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posted by LaminatorX on Tuesday September 02 2014, @03:02AM   Printer-friendly
from the al-gebra dept.

Joanna Paraszczuk reports that Iranian Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi says high speed internet is unethical and contrary to humanitarian principles adding that 3G and broadband internet are morally wrong, and that there need to be standards to prevent users from dangers such as “immoral and inhumane” videos and photos, rumors, and espionage. “It should not be assumed by some people that we are against these technologies. But the Western technology is like muddy and unsanitary water. Water is the lifeblood, but when it gets murky and unsanitary it must be purified,” says the ayatollah. The Grand Ayatollah’s comments come after one of Iran’s largest mobile operators, Irancell, announced this month that it would test 3G services to universities and government offices, and after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said earlier this year that Iran should upgrade its internet services.

Iranian President Rouhani insists the internet is crucial to connect with the world of science, saying: "We cannot close the gates of the world to our younger generation. If we do not move towards the new generation of mobile today and resist it, we will have to do it tomorrow. If not, the day after tomorrow." BBC Middle East analyst Sebastian Usher says President Rouhani's comments will resonate in Iran, but it is unclear if they will carry any real weight. Iran's government cracked down on media freedom and internet access after widespread protests against the country's leaders in 2009, banning online services like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Since then, many Iranians have grown used to bypassing censorship controls by using proxy servers or other online tools.

 
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  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday September 02 2014, @04:14AM

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday September 02 2014, @04:14AM (#88364) Journal

    He's 'clarified' his stance on 3G

    Well, as they say, clear as mud. I'm lost as to the meaning of "purifying western 3G".
    Like what? Are they going to change the handshake protocol between the phone and cell tower to a set of prayers to be exchanged between the caller and the muezzin on the minaret?

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  • (Score: 2) by q.kontinuum on Tuesday September 02 2014, @04:38AM

    by q.kontinuum (532) on Tuesday September 02 2014, @04:38AM (#88368) Journal

    Before we start to ridicule him for his purification-attempts, maybe we should first fix our western society with similar attempts? In Europe it's mainly filtering in many countries, in US it's more total surveillance. Maybe our governments enforced a "think of the children" into our providers handshakes?

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    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by c0lo on Tuesday September 02 2014, @05:34AM

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday September 02 2014, @05:34AM (#88377) Journal

      Before we start to ridicule him for his purification-attempts, maybe we should first fix our western society with similar attempts?

      As an engineer, "purifying western technologies" sounds as strange a "christening the hammer before hitting nails in the head. 'Cause, you know, the hammer is made of steel and the steel is made with carbon and carbon is dirty; but the Holy Water will wash away the dirt".
      Why is it important? Because using metaphors and parables serves no technical purpose; at most, such a language is slippery/ambiguous enough to twist meanings and justify the persecution of whoever happens to be the scapegoat of the day.

      Now, look... technology is technology, content is content and mode of use is mode of use (and, truly enough, the first rule of the tautology club is the first rule of the tautology club [xkcd.org]).
      If his 'clarification of his stance' is so clear to you, can you please explain to me which one he thinks need "purification": technology, content or the way of using the technology?

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      • (Score: 3, Interesting) by q.kontinuum on Tuesday September 02 2014, @05:47AM

        by q.kontinuum (532) on Tuesday September 02 2014, @05:47AM (#88381) Journal

        To me he made it very clear that the purification is needed for the content. He specifically mentioned the "harmful" photos and videos. I do not trust most new outlets to give an accurate enough translation to pick on his exact wording, especially when they see a chance to paint the Iranian religious leaders as backward zealots, and when there is not half a sentence in the article actually marked as a citation. Not picking on a single world and reading TFA, to me it is obvious that he criticises uncensored photos and videos, which become (much more) relevant with faster connectivity.

        And to avoid any misconception: I'm born western Europe, as were my parents, and if forced to pick a religion I'd personally probably go for the Spaghetti-Monster.

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        • (Score: 3, Interesting) by c0lo on Tuesday September 02 2014, @06:12AM

          by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday September 02 2014, @06:12AM (#88385) Journal

          to me it is obvious that he criticises uncensored photos and videos, which become (much more) relevant with faster connectivity.

          Hmmm, let's see. The "photos and videos" are mentioned here: [jpost.com]

          However, Shirazi said 3G — third generation mobile communications technology — and broadband internet were morally wrong, and that there needed to be standards to prevent users from dangers such as “immoral and inhumane” videos and photos, rumors, and espionage.

          What about... rumours? Are the Iranians in Iran so pure no-one will ever think to gossip? Or, on the line of "the way of using the technology", the action may be punishable?
          What about the use of VPN gateways by the Iranians?
          What about the espionage? Does his concern have something to do with possible backdoors? Or is just a fear of "Stuxnet - strike two"? Is this concern related to: the content, the way of use or the technology itself?

          Engineer questions: why is it that only 3G is "a muddy water", but the currently available 2G is "clean"? How does his intention to "purify the technology" is going to be carried out?
          In other words, what the hell is he talking about? Because his 'clarifications' are more of a puzzle to my westernized mind (as I said, clear as mud).

          --
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          • (Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Tuesday September 02 2014, @02:54PM

            by LoRdTAW (3755) on Tuesday September 02 2014, @02:54PM (#88520) Journal

            "In other words, what the hell is he talking about?"

            Todays population, even in developing nations are significantly smarter thanks to the internet. Have a question? Go search for it and either Wikipedia or some other site/blog/forum will have an answer even if it is wrong. And face it, many religions were written at a time when the vast majority of people couldn't even read or write let alone think for themselves. And to make matters worse, multiple people wrote passages and translated, transcribed them over a period of years. I would not be surprised of the telephone game didn't corrupt a lot of what we now know as the Bible, Koran and Torah which the others derived from. So it was easy to spoon feed them confusing and contradictory stories because they just didn't know any better and they lacked the ability to question it.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by M. Baranczak on Tuesday September 02 2014, @05:46AM

      by M. Baranczak (1673) on Tuesday September 02 2014, @05:46AM (#88380)

      Before we start to ridicule him for his purification-attempts, maybe we should first fix our western society with similar attempts?

      What, we can't do both at the same time?

      Back during the Cold War, whenever someone in the West brought up something bad that the Soviets were doing, the Soviet apologists would come back with "What about the Americans? They lynch the Negroes!". Which was absolutely true, but it didn't answer the original charge, it was just changing the subject.