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Iranian police have closed down 24 Internet cafes and other coffeeshops in as many hours, as part of a broad crackdown on "immoral"behavior in the Islamic state, official media said Sunday. The action in Tehran province was the latest move in a campaign against practices deemed incompatible with Islamic values, including women not adhering to strict dress codes and barber shops offering men Western hair styles.
"Using immoral computer games, storing obscene photos...and thepresence of women wearing improper hijab were among the reasons whythey have been closed down," said Nader Sarkari, a provincial policecommander.
Since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the presidency in 2005, promising areturn to the values of the 1979 Islamic revolution, hardliners havepressed for tighter controls on "immoral behavior."
Sarkari told the official IRNA news agency that police had inspected435 coffee shops in the past 24 hours and that 170 had been warned.
The report did not make clear whether they were all Internet cafes,which have mushroomed in Iran over the past few years and are popularespecially among young people. Police were not immediately availablefor comment.
Quote:
"Twenty-three people were detained,"
Sarkari said, adding that 11 of them were women.
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Many young Iranians are avid users of the Internet, some using chatrooms to socialize with the opposite sex. Mingling between sexesoutside marriage is banned, and many Web sites considered unIslamic are blocked by the authorities.
The cafe crackdown coincides with a winter campaign against womenwearing trousers tucked into long boots and other "improper dress" suchas short overcoats and hats instead of scarves.
Enforcement of Islamic dress codes that require women to cover theirhair and disguise the shape of their bodies has become stricter since2005, following eight years of reformist rule.
Police regularly clamp down on skimpier clothing and looserheadscarves in the summer, but usually for only a few weeks. This yearthe campaign has run into the winter.
Women found dressing inappropriately may be warned and repeat offenders can be taken to a police station and fined.
Quote:
"Our people want their women to be able to go in the streetswith respect and want their dignity to be protected," senior Iraniancleric Ahmad Khatami told worshippers in Tehran on Friday. "Our peoplewant the society to be morally clean."
Reuters wrote:
In a separate campaign, IRNA said police had inspected 275restaurants in the capital to check compliance with a new ban onsmoking in public places. The ban includes water pipes, known in Iranas qalyan, offered in some outlets.
Of those, 138 received a warning and 17 were shut down, police official Mohammad Reza Alipour said.