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Rouhani under fire for saying heaven can’t be forced

Influential Iranian conservative Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami has criticized President Hassan Rouhani for saying that people cannot be taken "to heaven through force and a whip."
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (2nd L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) attend a meeting at the Xijiao State Guesthouse in Shanghai, May 22, 2014. REUTERS/Kenzaburo Fukuhara/Pool (CHINA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3QALE
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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has been criticized for suggesting that force should not be used to promote cultural values in the country.

“Do not interfere in people’s lives so much, even if it is out of compassion,” Rouhani said at a health insurance conference on May 24 arranged by the administration. “Let people pick their own path to heaven. One cannot take people to heaven through force and a whip. The Prophet [Mohammad] did not have a whip in his hand.”

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