report as well, saying that "a draft law moving through parliament encourages Iranians to wear Islamic clothing to protect the country's Muslim identity but does not mention special attire for religious minorities, according to a copy obtained Saturday by The Associated Press." [cite news|author=The Associated Press|title=Iranian Law Would Encourage Islamic Dress |publication=The Associated Press|date=2006-05-20|url=http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/feeds/ap/2006/05/20/ap2760881.html|accessdate=2006-05-21] Reuters also reported that "A copy of the bill obtained by Reuters contained no such references. Reuters correspondents who followed the dress code session in parliament as it was broadcast on state radio heard no discussion of proscriptions for religious minorities." [cite news|author=Reuters|title=Iran dress code law does not target minorities - MPs |publication=Reuters|date=2006-05-20|url=http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-05-21T190011Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-250326-1.xml&archived=False|accessdate=2006-05-21]

Refutation

In Chris Wattie's follow-up article "Experts say reports of badges for Jews in Iran is untrue", the "National Post" quotes Meir Javdanfar, an Israeli expert on Iran and the Middle East:

Meir Javdanfar, an Israeli expert on Iran and the Middle East who was born and raised in Tehran, said yesterday that he was unable to find any evidence that such a law had been passed.

“None of my sources in Iran have heard of this,” he said. “I don’t know where this comes from.”

Mr. Javdanfar said that not all clauses of the law had been passed through the parliament and said the requirement that Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians wear special insignia might be part of an older version of the Islamic dress law, which was first written two years ago.

“In any case, there is no way that they could have forced Iranian Jews to wear this,” he added. “The Iranian people would never stand for it.”

...as did the news radio station AM 940 Montreal.

" [I] ndependent reporter Meir Javedanfar, an Israeli Middle East expert who was born and raised in Tehran, says the report is false."It's absolutely factually incorrect," he told The New 940 Montreal."Nowhere in the law is there any talk of Jews and Christians having to wear different colours. I've checked it with sources both inside Iran and outside.""The Iranian people would never stand for it. The Iranian government wouldn't be stupid enough to do it." [cite news|url=http://www.940news.com/locale.php?news=2511|title=Iran report of Holocaust-style badges questioned|author=|publication=940news.com|date=2006-05-19|accessdate=2006-05-20]

The "National Post" also quotes the London-based Iranian commentator Ali Reza Nourizadeh:

"Ali Reza Nourizadeh, an Iranian commentator on political affairs in London, suggested that the requirements for badges or insignia for religious minorities was part of a “secondary motion” introduced in parliament, addressing the changes specific to the attire of people of various religious backgrounds.

Mr. Nourizadeh said that motion was very minor and was far from being passed into law.

That account could not be confirmed."

According to Sam Kermanian, secretary general of the Iranian American Jewish Federation, his contacts in the Iranian Jewish community, including Maurice Motamed, said that there was no such law. "The New York Sun" quoted Kermanian as saying that "We have not been able to confirm the accuracy of the report, nonetheless we are pursuing this issue with concern [.] "cite news|url=http://www.nysun.com/article/33095|title=Scramble Is On To Confirm Report Iran Wants Jews To Wear Badges|author=Eli Lake|publication=The New York Sun|accessdate=2006-05-20|date=2006-05-19]

According to Agence France-Presse,

"This report is a complete fabrication and is totally false," Maurice Motammed told AFP in Tehran. "It is a lie, and the people who invented it wanted to make political gain" by doing so.....Motammed said he had been present in parliament when a bill to promote "an Iranian and Islamic style of dress for women" was voted. "In the law, there is no mention of religious minorities," he added.

MPs representing Iran's Jewish, Christian and Zoroastrian minorities sit on all parliamentary committees, particularly the cultural one, he said.

"This is an insult to the Iranian people and to religious minorities in Iran," he said.cite news|url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060519/wl_mideast_afp/iranrightsreligion_060519200726|title=Reports Iran to tag non-Muslims denied by Jewish MP|date=2006-05-19|accessdate=2006-05-20|author=Agence France Presse|publication=Yahoo]

According to the Toronto Star,

"In a phone interview from Tel Aviv, Israeli commentator and Iranian exile Meir Jawadnafar angrily dismissed the story as "baseless." Toronto-based Iranian blogger Hossein Derkhshan said he could find no evidence of any such plans.

