Reactions to Sexual Assault Allegations Against Quran Teacher

Accusations of sexual assault against teenagers by Saeed Toosi, a famous Iranian Quranic reciter, have become a hot news topic on the internet. So far, websites affiliated with religious forces, the deputy minister of culture and Islamic guidance, and the accused himself have reacted to these allegations.

The most comprehensive recent report regarding allegations of sexual harassment and assault of teenagers by Mohammad Gandomnejad Toosi, known as Hajj Saeed Toosi, was published by Voice of America’s Persian-language television network. The report featured testimonies from eyewitnesses and a phone recording allegedly containing Saeed Toosi’s voice.

The report reiterated what the website “AmdNews” had previously published, including the tangled process of investigating complaints from teenage victims by the judiciary, and attempts by some officials close to the leader of the Islamic Republic to end these complaints.

AmdNews had written in June of this year: “Eighty-three pages of documentation and nine CDs constitute a file that proves the accusations against (S.T.), the famous Quranic reciter favored by the leader of the Islamic Republic. However, apparently in the judicial system, his connections with the office of the supreme leader are more valuable than the rights of the complainants and the psychological condition resulting from the trauma of these years and the back-and-forth of the case in the ‘justice system.'”

According to AmdNews: “The complainants in the case have been threatened by the judiciary,” and Saeed Toosi “has threatened the families of victims with retaliation for filing complaints against him to the office of the supreme leader.”

First Government Reaction

Following the publication of Voice of America’s television report, Mohammad Reza Hashemi, Deputy Minister for Quranic Affairs and Islamic Culture and Guidance Ministry, reacted to these serious allegations, which under Islamic Republic law are subject to capital punishment.

Hashemi, through a published statement, called for “confronting such incidents” and against the publication of news related to allegations against Saeed Toosi.
The deputy minister wrote: “Regardless of the nature of the matter and whether or not a crime has occurred, which is entirely within the judiciary’s domain, publishing it constitutes spreading obscenity.”

Hashemi asked the judiciary to clarify this matter as soon as possible.

Accused’s Response

Saeed Toosi also reacted to the allegations after several months of silence. In a statement published on Iranian websites, he describes the accusations as “a widespread attack by media affiliated with global tyranny and international Zionism” against himself and “the sacred system of the Islamic Republic and even the esteemed leader of the Islamic Revolution.”

Further in Toosi’s statement: “I declare that, thank God, I have never been tainted by such sins and acts contrary to chastity, and I seek from the divine presence and through the blessings of the illuminating verses of the Quran, my own immunity and purity until the end of my life.”

Toosi also emphasized that “the documents and statements presented on websites, programs, and television shows are entirely false and fabricated.”

Assassination Plot Rumor

Al-Arabiya reported, citing “a website close to reformists,” that members of the central council of “a security headquarters” decided to assassinate Saeed Toosi.
Al-Arabiya wrote that the “security headquarters” intends through this to “both prevent the file of ‘his group assaults with some influential individuals against some teenagers’ from becoming public and place responsibility for this assassination, given the statements of one of the complainants in a television program, on the complainants and create grounds for their arrest and execution.”

One of the complainants, in an interview with Voice of America, said that if the Islamic Republic’s judiciary does not convict Toosi, he will take action against Toosi himself.
Al-Arabiya’s report has not been confirmed by any known media outlet, organization, or official authority to date.

Saeed Toosi is 46 years old and one of the reciters close to high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic. He says he has been “sent to more than 20 countries around the world for Quranic development” and is currently active in the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Organization and as a Quranic teaching instructor.

Source: DW