Family Planning & Islamists

http://www.fazellankarani.com/urdu/news/5993/
Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani gives arguments against family planning.


https://www.facebook.com/MolanaMustafaRazaKhanQadri/posts/767927686597670
 ﺣﻀﻮﺭ ﻣﻔﺘﯽ ﺍﻋﻈﻢ ﻗﺪﺱ ﺳﺮﮦ ﺍﻟﻌﻠﯿﻢ ﺿﺒﻂ ﺗﻮﻟﯿﺪ ﺍﻭﺭ  ﻧﺲ ﺑﻨﺪﯼ ﮐﮯ ﻋﺪﻡ ﺟﻮﺍﺯ ﮐﮯ ﻣﺘﻌﻠﻖ ﻓﺮﻣﺎﺗﮯ ﮨﯿﮟ : ’’ ﺿﺒﻂ ﺗﻮﻟﯿﺪ ﮐﮯ ﻟﯿﮯ ﻣﺮﺩ ﮐﯽ ﻧﺲ ﺑﻨﺪﯼ ﯾﺎ ﻋﻮﺭﺕ ﮐﺎ ﺍٓﭘﺮﯾﺸﻦ ﻣﺘﻌﺪﺩ ﻭﺟﻮﮦ ﺳﮯ ﺷﺮﻋﺎً ﻧﺎﺟﺎﺋﺰ ﻭ ﺣﺮﺍﻡ ﮨﮯ ﺍﺱ ﻣﯿﮟ ﺍﻟﻠﮧ ﺗﻌﺎﻟﯽٰ ﮐﯽ ﭘﯿﺪ ﺍﮐﯽ ﮨﻮﺋﯽ ﭼﯿﺰ ﮐﻮ ﺑﺪﻟﻨﺎ ﮨﮯ ﺍﻭﺭ ﯾﮧ ﻗﺮﺍٓﻥ ﻭﺣﺪﯾﺚ ﮐﯽ ﻧﺺ ﺳﮯ ﻧﺎﺟﺎﺋﺰ ﻭ ﺣﺮﺍﻡ ﮨﮯ ۔ ‘‘ ( ﻓﺘﺎﻭﯼٰ ﻣﺼﻄﻔﻮﯾﮧ ، ﺹ ۵۳۱، ﻣﻄﺒﻮﻋﮧ ﺭﺿﺎ ﺍﮐﯿﮉﻣﯽ ﻣﻤﺒﺌﯽ )


https://iranwire.com/en/features/5402

According to the 2011 census, around 99.5 percent of Razavi Khorasan’s population are Muslims. However, it is not clear how many of them are from non-Shi’ite Muslim minorities. Based on unofficial estimates, more than 700,000 Sunnis live in the province.

This has worried some Shia religious authorities, especially hardliners such as Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi. “I have warned the authorities that if they cannot find a way to counter…the Wahhabis’ attempts to change the population fabric today, we may well reach a point where we will not be able to do anything about it,” he was quoted as saying about the increase in Razavi Khorasan’s Sunni population. “Recently the Wahhabis have [been very active] inside Iran and the sources of these activities are foreign countries. They also carry out their projects inside Iran very fast. Iran is currently the center of Shi’ism and that is why they want to fight Iran. One of their main aims is to change the fabric of the population and increase the number of Sunnis. In this regard, they have been busy buying land, homes and commercial real estate from the Shias. Pressuring the Shias to migrate from certain areas to change the population ratio in terms of religion are among the other actions taken by the Wahhabis.”

https://www.facebook.com/Taghato.net/videos/647896965281129/
4 May 2014:
از همین امشب دست به کار بشوید و تصمیم بگیرید. با یک «یا علی»، یا «یا زهرا»، عملیات ۵ فرزندی، ۸ فرزندی، ۱۲ یا ۱۴ فرزندی را کلیدش را بزنید و با مشت محکم و لگد محکم به این فرهنگ شوم تک‌فرزندی
(Iranian mullahs on TV): Start working tonight and decide, with every "Ya Ali" or "Ya Zahra", operation 5 children, 8 children, 12 or 14 children, bring it on its key (start) and with a solid fist and a tight punch to this sinister culture of one-child


https://www.radiofarda.com/a/f1-shia-imam-warns-about-increasing-number-of-wahabis-and-sunnis--in-iran/25380185.html
10 May 2014: Ayatollah Alamolhoda warns about increasing number of Wahhabis and Sunnis in Iran.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bareilly/Barelvi-school-views-SC-fatwa-order-with-caution/articleshow/38028054.cms?from=mdr 
8 Jul 2014: Raza said fatwas also served as a safeguard for members of the community against arbitrary decisions like the sterilization programme undertaken during the tenure of former prime minister late Indira Gandhi. 

