Women who wear revealing clothing and behave promiscuously are to blame for
earthquakes, an Iranian cleric says.
Hojjat ol-eslam Kazem Sediqi, the acting Friday prayer leader in Tehran, said
women should stick to strict codes of modesty to protect themselves.
"Many women who do not dress modestly lead young men astray and spread adultery
in society which increases earthquakes," he explained.
Tens of thousands of people have died in Iran earthquakes in the last decade.
Mr Sediqi was delivering a televised sermon at the Tehran University campus
mosque last Friday on the need for a "general repentance" by Iranians when he
warned of a "prevalence of degeneracy".
"What can we do to avoid being buried under the rubble? There is no other
solution but to take refuge in religion and to adapt our lives to Islam's moral
codes," he said.
'Disappoint God'
Correspondents say many young Iranians sometimes push the boundaries of how
they can dress, showing hair under their headscarves or wearing tight-fitting
clothes.
Mr Sediqi also described the violence following last year's disputed
presidential election - the result of which prompted thousands of people to
hold mass protests - as a "political earthquake".
"Now if a natural earthquake hits Tehran, no one will be able to confront such
a calamity but God's power, only God's power. So lets not disappoint God."
More than 25,000 people died when a powerful earthquake hit the ancient city of
Bam in 2003.
Seismologists have warned that the capital, Tehran, is situated on a large
number of tectonic fault lines and could be hit by a devastating earthquake
soon.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said many of Tehran's 12 million inhabitants
should relocate.
There are plans to build a purpose built new capital near Qom.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8631775.stm
"Love will swallow you, eat you up completely, until there is no `you,' only
love."
- Amma