IRAN — The Islamic obligation of commanding the proper and negating the improper — which is called "Amr bil ma'ruf wa nahy an al munkar" and even emphasized with these words in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran — appears in the news now and then. According to this Islamic obligation, it is obligatory for each Muslim to instruct others to do things that are considered good according to reason or Islam, and to negate and prevent that which is bad. Although this religious and social obligation is mostly verbal in nature, innumerable cases of harsh and brutal physical confrontations have been reported in the course of executing it, which has been followed by violent responses in recent years by its targets.

Inviting others to good deeds and to refrain from bad deeds is the personal obligation of every Muslim. In this regard, even some governmental and security organs and organizations are also eagerly involved in this sphere of activity. Among them are the Moral Security Police and the Staff for the Revival of Commanding the Proper and Negating the Improper under the supervision of Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, the secretary of the Guardian Council of the Constitution.

Although there is no provision in the Constitution explaining the duties and sphere of activity of members of the revival staff and — according to a judicial official who requested anonymity — the judiciary distinctly prohibited them from physical attacks, social and news networks are full of reports of violent attacks and sometimes of the brutality of these individuals. There are also serious and copious reports about the Moral Security Police and the Guidance Patrols. These violations are not only heard among the ordinary people, but even from Iranian presidents, from Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Rouhani. In early September, we once again heard of plans of the Guidance Patrols to intensify the treatment of the citizens who are immodestly dressed, which resulted in opposition by some.

The behavior of the Guidance Patrols in some cases was so violent and harsh that it led to a popular backlash. But since they were connected with the police force, the ordinary people did not dare respond to them. Rather, they attack religious people who would verbally chastise them for the way they were dressed. On June 13, 2012, it was reported that a 30-year-old woman was abused in Punak, Tehran. After having chastised a woman who, according to her, was improperly wearing the veil, she was attacked by the improperly attired woman who pulled off her veil. The next day, a woman who was accompanied by her 3-year-old child was beaten by two other improperly veiled women in Khaniabad, Tehran. A few days later, a young man was beaten and wounded after chastising another man who, according to witnesses, was dressed very inappropriately.