He recalled that the then mufti of Ala Hazrat, Hamid Raza Khan, conferred the status of Azam-e-Hind, issued a fatwa prohibiting Muslims from adhering to government guidelines, thus setting off a furore in government circles. 


http://www.dunyapakistan.com/85288/%D9%85%D9%81%D8%AA%DB%8C-%D9%85%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%B0%D8%A7%DA%A9%D8%B1-%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%DB%81-%D8%B2%DB%81%DB%8C%D8%B1-%D8%B9/
پاکستان کے مفتی اعظم، دارالعلوم نعیمیہ اور تنظیم المدارس اہل سنت کے صدر، مفتی منیب الرحمان کہتے ہیں، خاندانی منصوبہ بندی کو اگر حکومت اپنی پالیسی میں شامل کرے تو یہ درست نہیں ہے لیکن اگر کوئی فرد اپنے معاشی حالات یا کسی بیماری کی وجہ سیامتنائے حمل یعنی حمل ٹہرنے سے روکنے کے لیے احتیاطی تدابیر اختیار کرے تو یہ منع نہیں ہے۔ ہاں اگر حمل ٹہر جائے تو اس کو ساقط کرنا منع ہے۔اسی خیال کی توثیق فقہ جعفریہ سے تعلق رکھنے معروف عالم دین اور ذاکر علامہ زہیر عابدی نے بھی کی، مذہبی نقطہ نظر سے دیکھیں تو حدیث میں ارشاد ہوا ہے کہ ، نکاح کرو اور زیادہ سے زیادہ اولاد پیدا کرو، لیکن یہ ایک اجتماعی حکم ہے اور انفرادی طور پرکوئی شخص اگر سمجھتا ہے کہ اس کے حالات ایسے ہیں کہ وہ زیادہ بچے نہیں پال سکتا تو وہ احتیاط کر سکتا ہے۔ اس کی اجازت اسلام نے دی ہے۔


http://www.network54.com/Forum/242875/thread/1343602858 
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1e0100aa-d4b5-11e1-bb88-00144feabdc0.html 
https://www.ft.com/content/1e0100aa-d4b5-11e1-bb88-00144feabdc0 

President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad was the first politician to bring the issue into the spotlight. In 2010 he spoke against encouraging couples to limit their family size to two children, labelling such a limit as a misguided western policy. He said Iran could have “a population of 150m”, double its size.

He was immediately backed by some radical clerics in the religious city of Qom, who were concerned about the decline in the overall population of Shia Muslims, a minority sect in most of the Islamic world whose largest number are found in Shia-majority Iran. The clerics called for the government to stop all measures encouraging birth control.

Ghasem Ravanbakhsh, a Qom-based cleric, sees the family planning scheme as a “conspiracy” by “Zionists” to shrink the Iranian population, saying “this danger” could be defeated only by the people having more children.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/world/middleeast/iran-tehran-offers-incentives-to-middle-class-families-to-have-more-children-as-population-declines.html
7 June 2014:

Mr. Khamenei followed that up with a 14-point program, announced late last month, that health officials hope will lead to a doubling of Iran’s population, to 150 million, by 2050. Hospital delivery stays are now free, and women are allowed longer maternity leave. Reversing past policies to control population growth, the government has canceled subsidies for condoms and birth control pills and eliminated free vasectomies.

Billboards in the capital show a laughing father with five children riding a single tandem bicycle up a hill, leaving far behind an unhappy looking father with only one child. Those parents who actually produce five children are now eligible for a $1,500 bonus, not that many here are likely to be tempted.

“When I see those, I wonder, how can that father even smile?” said Hadi Najafi, 25, an unemployed professional soccer player. He said he did not have the money to marry, let alone keep up with rents increasing by 25 percent a year.

“Anybody with a lot of children is either very rich or very irresponsible,” Mr. Najafi said. “There is no other way.”

....

There is a sectarian cast to the fertility issue as well.

