Family in Iran is under attack through media and virtual space

In the name of God the Merciful and Compassionate.

It is an honor for me to be at this esteemed gathering today because I believe that you and I share intellectual, cultural and spiritual similarities in many aspects. I would like to express my gratitude to the pro-family organization Porodični Sabor for organizing this round table discussion. I am happy that I have the opportunity to be here together with Prof. Dr. Zoran Milošević. We also need to thank the ladies from Iran, Dr. Fatema Ebrahimi and Dr. Haji Esmaili, for their support.

My presentation is entitled “The Cultural War Against the Family”. Iran’s experience is presented along the following lines:

• Characteristics of the Iranian family
• Why is there a cultural war against Iran?
• Actions of the enemy in the field of soft media war
• Enemy targets in soft war against women and family
• Examples of soft war in the area of ​​families and gender culture
• Some strategies and solutions regarding soft war.

The growing crisis of family breakdown has not only shaken Western societies, but has become a global issue due to the development of communication. The family is the center of all emotional, intellectual, psychological, safety and educational relationships and is considered one of the greatest factors in achieving personal and social peace. Thanks to its authenticity, connectedness, respect, efforts, vitality and the central role it plays, the Iranian family represents a successful model. Some of its greatest and most prominent characteristics from ancient times until today are chastity, self-sacrifice, mental stability, cooperation and trust in the behavioral system of its members. For this reason, the capitalist system of domination has made the transformation of the Iranian family and the abolition of its protective and educational role one of the main goals of its strategy.

In accordance with this strategy, we are seeing that the Iranian family is attacked through various satellite networks, virtual space, modern media, etc., and the common goal of all of them is to weaken the Iranian family order and replace it with corrupt and perverted Western ways of life. The best illustration for this claim is last year’s riots and rebellion in Iran, when Western intelligence agencies, with the help of their friendly media, misused an incident and carried out mass psychological warfare, which was primarily directed against women and the family because they were well aware of the key role played by women and wives in the Iranian family. There is no doubt that slogans such as woman, life and freedom were invented in the laboratories of Western intelligence organizations and their associated media.

A) Why is there a cultural war against Iran?

1. Hostility against the order of the Islamic Republic of Iran and hopelessness about military conflict. Since the family is the basic building block of the Iranian-Islamic civilization and society, the enemy believes that by changing the Iranian-Islamic way of life, they will divert the family from its path, after which the society will abandon the path of faith and spiritual values ​​and finally destroy the system and the Islamic revolution.

2. The value orientation of Iranian society and the dominance of religious values. One of the causes of the soft media war against Iran is the value orientation of the culture and the rule of divine values ​​in all matters of this country.

3. The important role of women and the family in the victory of the revolution and the preservation of the system. The creators and representatives of global arrogance and enemies of religious and humane values ​​correctly understood the position of women as an influential element in the family and society, and that is why they designated them as one of the targets in their soft war against the family and women.

B) Actions of the enemy in the field of media soft war

1. Installation of satellite networks in the Persian language. There are more than 200 satellite television networks in the Persian language, dozens of special 24-hour film and serial broadcasting networks that show hundreds of films and series aimed at Iranian audiences. It is known that most of the global satellite networks are operated by the USA, and that many of these media outlets are owned by Zionists who operate most of the Persian language programming. The approach of satellite networks to social issues and the avoidance of politics in a way indicates that women and the family are the main target of their propaganda. In line with this strategy, Persian-language satellite network programs filled the Iranian media space creating series on topics such as white marriage (marriage of convenience), ignoring Sharia rules, showing illegal relations between men and women, destroying the family, promoting illegitimate forms of family , etc.

2. Misuse of the women’s issue in Iran and turning it into a political issue and challenge

Some of the hostile activities in this area are as follows:

• negative portrayal of the position of women in Iran;
• encouraging the inefficiency of the state and religious system in the field of women;
• strengthening the domestic women’s opposition movement by awarding international awards to women who oppose the regime and awarding many awards to Iranian women opponents of the revolution such as the Nobel Peace Prize and supporting and building their image as representatives of the women’s community in Iran;
• non-governmental organizations opposed to the regime often receive consultative status in international organizations in areas concerning women;
• attempt to bring women to the stage through projects such as the “million signatures” campaign
• management of gender and anti-value demands;
• managing the demands of women’s society, which are based on Western and anti-value principles;
• creating civil disobedience among women and taking disaffected women to the streets;
• presenting religion, especially Islam, as the cause of women’s oppression;
• statistics of violence against women in Iran;
• subjugation of women and accusations against Iran from the aspect of human rights.

C) Targets of the enemy in the soft war against women and the family

• weakening of religious identity and vulgarization of the position of women;
• weakening of the maternal role of women in the family;
• weakening of family values, transformation of its functions and finally its cancellation.

D) Examples of soft war in the area of ​​family and gender culture

One of the most important examples of the soft war against the Iranian family is television series on satellite networks in the Persian language, which mostly originate from the decadent and perverted part of Western culture, which either explicitly promote Western family models or implicitly promote a family with an Eastern Islamic appearance and internal structure that they derive from modern Western culture. In the conducted studies, the following concepts and categories are presented in most films and satellite series:

• transformation of the religious and Islamic family model (from adultery to divorce);
• repeated failure in love after marriage;
• promoting illicit relations;
• prioritizing business relationships over family;
• seducing a married partner and encouraging divorce;
• promoting and normalizing competition between spouses and partners as emotional rivals;
• promoting out-of-wedlock pregnancies and births;
• promoting debauchery and promiscuity;
• promoting new alternative and models of marriage and family formation;
• anti-family: from formal marriage to “white marriage”;
• replacing marriage and family formation with homosexuality;
• leaving the marital union and living with extramarital partners;
• targeted changes in women’s lifestyle;
• promotion of western fashion and clothing.

The promotion of feminism in this context aims to lead to the following conclusions:

• the violation of women’s rights is rooted in the foundations of religion;
• discriminatory laws in Islamic societies have turned women into second-class citizens;
• having children is incompatible with progress and women’s freedom;
• promotion and normalization of nudity and shamelessness.

Some strategies and solutions regarding soft war:

• awareness of soft as real war and recognition of its dimensions and depths;
• creating a comprehensive planning model for women and the family with a national and domestic approach;
• rereading the position and dignity of women in the cultural context;
• highlighting the important role of women in society and civilization;
• as Imam Khomeini, the great founder of the revolution, says: “The happiness and misery of countries depend on women”, and also the supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution says: “The issue of women is one of the most important issues of every civilization, society and country”;
• setting a role model for valuing and respecting the role of women;
• indicating the important role of the mother in the family in all areas, especially in the media;
• teaching families the proper use of satellite programming and increasing the media literacy of girls and women;
• fostering a simple, timely and stable marriage;
• getting to know the views and experiences of thinkers and centers in the world that are opposed to promiscuous relationships.