Repeated calls to Post editor-in-chief Doug Kelly went unreturned. The paper's website ran a story headlined "Experts say report of badges ... is untrue."" cite news|url=http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1148077815553|title=Tehran denounces `baseless' report|date=2006-05-20|accessdate=2006-05-21|author=Toronto Star|publication=Toronto Star]

Early Reaction

Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, wrote a letter to the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan protesting the new law and urging the United Nations to take action. Rabbi Hier compared the Iranian law to the Nazi requirement for the Jews to wear yellow badges that "ended with the Holocaust that led to the murder of six million Jews and millions of other innocent civilians." "Given President Ahmadinejad’s record of labeling the Holocaust a myth and calling for the obliteration of the State of Israel," he wrote, "we must urgently take action." [cite web|author=Rabbi Marvin Hier|title=Letter to the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan|url=http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/apps/nl/content.asp?c=fwLYKnN8LzH&b=312458&content_id={385AF430-D3F8-4C1D-9BD9-303104551FD8}&notoc=1|date=May 18, 2006|accessdate=2006-05-19]

However, since then the passage of such a law has been called into question. "We're looking into it," Annan's spokesperson in New York said, "and we haven't got anything solid."

According to Kayhan, the Iranian foreign ministry called the Canadian Ambassador to Iran for an explanation and apology. Some Iranian journalists and analysts asked the Iranian government to file a case in international court against National Post, as "BBC Persian" reported. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2006/05/060522_he-mb-press.shtml BBCPersian.com ] ]

Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper reacted to the report during a news conference with Australian Prime Minister John Howard. Harper said the Iranian regime is "very capable of this kind of action" and that "It boggles the mind that any regime on the face of the Earth would want to do anything that could remind people of Nazi Germany". [cite news|author=Canadian Press|title=Harper says Iran reports about religious clothing labels reminiscent of Nazis |publication=Hamilton Spectator|date=2006-05-19|url=http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/breaking%20news/breaking%20news_8264434.html|accessdate=2006-05-23] .

On May 21 Iran summoned Canada's ambassador to Tehran to explain the remarks made by Canada's Prime Minister. [cite news|author=Reuters|title= Iran summons Venner over PM's remarks |publication=Reuters Canada|date=2006-05-24|url=http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-05-24T171651Z_01_OLI455427_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-IRAN-CANADA-COL.XML|accessdate=2006-05-24] Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said the Canadian ambassador had been summoned so Iran could object "to the Canadian prime minister's unwise comments" and that "We invite the Canadians to be deeper in their comments. It is not good for an official to make comments based on wrong information". [cite news|author=Agence France Presse |title= Tehran chastises Canadian envoy over PM's remarks |publication=The Daily Star|date=2006-05-24|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=24705|accessdate=2006-05-24]

Apology

On May 24, 2006, the "National Post" apologized for its reports that the Iranian law would "require Jews and other religious minorities in Iran to wear badges". "It is now clear the story is not true," wrote Editor-in-chief Douglas Kelly in a long editorial appearing on Page 2. "We apologize for the mistake and for the consternation it has caused not just "National Post" readers, but the broader public who read the story."The apology includes a description of story sources and factors that contributed to the decision to run the story.
Amir Taheri is identified as the initial source for the "story of the alleged badge law". Story confirmation described in the apology included the dean and associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. The remaining positive confirmation described consists of two Iranian exiles in Canada who said they had heard of the story from contacts in Iran and they believed it to be true. Confirmation was attempted with the Iranian embassy in Ottawa which refused to confirm or deny the allegation.

The "National Post" apology also identifies one of the factors that contributed to the decision to run the story as being "previous statements of the Iranian President."

Context of United States-Iran-Israel relations

"For in-depth articles, see United States-Iran relations, Iran-Israel relations."

Amir Taheri, author of one of the two original National Post articles, is a speaker for Benador Associates, which is a public relations firm and speakers bureau that promotes expert writers and speakers focusing primarily on United States foreign policy in the Middle East, particularly those from a neoconservative point of view.

