Azadeh Namdari: Backlash over conservative Iranian television host

[Well.wisher]

Azadeh Namdari: Backlash over conservative Iranian television host
By Patrick EvansBBC News

• 25 July 2017

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Image copyrightUNKNOWN
Iranian state television presenter Azadeh Namdari has faced accusations of hypocrisy on social media after a video emerged showing her drinking beer and not wearing her hijab while on holiday in Switzerland.

Alcoholic drinks are banned in Islam and in Iran, where it is the law for women to wear the headscarf.

Namdari is known in Iran as a proponent of the Islamic dress code.

A photo of her in full hijab was once published in the conservative Iranian newspaper Vatan-e Emruz under the headline: "Thank God, I wear the veil".

Image copyrightVATAN-E EMRUZ
Image captionAzadeh Namdari promoted Islamic dress in Iranian newspaper Vatan-e Emruz
Hypocrisy
In response to the revelations, Namdari published another video of herself in which she offered reasons for not wearing a hijab.

The two-minute long video was published by the hardline Young Journalists' Club(YJC) news agency under the headline "Azadeh Namdari's reaction to the publication of scandalous photos in cyberspace".

This time wearing a hijab, she explained she was sitting with family members and "maharem" - close relatives among whom a woman does not need to wear a hijab - in a park. She said her scarf fell suddenly and the video was taken at that instant by an unknown person.

She gave no explanation about drinking beer in the video.

Ideology, culture, system
The explanation brought further criticism from social media users, citing Namdari's "hypocrisy" and "dual-behaviour," and using her name as the Persian hashtag #Azadeh_Namdari.

Since the initial video emerged on 24 July the hashtag has been used over 11,000 times.

Twitter user @merry_8_4 juxtaposed an image of the TV presenter in full hijab alongside two further photos of Namdari without a hijab and while drinking beer: "What she feeds us with versus what she feeds herself with!"

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"She does not have the right to encourage people to observe the rules that she herself does not observe," user @sisil4030 tweeted.

A tweet from an account attributed to the pro-government cleric Abolfazl Najafi-Tehrani read: "The problem is not #Azadeh_Namdari or people like her. The problem is the ideology, culture and the system that forces individuals in society to have dual-behaviour for some reasons."

Image copyright@SISIL4030
'Taking people for a fool'
However, reactions to the second video were harsher. Users called Namdari a "liar" and a "hypocrite" who tried to fool the people.

The Facebook page Iran Without Clericsaddressed Namdari in a post and wrote: "We do not have any problem with you not wearing hijab or drinking beer. Our problem is that you... take the Iranian people for a fool!"

Twitter user @halVlid asked for how long she is going to deceive people, while @iustmilad wrote her "lies" were an "insult to the people".

However, there were a few social media users who believed she could wear and do whatever she wants.

"It is her life. It is none of our business," wrote Facebook user Safiye Safiye.

By UGC and Social News team, additional reporting by BBC Monitoring.

 

[IranDefence]

Wow another strategic problem ahead of our country ! ... the girl is a reformist and no so called hardliner care about her veil ... but reformist westernophiles have set inquisition judgments ... ohhh I'm bored of these ignorant followers of a man who #repeats

 

[SOHEIL]

Seriously ...

 

[mohsen]

BBC and sick people.

 

[Full Moon]

BBC and sick people.

What is your thought on her? Was she just doing it as a job?

 

[mohsen]

Was she just doing it as a job?

not only she doesn't need to, in fact she would be accepted much more among her reformist friends.

 

[Full Moon]

not only she doesn't need to, in fact she would be accepted much more among her reformist friends.

What is your view on the religiousness of Iranians? Do you see them as religious? I have a feeling that after Shah Reza's era, the religiousness of Iranians has fallen sharply to probably the point of "no-return". The Islamic heritage books كتب التراث in which a significant part of them is written in Arabic, appear to be drawing a picture of a very religious society in Iran ever since the 2nd Hijri century at least. Most of these books were written prior to the Safavids era, but one wouldn’t find a big difference in the description of the religiousness’ aspects of the Iranian society back then, and the societies of Egypt, Hijaz, or Iraq during the same period of time.

