Tawhid: 23-Aug-07 ed.

Tawhid is a semi-weekly series on the Middle East, Islamic jurisprudence, and Islamic theology. The word "tawhid" (TAW-heed) roughly translates to "unity" or "oneness".

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New Doses of ”Westoxification” in Iran

Iranian barbershops are the most recent target of anti-Western sentiment by the Iranian government. It seems that the barbers are being forced to close and under threat of license revocation because they gave "Western" haircuts, offered tattoos, and plucked eyebrows of their male clients.

It appears as if the Iranian government is intimating that Iranian or perhaps Islamic men must sport a uni-brow in order to remain true to their roots. They article doesn't expound upon what the Iranian government considers to be a "Western" haircut, and honestly I don't know that there is a single haircut that defines Western culture. While I was in Egypt the men's hair didn't differ greatly from the styles of men's hair in the West.

I have read no hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) or Qur'anic passages that forbid a man to pluck eyebrow hairs. While Muslims are supposed to practice modesty, is eyebrow plucking crossing the line into temptation?

Continued oppression of personal expression is only going to foment further resentment of the hardline religious scholars that rule the government. If the ayatollahs wish to rid themselves of everything Western then they should get rid of automobiles, computers, electricity... you get the picture. While religoius officials certainly have the duty to regulate the behavior of their religious community, splitting hairs over eyebrow plucking only serves to diminish any remaining legitmacy the ayatollahs claim (not necessarily a bad thing if it sparks a revolution). Moreover, stories like these only serve to further paint Islam as a backwards religion and social order. If the Iranians wonder why the West doesn't think they are responsible enough to wield a nuke, perhaps they should examine the money and effort they are focusing on whether or not their citizens are plucking their eyebrows.