Middle East

Iran’s Khamenei issues fatwa saying women in cartoons must wear hijab

(Asian News Hub) – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei recently issued a new fatwa declaring that women in cartoons and animated films must wear the hijab, according to Tasnim news agency.

“Is observing hijab necessary for characters in animated films (three-dimensional paintings that come from the artist’s mind)?” Khamenei was asked by an enquirer on a Telegram channel, according to a translation of the question by the IranWire news website.

“Although wearing hijab in such a hypothetical situation is not required per se, observing hijab in animation is required due to the consequences of not wearing hijab,” IranWire quoted Khamenei as saying in his reply.

Wearing a headscarf and covering all parts of the body was made mandatory for women in Iran soon after the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979.

Women who leave part of their hair uncovered in public are regularly targeted by Iran’s morality police, known as Gasht-e Ershad.

In recent years, women in Iran have been harassed both by the police and men on the street for “improperly” wearing the hijab. Last October, a young woman was arrested in central Iran for “insulting the Islamic hijab” after a video appeared to show her cycling without a veil, according to the official IRNA news agency.

In March of last year, a video showing a man attacking a woman in Iran went viral and sparked outrage on social media. The woman was attacked for being a “bad hijab,” according to some social media users.

Middle East

Saudi Arabia starts recieving Umrah requests from Foriegners

(Asian News Hub) – Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday receiving Umrah requests from foreign performers from Aug. 9, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

For the concerns over COVID-19, only the vaccinated and the recovered will be provided with permissions, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced.

The Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah Abdulfattah bin Sulaiman Mashat said the authorities determine the countries from which Umrah performers come, and their numbers on a periodic basis according to the classification of preventive measures.

He called upon the performers to adhere to organizational plans and health procedures set by the ministry.Saudi Arabia received on Nov. 1 foreign pilgrims under tight precautionary measures to perform Umrah for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic early last year.

Middle East

Iran’s President-elect Raisi vows to do his best to solve people’s living problems

(Asian News Hub) – Iran’s President-elect Ebrahim Raisi said on Saturday that the new government will make every effort to solve the country’s problems, particularly the living problems of the people.

He made the remarks speaking to reporters after a meeting with Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf.

Qalibaf went to congratulate Raisi on Saturday after preliminary results of the Friday election showed that Raisi was so far ahead of his rivals that left no doubt that he will be the next Iranian president after Hassan Rouhani leaves office in early August.

Raisi said that he will consult with the Iranian parliament speaker and other Members of Parliament, as well as all experts, to form a government which could maintain the trust of the people.

Raisi also told reporters after a meeting with President Rouhani that he will make use of the experiences of the incumbent government.

The president-elect expressed hope that his government will be able to carry out the heavy burden of the duty that the people placed on his shoulder.

IRNA

Middle East

Al-Hassan: The best young volunteer in the Middle East

(Asian News Hub) – Al-Hassan Al-Fakih, has done different types of volunteer work year after year. Actually, he has become the first person in the world to provide humanitarian aid to a thousand people through humanitarian initiatives and campaigns, community service initiatives, initiatives to prepare and qualify university students, educational initiatives in remote areas, and initiatives to reconstruct damaged houses.

Al-Hassan has around seven thousand hours of volunteer work under his belt, and his passion to help others led him to do amazing things! He started by launching the Yadan Biyad “Hand in Hand” initiative which aimed at reconstructing damaged houses in remote areas in Yemen and Jordan. This initiative helped reconstruct fifty houses, and also distributed two hundred school bags to two hundred less fortunate students aged between four and seven.

Al-Hassan, twenty-one years old, also established a youth foundation in 2019 which aimed at preparing university students for the labor market. The foundation actually held various workshops to train, empower, qualify, and prepare around 180 university students for life after graduation.

All that was not enough for Alhassan! Therefore, he established the Intilaqat Khair (Spread of Goodness) initiative in Yemen to support families affected by war in remote areas there. This initiative managed to hand out around three hundred food parcels to three hundred families in different governorates of Yemen, and it also helped twenty needy people there to find jobs!

Alhassan Al-Fakih is the first person in the Middle East to provide humanitarian aid to a thousand people through seven thousand hours of volunteer work!