 

[Well.wisher]

Wow another strategic problem ahead of our country ! ... the girl is a reformist and no so call hardliner care about her veil ... but reformist westernophiles have set inquisition judgments ... ohhh I'm bored of these ignorant followers of a man who #repeats

Which man ?

 

[mohsen]

What is your view on the religiousness of Iranians? Do you see them as religious? I have a feeling that after Shah Reza's era, the religiousness of Iranians has fallen sharply to probably the point of "no-return". The Islamic heritage books كتب التراث in which a significant part of them is written in Arabic, appear to be drawing a picture of a very religious society in Iran ever since the 2nd Hijri century at least. Most of these books were written prior to the Safavids era, but one wouldn’t find a big difference in the description of the religiousness’ aspects of the Iranian society back then, and the societies of Egypt, Hijaz, or Iraq during the same period of time.

by appearance, today is much better, you just have to watch the pre-revolution pictures and videos to know what I'm saying.

Level of religiousness is the same or higher, yet people are more blunt today;

I believe many girls in that era who were wearing full Hijab, would change to more open clothes if they were living today. many do this because of an infiltrating western fashion culture, though with no doubt it's because of a crack in their faith.

 

[pin gu]

I blame everything on middle guy !

 

[Full Moon]

by appearance, today is much better, you just have to watch the pre-revolution pictures and videos to know what I'm saying.

Level of religiousness is the same or higher, yet people are more blunt today;

I believe many girls in that era who were wearing full Hijab, would change to more open clothes if they were living today. many do this because of an infiltrating western fashion culture, though with no doubt it's because of a crack in their faith.

Thanks. I wasn't just asking about Hijab as it is a complicated subject, I was asking about religiously in general as I have always found post Pahlavi era Iranians to have somehow fragile faith. Not about the apparent aspects of religiously (hijab, alcohol…etc.), but about somehow feeling dissatisfied and resentful for being Muslims to begin with.

 

[pin gu]

since we talking about beers . there is non-alcoholic beers in our market too but it seems its different standard in all Islamic countries some may consider under 1-2% alcoholic beers as non-alcoholic beer ( need confirmation ) and some just believe it should be 0% alcoholic . so why its different standard ?
there was a debate between some of my friends that they said alcohol is in lots of fruits like apple or some countries create their alcoholic stuff from rice ( Japan maybe )

 

[mohsen]

Thanks. I wasn't just asking about Hijab as it is a complicated subject, I was asking about religiously in general as I have always found post Pahlavi era Iranians to have somehow fragile faith. Not about the apparent aspects of religiously (hijab, alcohol…etc.), but about somehow feeling dissatisfied and resentful for being Muslims to begin with.

Then I would say with no exaggeration, today is a thousand times better, Islamic Republic's advancements did it.

to compare today with those era, you should know that in those era being bright, intellectual and open minded had one absolute meaning, abandoning the religion (Islam to be more specific).

Humiliating Muslim's backwardness has always been a constant part of west plans for infiltration, but it's loosing it's effect in Iran, every day more and more. now guess the true intention of the sanctions which targets the whole people!

 

[SOHEIL]

since we talking about beers . there is non-alcoholic beers in our market too but it seems its different standard in all Islamic countries some may consider under 1-2% alcoholic beers as non-alcoholic beer ( need confirmation ) and some just believe it should be 0% alcoholic . so why its different standard ?
there was a debate between some of my friends that they said alcohol is in lots of fruits like apple or some countries create their alcoholic stuff from rice ( Japan maybe )

In Iran it's 3% ... Sometimes 5% !!!

Actually after drinking TAK's red grape I feel a little ...

 

[pin gu]

In Iran it's 3% ... Sometimes 5% !!!

Actually after drinking TAK's red grape I feel a little ...

ok bro "Tak red grape" you said huh ?

fatabarekal ahsanol khaleghin ke migan male haminjahas dige