Monday, April 28, 2008

An indefatigable enemy of Islam

Guardian:
barbie.jpg

Barbie denounced as destructive by Iranian prosecutor

The blonde-haired, scantily-clad Barbie doll and other western toys will lead to "destructive and cultural consequences" for Iran, the country's leading prosecutor was quoted as saying today.

In a letter to the Iranian vice-president, published in the Mardom Salari daily newspaper, the prosecutor general, Dori Najafabadi, wrote: "The appearance of personalities such as Barbie, Batman, Spiderman and Harry Potter and ... computer games and movies are all a danger warning to the officials in the cultural arena," Reuters reported.

Najafabadi, a high-ranking cleric, said Iran was the world's third biggest importer of toys, and suggested this posed a threat to the "personality and identity" of the new generation.

"The unrestrained entry of this sort of imported toys ... will bring destructive cultural and social consequences in their wake," he wrote.

He added that many toys were smuggled into Iran, accusing importers of concentrating on profits at the expense of cultural values.

This is not the first time Barbie has become the focus of Iranian disapproval. In May 2002, the Komiteh - the public morality police - cracked down on sellers of the doll, arresting shopkeepers and saying Barbie was improperly dressed.

At the time, one shopkeeper told the Guardian that the Komiteh had taken $11,000 (£5,534) of his goods during the raids. "Iranians love everything Barbie. I just can't understand it," he said.

An Iranian version of the doll, called Sara, was launched. She follows Islamic rules of dress and her brother, Dara - much like Barbie's boyfriend, Ken - is the male version of the doll.


8 comments:

Unknown said...

How about dropping Barbie's on 'em? I've said it before, but Islam would be ludicrous if it wasn't so dangerous, which exactly Why it IS dangerous, to bury that fact.

Pastorius said...

Add Crusader Barbie to the collection.

Anonymous said...

"Najafabadi, a high-ranking cleric, said Iran was the world's third biggest importer of 'toys' from North Korea."

Fixed it for ya, Naja.

And in the Deluxe Sara and Dara set, Dara and three of his uncles shoot Sara to death for tarnishing the family's honor by dating Ken.

Unknown said...

'Allahu AkBar[bie]!'

Christine said...

Barbie, Infidel Babe of the Week. Us blondes need to stand up for each other. :)

Damien said...

How about super GI Barbie? She was genetically engineered to be the ultimate secret weapon by the U.S Military. Not only is she incredibly beautiful, she has the strength of two hundred men, can fly and has laser vision. Super Barbie can destroy tanks with her fists. She also carries to twin machine guns in both hands, and when out of ammo, she has been known to rip the cannon of an enemy tank and us it as a club. she is Iranian Mullahs worst nightmare. There is now way they could force her to ware a burqa.

Damien said...

So no one is going to respond to my idea?

Pastorius said...

I think Barbie has both endless comedic possibilties, and with the advent of real bionics, endless military possibilites.

In the future, everyone will get to be Barbie for 15 minutes.