Although they dominate in Iran, Shiites are a minority worldwide, making up roughly 10 to 20 percent of all Muslims. Not only are the birthrates in Sunni-dominated countries much higher than those among Shiites, but so, too, are those of Sunni minorities living in Iran.

Tahereh Labbaf, the medical adviser to the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, which deals with the population issue, said that the birthrate for the country’s Sunni Muslims is around four children per couple. “This is very sobering,” a conservative website, Tasnim, quoted her as saying.

https://www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/37641/en/tyranny-of-like
31 July 2014:

After an Iranian cleric smashed the “wicked culture of sufficing to two children” in a video which went viral on the social media, Iran Wire ran a cartoon by the well-known Iranian artist Touka Neyestani. The cartoon, which was faced by much passionate reaction on the social media, depicted a man crouching on a bed and holding a chador-covered woman over his head. The posture of the man resembled pointing a personal missile launcher at a target. In fact, utilizing the headboard of the bed as a cover, the man was shooting babies out of the woman’s vagina. The babies left the frame, supposedly mocking the cleric’s public invitation to “kick off the 14-children operation tonight in the name of Shia holy figures”.

The video was not an isolated incident. On October 2013, the Supreme Leader of Iran suggested that the population of the country can be increased “reasonably and rationally” to one hundred fifty million, from the current figure of around seventy five million. In fact, it is well known that the rulers of the Islamic Republic have started a campaign of denouncing the population reduction measures adopted by Iranian governments in the past years. This video was, to many, the most ridiculous step in that long walk.

While there are some valid arguments for the legitimacy of the plan to increases the population of Iran, it was obvious that the body language of the cleric in that video was going to stir up angry reactions. His unpleasant grin while discussing “making babies” smacked of sexism and condescension towards women as “baby-machines”. One Facebook user commented “we are talking about making babies, not popsicles”. Another one asked how he can meet the cleric’s sister “in order to start the operation”.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-to-ban-permanent-contraception-after-islamic-clerics-edict-to-increase-population-9662349.html
August 11, 2014: Iran’s government has voted to ban permanent contraception in efforts to increase the population in line with calls from the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The new law, which would ban vasectomies and female sterilisation, was supported by 143 out of 231 members present in Parliament, according to Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
It would also outlaw the advertising of birth control throughout the country, where condoms are widely available and family planning considered normal.
Khamenei issued a decree in May calling for more babies to “strengthen national identity” and counter the “undesirable aspects of Western lifestyles”.
Doctors who violate the ban will be prosecuted, IRNA reported, but did not specify the level of punishment.
The bill will now be considered by the Guardian Council - a panel of theologians and jurists appointed by the Supreme Leader to examine whether legislation complies with Islam.
Its stated aim is to reverse Iran's population decline but reformists see the law as part of a drive by conservatives keep the country’s highly educated female population in traditional roles as wives and mothers.

https://iranwire.com/en/features/837

20 Jan 2015:

Isfahan hardliner MP and head of parliament’s Cultural Commission Hojatoleslam Ahmad Salek has warned against Iran’s growing Sunni population.

Speaking to an audience at the city’s central library, Fars and Mehr news agencies reported that Salek had warned that “Wahhabists are reproducing fast, disguising themselves as [more moderate] Sunnis.”

“As we worry about the danger of a declining number of Shias in Iran, the growing Wahhabist population poses a potential danger just under the surface of our society.”

Conflating Wahhabism — an ultraconservative, orthodox branch of Sunni Islam — with Iran’s Sunni population has been a favorite tactic of Iranian hardliners. Naser Makarem Shirazi, Ahmad Alamolhoda and other clerics close to the regime have had expressed similar opinions.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/11/iran-ban-voluntary-sterilisation-contraceptive-access-block-boost-population
March 11, 2015: Iran is seeking to reverse progressive laws on family planning by outlawing voluntary sterilisation and restricting access to contraceptives, in a move human rights groups say would set Iranian women back decades and reduce them to “baby-making machines”.
.....
Iran has pursued an effective birth control programme for over two decades. It included subsidised vasectomies, free condoms and affordable contraceptives, as well as countrywide education on sexual health and family planning.
The new legislation would effectively put an end to the country’s famous slogan “two children is enough”. The U-turn has come after the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, slammed family planning as an imitation of western lifestyle and asked Iran’s population to be doubled. Given his support, the bills are likely to be approved.
......
The bill to increase fertility rates and prevent population decline will ban all surgeries intended for permanent contraception, except in cases in which there are threats to physical health. Harsh punishments are designed for doctors involved in such surgeries. The legislation will also slash state funding for birth control programmes which provided subsidies for modern contraceptives.
Amnesty warned this would increase the number of unwanted pregnancies and force women to seek illegal abortions. It would also lead to a spike in sexually transmitted infections, such as HIV, the organisation warned.
The second proposed legislation, the comprehensive population and exaltation of family bill, “instructs all private and public entities to prioritise, in sequence, men with children, married men without children and married women with children when hiring for certain jobs,” Amnesty said. The bill will also tighten the divorce laws, which are already heavily in favour of men.
.....
According to official figures for 2013-2014, 41,226 girls were subject to early or forced marriages while between the ages of 10 and 14. At least 201 girls had married while under the age of 10. 

http://ur.shabestan.ir/detail/News/64921
14 Sep 2016:
بندر آستارا سے شبستان نیوز ایجنسی کے نمائندے کی رپورٹ کے مطابق فومن کے امام جعمہ حجت السلام سید محمد حسن صفوی نے آسان ازدواج کے عنوان سے منعقدہ ایک کانفرنس میں خطاب کرتے ہوئے کہا ہے کہ خداوند کریم نے تمام مخلوقات کو زوجیت کے مرکز پر خلق کیا ہے۔  انہوں نے کہا کہ دین افزائش جمعیت اور نسل بڑھانے پر بہت زور دیتا ہے اور اس نے دوسرے ادیان کی نسبت مسلمانوں کو اپنی نسل بڑھانے پر بہت زور دیا ہے۔   فومن کے امام جمعہ نے کہا کہ جوانی کی قوت ایسی قوت ہے جس کی ملک اور معاشرے کی بڑی ضرورت ہے۔  معاشرے کے ذمہ دار افراد پر زور دیتے ہوئے انہوں نے کہا کہ انہیں چاہیے کہ جوانوں کے ازدواج کا ماحول فراہم کریں، انہیں شادی کی ترغیب دیں اور ان کی شادی میں زیادہ سے زیادہ آسانیاں پیدا کرنے کی کوشش کریں۔


10 Nov 2016:
آیت الله قرهی:
تبلیغات منفی رشد جمعیت
 کار
 یهودیان است
استاد اخلاق با بیان این که تبلیغات منفی رشد جمعیت قطعا کار یهودیان است، گفت: این امر به خاطر آن است که به دنبال از بین بردن جمعیت مسلمانان هستند، به دلیل آنکه یهود در این شرایط سیلی محکمی از اسلام ناب خورده است.
به گزارش خبرنگار خبرگزاری رسا آیت الله روح الله قرهی، استاد اخلاق پیش از ظهر امروز در اولین نشست شورای راهبردی جمعیت که در بنیاد خاتم الاوصیا برگزار شد با بیان اینکه  قبل از ورود مستقیم رهبری بر بحث جمعیت ما خیلی به موضوع تبلیغ اشاره کردیم، اظهار داشت: امام راحل در راستای اهمیت تبلیغ فرمودند «سلاح تبلیغات برنده تر از سلاح جنگ است»، این جمله اهمیت این موضوع را بیش از پیش نشان می‌دهد.

وی ادامه داد: در حالی که جمعیت ما در حال افت بود شاهد هستیم تبلیغات منفی سبب شد که خیلی از خانواده‌ها فرزندآوری را مایه خجالت بدانند، سلاح تبلیغات وضعیت کشور ما را از نظر جمعیت به اینجا کشانده است.

آیت الله قرهی با بیان اینکه تبلیغات منفی رشد جمعیت قطعا کار یهودیان است، خاطرنشان کرد: این امر به خاطر آن است که به دنبال از بین بردن جمعیت مسلمانان هستند، به دلیل آنکه یهود در این شرایط سیلی محکمی از اسلام ناب خورده است، از طرفی دیگر ما اگر مباحث حدیث شناسی خودمان در رابطه با جمعیت را به درستی بیان نکنیم ضربه بزرگی به کشور زده‌ایم.

وی افزود: در بحث تبلیغات باید گفت به شکلی بوده است که پای علما هم وسط کشیده شده است، به همین منظور اولین کار این است که ما باید صدا و سیما را روی کار بیاوریم و به غیر از شبکه افق بتوانیم پای شبکه‌های دیگر را به این کار باز کنیم.

استاد اخلاق یادآور شد: نوع تبلیغات نیز مهم است، تبلیغات باید به گونه‌ای باشد که زیبایی آن مخاطب را جذب کند، بهترین راه تبلیغ این است که نوع بیان و نوع شکل تبیلغ عاملی برای تحریک مخاطب باشد، اشعار و کارتون‌های تأثیرگذار باید ساخته شود، حتی نقاشی‌های بسیار خوب در این زمینه مهم است، همچنین باید توجه کرد در هر جایی شیوه تبلیغ فرق می‌کند.

آیت الله قرهی ادامه داد: اثرات فقهی هم باید شکل بگیرد، به این معنا که یک فقه جمعیتی درست کنیم و مراجع و علما در مباحث حوزه با طلاب این موضوع را تبیین کنند، در اصل مباحثی که درباره جمعیت از سوی ائمه بیان شده است به خوبی برای طلاب بیان شود تا اثرگذاری آن را در آینده ببینیم.

وی افزود: به جز برپایی شورای راهبردی جمعیت باید کمیسیون‌های تخصصی را هم ایجاد کنیم تا هر موضوع به شکل تخصصی پیگیری شود، همچنین در این کمیسیون‌ها برای ایجاد اهمیت این موضوع در میان جامعه باید دانشگاهیان و حوزویان را وارد کنیم تا آنها در رشته‌های مختلف وارد این اتفاق بشوند.

استاد اخلاق در پایان گفت: تمام نشست‌های جمعیت اگر رسانه‌ای شود بهتر است زیرا آگاهی مردم را بالا ببرند، ما هم تبیین خوب و هم تبلیغ خوب را باید در این بحث در نظر بگیریم.

Ayatollah Qara'i: negative propaganda of population growth is work of Jews
Professor of Ethics, saying that the negative propaganda of population growth is certainly Jewish work, said this is due to the fact that it seeks to eliminate the Muslim population, because the Jews are in a clamorous condition of pure Islam.
According to Ayatollah Ruhollah Gharahi, a professor of ethics in the afternoon of today at the first meeting of the Strategic Council of Population, which was held at the Khatam-e-Awsia Foundation, it was stated that prior to the direct involvement of the leadership on the population's discussion, we were very concerned with the subject of advertising, : Imam Rezaei, in line with the importance of propaganda, said "the weapon of propaganda is winner than the weapon of war", this statement shows the importance of this issue more than ever.

"As our population declined, we saw the negative propaganda that made many families emulate childbearing as a weapon to propagate the status of our country in terms of population," he said.

Ayatollah Qara'i stated that the negative propaganda of population growth is definitely the work of the Jews, he noted, because it is because they seek to eliminate the Muslim population, because Jews are in a tumultuous atmosphere of pure Islam, The other side, if we do not correctly discuss our own historiography in relation to the population, have hit a great country.

He added: "In the discussion of advertising, it should be said that the scholars' foot has been drawn in the middle, so the first thing is that we have to bring the sound and the system to work and, apart from the horizon network, we can push the other networks to Open this work.

The professor of ethics noted: the type of advertising is also important, advertising must be in such a way as to captivate the beauty of the audience. The best way is to advertise that the type of expression and the type of advertisement is a factor in stimulating the audience, influential poems and cartoons must be made, Even very good paintings are important in this regard; it should also be noted that the manner in which advertising works is different.

Ayatollah Gharahi continued: "The effects of jurisprudence must also be formed, in the sense of creating a demographic jurisprudence and explaining the references and scholars in the field discussions with the scholars, the issues that the Imams have expressed about the population is in essence It is a good idea for the students to see the impact in the future.

He added: "Except for the establishment of the Strategic Council of the Population, we should also create expert commissions to follow up on each issue in a specialized way. Also, in these commissions, in order to establish the importance of this issue among the society, academics and students should enter in to enter different disciplines. This will happen.

Professor of Ethics at the end said: "All population gatherings if the media is better because they raise people's awareness, we should consider both good explanation and good publicity."


https://uk.news.yahoo.com/iran-official-calls-sterilisation-sex-workers-164059587.html
1 Jan 2017:
Female sex workers and homeless drug addicts in Tehran should be "convinced" to undergo sterilisation to prevent social problems, a deputy provincial governor in the Iranian capital said on Sunday.

"These women deal drugs, consume drugs and also work as sex workers," Siavash Shahrivar told the ILNA news agency.

"Over 20 percent of them have AIDS and (they) spread various diseases," he said.

"In addition to ... spreading depravity, they reproduce like hatching machines and as their children have no guardians, they sell them," he added.

http://en.rasanews.ir/detail/News/430418/1
19 June 2017:

 Speaking on an episode of the television show “Fountain of Knowledge,” which has been broadcast on Iranian television during the holy month of Ramadhan, Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem-Shirazi referred to the supplication “Makarim al-Akhlaq” [Noble Moral Traits] in Sahifah al-Sajadiyyah [Scripture of Sajjad] and said the issue of population growth is very important.

The revered source of emulation said, “In the world today, the spirit of materialism is dominant on one hand and on the other hand, seeking prosperity goes hand in hand so people are calling for fewer children.”

He added that the domineering powers have taken advantage of this opportunity and for this reason, the Muslim population has declined and the slogan of “Fewer Children, A Better Life” has been raised among Muslims. 

“Even this issue has lead to actions such if an individual had one child, he would be sterilized so that he wouldn’t have any more children. We have headed towards this manner and the Muslim population is going into decline,” he said.

Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi said that this method is contrary to the teachings of the Quran and Islam and said, “The people have the principle voice in society. Mines, farms and factories are good but the principle voice that the people have is that they are educated and establish organizations. For this reason, the population must increase rather than factories, fields and mines.”

The teacher in the Islamic Seminary of Qom added that for a long time, the enemies have encouraged having only one-child there but this goes against the Quranic verse 12 of Surah Nuh, where God tells the Prophet Noah to tell his people to believe and repent of their sins so that God will send down abundant rains and grant then many children, gardens and property and in this regard, God is saying that having many children is full of blessings.

His Eminence said that many children are a blessing rather than a burden and said, “Verse 72 of Surah al-Nahl says, ‘God made for you mates from your own selves and appointed for you children and grandchildren from your mates and We provided you with all the good things’ – meaning alongside sustenance, the blessings of children and grandchildren are explained.”

Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi said, “Children are an abundant blessing – the Prophet Muhammad said to Muslims, “Marry and have children and I permit you to have increase the number of your children.”

He added, “Despite that fact that the Quranic verses and traditions stress upon this, society is under the influence of the slogan of ‘have fewer children’ and we have seen that we are heading towards a population decline.”

The source of emulation said if our population decreases, our power will be also reduced. In some countries which are suffering from low population, there is a great reward for population growth have because they know that children and society have the first word.

He pointed to the benefits of having a pious child and noted, “We have narrations which say that when a man dies, his record of his actions is closed and he has been separated from this world but if we have righteous children who performs good acts, it will also be written in his parent’s record. Thus, if a good generation is nurtured by a parent, the blessings of that child’s good acts return to his parents in purgatory.”

Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi insisted that everyone must abandon the blind imitation of the West and have multiple children so that the population of the country increases and the power and strength of the people leads to the power and strength of the country and Islamic system.

https://twitter.com/SayedModarresi/status/900346172497420288
23 August 2017:
These are just two of the lessons we derive from the marriage of #FatimaAndAli:
1) The sooner, the better
2) The more children, the merrier


http://en.rasanews.ir/detail/News/432498/1
18 Sep 2017:

RNA – Speaking at the Islamic Seminary and the Conference on Population Decline which was held at the Imam al-Kadhim Seminary in Qom on September 18th, Grand Ayatollah Ja’far Sobhani, a revered Shi’ah source of emulation, appreciated the efforts of the organizers of this convention and said, “The widespread promotion of the motto ‘Fewer Children, Better Life’ in the media is dangerous.”

“Sometime a family cannot really afford to have children, but if the slogan of ‘Fewer Children, Better Life’ becomes a culture in society, the future of the country will be at stake,” he added.

Ayatollah Sobhani stressed, “The West invented this culture, but the statistics show they did not obey their own order on decreasing the population.”

His Eminence added, “Now the correct culture should be promoted and we should get television, radio and all authorities to help with this issue.”

