Unlike many of Iran’s leaders, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has, since 2010, openly promoted greater tolerance, saying that in the vast majority of cases, improper hijab is not a crime. On Monday, Ahmadinejad said that authorities “instead of closing cinemas and restaurants, must give people the right to choose. If people are given choices, they will definitely choose Iranian culture and beliefs.”
The president’s position has led a growing number of his political rivals to attack his stance as anti-revolutionary and pro-Western. Ali Mottahari, a prominent lawmaker and possible candidate to replace Ahmadinejad in 2013, accused the president in May of promoting “sexual intrigue.”
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