(Guardian - UK) - Black-clad members of the public morality police in Iran have been scouring the streets to eradicate "social corruption" among Iranian youth. Three-quarters of all Iranians, some 40 million, are under the age of 25. The crackdown is indicative of the impending sense of encirclement and doom that has gripped the fundamentalists as the prospect of a U.S.-led assault on Iraq has strengthened. Less than 1.4% of the population ever bothers to attend Friday prayers, according to Iran's ministry of culture and guidance. "No one wants the mullahs, not even Khatami," said Farideh, a medical student at the university. Displaying as much hair as possible from beneath her headscarf, she added: "A lot of us dream of moving to the USA."
2002-09-06 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive