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Iran cleric: They used to say loudspeakers were forbidden

Two prominent clerics have taken opposing views on the issue of high-speed Internet, which is currently being debated in the Iranian media.

Customers use computers at an internet cafe in Tehran May 9, 2011. Websites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and countless others were banned shortly after the re-election of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the huge street protests that followed. Seen by the government as part of a "soft war" waged by the enemies of the Islamic Republic, social networking and picture sharing sites were a vital communication tool for the anti-Ahmadinejad opposition -- more than a year before they played a similar rol
Customers use computers at an Internet cafe in Tehran, May 9, 2011. — REUTERS/Caren Firouz

The issue of high-speed Internet has once again become a hot topic in the Iranian media with two prominent clerics addressing the issue and taking opposing sides. According to Ensaf News, Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Nekoonam, a prominent cleric in Qom, defended high-speed Internet during a question-and-answer session with university students in Tehran.

“We have put so much pressure on the Internet that our Internet is at the [speed] of a wagon,” Nekoonam said. “I say that instead of becoming like snails, let’s get on this world train. I have told my seminary students that it is necessary for you to sell the carpets underneath your feet and go buy a laptop or tablet. I said if you are not able to speak to a billion people, you are not worth anything. A Muslim is someone who is civilized, not someone who is an idiot.”

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