During 2005-2006, there were tensions and threats of military actions against Iran by the United States and Israel. Claims were made that during 2003-2006, the United States violated Iranian territorial sovereignty by overflights of unmanned aerial vehicles, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19820-2005Feb12.html U.S. Uses Drones to Probe Iran For Arms] , February 13, 2005, Washington Post] [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/07/AR2005110701450.html Iran Protests U.S. Aerial Drones] , November 8, 2005, Washington Post] sending US soldiers onto Iranian territory, [http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?050124fa_fact Annals of National Security: The Coming Wars: The New Yorker ] ] and sending of members or former members of armed organisations, the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) [http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?itemid=8126 The US war with Iran has already begun] , June 21, 2005, 2005, Scott Ritter] [http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/US_outsourcing_special_operations_intelligence_gathering_0413.html On Cheney, Rumsfeld order, US outsourcing special ops, intelligence to Iraq terror group, intelligence officials say] , by Larisa Alexandrovna, April 13, 2006, The Raw Story] , which the U.S. State Department designates a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and the Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PEJAK), [http://kucinich.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=42505 Kucinich Questions The President On US Trained Insurgents In Iran: Sends Letter To President Bush] , Dennis Kucinich, April 18, 2006] into Iranian territory, allegedly to provoke violent ethnic conflict.

See also

* Propaganda
* Yellow badge
* National Post
* Blasphemy laws of Islamic Republic of Iran

References

External links

* "National Post" story: [http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=398274b5-9210-43e4-ba59-fa24f4c66ad4&k=28534 A colour code for Iran's 'infidels'] , May 19, 2006
* [http://www.upi.com/InternationalIntelligence/view.php?StoryID=20060519-105912-5198r UPI story]
* [http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3252830,00.html Ynet story]
* [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1145961377561&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull "Jerusalem Post" story]
* [http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060519/wl_mideast_afp/iranrightsreligion_060519200726 "Agence France-Presse" story]
* [http://hoder.com/weblog/archives/015264.shtml The real story behind the 'badges for Iranian Jews']
* [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/717935.html Canada's National Post retracts report that Iranian Jews will be forced to wear yellow patches]
* [http://ottsun.canoe.ca/News/National/2006/05/22/1591650-sun.html PM's Iran remark angers Muslims]
* [http://www.iranian.ws/iran_news/publish/article_15731.shtml Aussie PM compares Iran to Nazi Germany]
* [http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m23417&l=i&size=1&hd=0 Latest Hitler: how lies become news]
* [http://warrenreports.tpmcafe.com/node/30037 The Lobby's Yellow Star Lie]
* [http://www.indybay.org/news/2006/05/1824373.php Another Fraud on Iran: No Legislation on Dress of Religious Minorities]
* [http://thechronicleherald.ca/Canada/504836.html Harper says Iran ‘capable’ of forcing Nazi-like clothing labels]
* [http://www.pej.org/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=4709&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0 Creating Kristallnacht: Hate Baiting at the National Post]
* [http://www.benadorassociates.com/article/19508 PRESS RELEASE: AMIR TAHERI ADDRESSES QUERIES ABOUT DRESS CODE STORY]
* [http://www.sptimes.com/2006/05/23/Opinion/Correction__Iran_stor.shtml Correction: Iran story discredited]
* [http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HE24Ak03.html Yellow journalism and chicken hawks]
* [http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=33322 Iran Target of Apparent Disinformation Ploy]
* [http://www.pej.org/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=4730&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0 CanWest Goebbels: In the Service of War]
* [http://www.judeoscope.ca/article.php3?id_article=0375 IRAN TO REINSTATE DHIMMI DRESS CODE FOR JEWS, ZOROASTRIANS AND CHRISTIANS]
* [http://www.forward.com/articles/7844 False Report Triggers Rush Of Iranian-Nazi Comparisons]
* [http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/apps/nl/content.asp?c=fwLYKnN8LzH&b=312458&content_id=%7BFF2E589C-0C66-449A-8A9A-6FFE0A44B0D4%7D&notoc=1 In Response To Wiesenthal Center’s Query: U.N. Investigation Finds No Evidence Of Religious Minority Dress Code In Iran]