Iran's President Expresses Disapproval: Morals Police Violence Pushes People Away from Islam
In the heart of Tehran, Iran's capital, President Massud Peseschkian recently addressed reporters, expressing his concerns about the enforcement of the country's contentious headscarf law. The law, passed last year, has sparked protests and temporary halts in implementation due to its divisive nature.
As of August 2025, Iran continues to enforce the mandatory headscarf (hijab) laws through a combination of legal measures, morality police actions, and increasingly sophisticated surveillance technologies. However, the harsh enforcement methods and their effects on the population's attitudes towards religion are a subject of significant internal debate and concern.
The morality police, notably the Gasht-e Ershad patrols, remain active, focusing primarily on enforcing modest dress among women. These patrols use advanced technologies such as facial recognition and body cameras to identify violations, sometimes leading to confrontations and arrests.
Surveillance tools have expanded with cameras on buildings, contactless payment readers, and over 50,000 police equipped with body cameras to enforce the hijab mandate. Despite these measures, harsh punishments continue, including heavy fines, withdrawal of public services, prison sentences for repeat offenses, arbitrary detention, flogging, and even execution in cases deemed religious dissent or "corruption on Earth."
President Peseschkian has publicly opposed violent enforcement, warning that such repression risks alienating people from Islam itself. He advocates for cultural education, dialogue, and educational approaches rather than forceful imposition.
The moral police's harsh tactics and incidents of violence, such as filmed assaults on women violating hijab rules, have sparked public outrage and criticism from rights activists who describe the enforcement system as state-sponsored repression.
Observers note that violent enforcement tends to backfire: the more brutal the repression, the more many especially young people turn away from Islamic values and mandatory dress codes. The ordeal has contributed to broader societal tensions and protests since at least 2022, following the death of Mahsa Amini in morality police custody, which remains a potent symbol of resistance against forced hijab enforcement.
The president's warnings and expert observations point to a growing disillusionment with enforced religious rules among the population, particularly the youth. Violence and repression around the headscarf law risk undermining genuine faith by associating Islam with coercion rather than personal conviction.
The aggressive policing may cause populations to "turn away from Islam," as resistance grows against compulsory hijab and other strict religious mandates. The state's enforcement measures contribute to polarization: between hardline elements insisting on strict observance and many citizens—especially younger Iranians—who challenge or reject these impositions, sometimes on the grounds of personal belief or gender rights.
However, it is important to note that the headscarf mandate is considered one of the ideological pillars of the country. Hardliners in parliament are pushing for the law to be enforced to preserve Islamic values and prevent a "western cultural invasion."
Despite this, President Peseschkian, as a believing Muslim, advocates for the obligation of the headscarf, but not through conflict. He believes that repression in implementing the headscarf law could lead to a "turning away from Islam" within the population.
The implementation of the controversial law was temporarily halted this year by the influential security council out of fear of renewed protests. The news article was published by the news portal "Entekhab," which reported that the law was initially set to come into effect in December of last year but was postponed due to massive protests at home and abroad.
In summary, Iran maintains strict legal and policing frameworks to enforce the headscarf law, employing advanced surveillance and punitive measures. However, enforcement tactics increasingly provoke resistance and alienate many Iranians from state-imposed Islamic norms, prompting calls from the president and some officials for less coercive, more educational approaches to religious observance.
- The debate surrounding Iran's headscarf law considers the implementation of the policy an ideological pillar, with hardline elements pushing for its enforcement to preserve Islamic values and prevent a "western cultural invasion."
- President Peseschkian, while advocating for the obligation of the headscarf, believes that repression in implementing the law could lead to a "turning away from Islam" within the population.
- In response to widespread protests and concerns about the law's divisive nature, policy changes in employment and community spheres could potentially address health-and-wellness (mental health) issues that arise from ongoing contentious policies such as the headscarf law, thereby fostering a more harmonious enviroment for science, politics, general news, women's health, policy-and-legislation, and employment, while upholding the principles of human rights and personal freedom.
