Iran’s Ahmadinejad slams use of pressure to impose Islamic values

Iran’s Ahmadinejad slams use of pressure to impose Islamic valuesJohannesburg, Jan 1 : Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has again condemned the use of pressure to impose Islamic values on people.

Ahmadinejad stressed that one cannot impose things by issuing decrees and directives, and the choice imposed by force has no value.

According to News24, he also criticised criteria on the selection of university candidates, citing the case of a student denied university admittance in the 1980s because he had shaved.

Ahmadinejad also mentioned another case of a girl refused a university place because she had `talked to a boy in the street and had her headscarf back an inch.'

He denounced some of the questions posed to candidates during interviews for government jobs.

He said that people have been asked if they ever drank alcohol or had illicit sexual relations.

According to the report, Ahmadinejad has repeatedly drawn the ire of ultra-conservative religious figures in the Islamic republic by advocating a more liberal view of Islam, criticising in particular the use of force to compel women to cover their hair. (ANI)