Flirting youths outrage Iranian hard-liners

[democratic]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/02/28/religion.iran.young.reut/

TEHRAN, Iran (Reuters) -- Outraged by scenes of young boys and girls using Shiite Islam's most sacred mourning day as an opportunity to flirt in public, Iran's religious hard-liners are calling on authorities to stamp out such "vulgar displays."

The main focus of hard-line anger was a gathering of several hundred youngsters at Mohseni square in affluent northern Tehran earlier this month on the night of Ashura.

Religious figures in Iran, including President Mohammad Khatami, a reformist cleric, have noted with dismay that Iran's disproportionately youthful population, around two-thirds of whom were born after the 1979 Islamic revolution, are increasingly turning away from religion.

Mohsen Kadivar, a mid-ranking cleric and philosophy lecturer whose views have landed him in prison, told Reuters in an interview earlier this month that young people in secular Turkey were more interested in religion than those in Iran.

"This shows that religion is voluntary. Forcing it on society has the opposite effect," he said.

[TahitiNut]

1. The Sin of Lucifer.

As the myth is told, Lucifer ("light-bringer" - an angel who served at the time of Creation) refused to love God's "children" (humanity) proclaiming that he loved only God. For his disobedience, he was forever banished from the sight of God ... a state called Hell. The 'hard-liners' (like the evangelical fundamentalists) never seem to learn the lesson, following Lucifer into Hell time after time.

[Ian David]

5. The sin of Lucifer?

I'd never heard that version of the story before, so I went and did some digging to see if I could find it someplace.

http://www.rivetheads.com/Tohell/lucifer.html
http://www.spiritual-wholeness.org/churchte/newage/lucifer.htm
http://www.abcog.org/pride.htm
http://www.steliart.com/angelology_fallen_the_sin.html
http://www.ldolphin.org/studynotes/satan.htm

I'd love it if you could please share a link to your version of the story.

Thanks!

[TahitiNut]

6. I originally learned of this myth in my Theology study in college ...

... and ran across it again in the book "The Origin of Satan" by Elaine Pagels. There are LOTS of myths regarding Lucifer/Satan/Baelzebub/et.al.

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0679731180.01._PIdp-schmooS,TopRight,7,-26_PE25_SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[no_hypocrisy]

2. You'd think that * and Iran would be on the same page on this issue.

[VegasWolf]

3. Ah, good old religion again! n/t

[0rganism]

4. Funny how all these "Iran sucks" stories recently appeared on the wire

This crap has been going on for decades in any number of Middle East countries, and our good friends the Saudis are near the top of the stack. Yet somehow, now that bush has made known his intention to invade in a few months, we start getting showered with all kinds of news goodies about how repressive the Iranian gov't is. Two years ago, this would have been local news. Today, it's a big international development.

Let's just make it official: the American newsmedia has been completely overrun with republican shills.

[NNN0LHI]

7. This is a Reuters (British) version of our kneepad wearing "journalists"

Same crap as Fox news most the time.

Don

[democratic]

8. ..

You're right how dare the US Media even report the pro-Democracy movement in Iran. In fact, i think all these corrupt young Iranians should die and i'm strongly rooting for the Ayatollahs to butcher every single of these arrogant Iranians. I'm glad you have my side. Down with CNN for being a tool of the CIA funded corrupt bloodsucking Iranian young. LONG LIVE THE ISLAMIC DICTATORSHIP!

[Lucky Luciano]

9. no silly...

It is just that the media chooses convenient times to report things that can be helpful to get the people to back an invasion. In other words, if b*sh was not about to plan an invasion, there would not be much reporting on how "evil" they are (they are - I despise all theocracies vehemently)....this only becomes frequently discussed mainstream news when we need to do a little regime change.

[Judi Lynn]

10. Only the slowest among us would not be able to notice the connection

between statements coming from the _Bush administration, and a flood of related articles every time _Bush focuses on another target.

Happens at least once a week. Almost impossible to overlook, isn't it? It's been going on continually since _Bush claimed the White House.