A claim is going viral on social media and media that Mohammad Abolghassem Doulabi, religious affairs advisor to the Raisi government, has given a statement that more than 50,000 mosques have been closed in Iran due to dwindling public interest.
The South Asia Index claimed in a tweet thread that Mohammad Abolghassem Doulabi, Council Advisor to President Raisi, lamented the declining interest in religion in Iran, saying that 50,000 of Iran’s 75,000 mosques do not have worshipers and are closed due to shortage. He said that 172 new mosques were built in spite of having 50,000 mosques in Morocco due to more people going to mosques, in Iran mosques are being closed.
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Reham Khan, ex-wife of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan, also made a similar claim.
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Many other news website did the same claim
Source : jihadwatch
Source : iranintl
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Fact-Check:
Are mosques closing because interest in religion is waning in Iran? To know the veracity of this claim, the DFRAC team did a Google search with the help of some Persian keywords. During this the team got some media reports.
According to a news report published by the website hawzahnews.com under the title, “Advisor to the President on the misuse of the news of the closure of mosques” (Persian translation) – Advisor to President Raisi Mohammad Abolghassem Doulabi What statement was given in reality.
Some foreign enemies and some of their domestic traitors have misused my statement as the reason for the lack of religiosity of the people, after the news attributed to me about the closure of a large number of mosques in the country,while there is no such implication.
He has explained in points that the religious interest of the people has not decreased. There is widespread participation of people in Shab-e-Qadr, Dargah’s Ziyarat, Arbaeen Ka Safar, Hajj and Umrah, including 90 percent women despite Hijab Protest.
Despite the economic problems, the participation of people in large numbers in various programs is a clear indication of their exemplary patience and tolerance that they are with the Islamic State.
The closing of the doors of many mosques is a matter that has nothing to do with the religiosity of the people. Rather, it is due to a number of other reasons, including the lack of infrastructure necessary for the imams to stay, the lack of supervision of the mosques from the center of local management, the mosque being confined to the prayer hall, etc.
One of these factors is the absence of a full time Imam. The management of the mosque requires the necessary infrastructure, including a stable resource to cover the cost of hiring two full-time employees. In this, the role of madrassa in training the imams is also very important.
Before the Islamic Revolution, all such expenses were borne by the people themselves. But it is clear that in the present situation the expectation of people to bear all such expenses is a misplaced expectation. Because, on the one hand, all national resources such as oil and mines are under the control of the government, and on the other hand, people’s economic problems have increased, especially in recent years. In such a situation, the possibility of serious participation of the people has reduced.Especially when people see that the government spends money in most cultural areas, and when it comes to mosques, some people expect all the expenses to be borne by the people.
The closure of the Mosque Support Council is also a reason. Efforts are on to reopen it.
According to this report, he said that he has not left a good track record in supporting religious institutions, and today the doors of thousands of mosques are closed.
Conclusion:
This fact-check by DFRAC confirms that the viral claim that Senior Alim Doulabi, advisor to President Raisi, has given a statement that more than 50,000 mosques in Iran have been closed due to dwindling public interest is misleading.