The revered source of emulation noted, “Iran’s Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Khamenei] rightfully warned about the country’s recent population decline and now as we see his warning has worked.” 

Ayatollah Sobhani stressed that divine teachings encourage population growth. 

He further mentioned the hunger issues in many African countries and reiterated, “Those who raise the issue of hunger in Africa in opposition to the necessity of population growth do not know that this hunger is political and not natural. Because if human beings share God’s blessings equally, there wouldn’t be such problems in the world.”   https://iranwire.com/en/features/4940  Oct 2017:

Five plump babies, swaddled and happy, sit beneath a sign. “The families, the young people, must reproduce more,” it reads. “If we can preserve the younger generation of today for tomorrow, all of the country’s problems will be solved through the readiness, joy, eagerness and the talent of the new generation of Iranians.” Signed: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

This is the newest propaganda poster to be published on the Khamenei-Reyhaneh Instagram page, an account belonging to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, which has more than 75,000 followers. Khamenei delivered the above statement in September, triggering an outpouring of commentary and praise in Iranian media.

Khamenei also called the policy of population control that was adopted under the presidency of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in the early 1990s, a mistake and apologized for his own part in it. This is one of the very few times in the last 30 years that the Supreme Leader has confessed to being wrong and offered his apologies.

Of course, he has never wavered in his belief that the best place for women is at home, taking care of the family. It is very unlikely that he will ever apologize for that. “The main question is the woman’s stewardship of the family,” said Khamenei to an audience of women marking Iran’s annual Women’s Day in 2014. He advised women not to be misled by notions of feminism. “We must clear our minds from Western clichés. One the biggest errors of Western thought is the subject of sexual equality.” Women, he declared, are naturally built for “a specific area of human life.”

That “specific area,” of course, is mostly about reproduction. Khamenei believes that Iran can support a population of 150 million.

 ....

After the poster appeared on Instagram, a number of conservative principlist media eagerly picked up the theme, quoting a May 2013 speech by Ayatollah Khamenei [Persian link] in which he characterized having children as “women’s jihad” — a religious obligation and one of their most important duties.

And there are other images on the Khamenei-Reyhaneh page that express the Supreme Leader’s view of women’s role in society. In them, women are always seen taking care of children and their main duty is defined as the “preservation of the family.”


https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-leader-urges-people-to-have-more-babies-amid-economic-crisis/30093451.html
5 Aug 2019:

Khamenei, a proponent of an Iran with at least 150 million people, insisted in 2011, "The country would face an aging population in the not-too-distant future if couples refuse to have more children."

Critics immediately stepped forward, noting that his concerns were unfounded as about 70% of the country's 77 million people were under the age of 35.

Nevertheless, President Ahmadinejad's administration went ahead and eliminated the budget for family planning.

In his remarks from last March, Khamenei once again defended his position on the necessity of increasing Iran's population, presenting China and India as two good examples of countries benefiting from large populations.

"In China and India, having a larger population is recognized and respected as social, political, and international advantages," Khamenei argued, adding, "and that is why they have had some achievements."


http://en.rasanews.ir/en/news/447583
27 Oct 2019:
Hujjat al-Islam Panahian said that having fewer children is one of the reasons for the ‎breakdown of family ties among members of society, saying, “The destruction of family ties ‎is one of the filthy goals of the Zionist regime to destroy the identity of humankind, such as ‎that which they have achieved in the West.” ‎


https://en.radiofarda.com/a/fear-of-declining-shiite-population-and-soldiers-reason-for-iranian-authorities-urging-population-growth/30290698.html
25 Nov 2019:

Addressing a gathering of female members of Basij, the paramilitary arm of the IRGC, Brigadier General Ali Fadavi said: "The country's population growth rate has become negative. This can have undesirable consequences. The women's Basij should be pioneers in this matter. We should have at least five children in the families of the IRGC and Basij members."

The Head of the Political, Ideological Organization of the Iranian army had claimed in August that "through cultural onslaught the enemies of Shiism are secretly trying to prevent the number of number of Shiites from rising" and said Iran needs "jihad makers, guards and defenders to maintain its existence, identity and investments."

The Iranian religious establishment is against population control plans for the same reason. In 2012, Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani, one of Iran's prominent religious leaders, criticized family planning and accused the Saudis and Wahabis of hatching a plot to replace the Shiite majority in all Iranian cities with Sunnis.