LOL, talk about Irony.
Six Iranians Arrested for Dancing in Pharrell-Approved âHappyâ Video
A few weeks ago, we brought you the story of the backlash against a group of British Muslims dancing along to Pharrell Williamsâs hit song âHappy,â which attracted controversy over what many in the Islamic community considered a âvulgarâ way to promote Islam. In Iran, however, dancing along to the innocuous song has more dire consequences: six young Iranians were arrested and forced to publicly apologize on state television after dancing in a music video to âHappy.â
According to the Telegraph, the six twentysomethings â three men and three women â were arrested for their âvulgarâ video, which Tehranâs police chief personally decried as âhurt[ing] public chastity.â The video itself, part of a Pharrell campaign with the United Nations for the International Day of Happiness, racked up nearly a quarter of a million views before the state government took it down and charged the six with violating morality codes. The charges mainly centered on the fact that the womenâs hair appears to be uncovered, a huge no-no according to strict Islamic dress codes for women, which state that âwomen must cover themselves from head to toe.â (One of the women who appeared in the video says they used wigs in order to conform to said codes.)
http://www.mediaite.com/online/six-iranians-arrested-for-dancing-in-pharrell-approved-happy-video/
Six Iranians Arrested for Dancing in Pharrell-Approved âHappyâ Video
A few weeks ago, we brought you the story of the backlash against a group of British Muslims dancing along to Pharrell Williamsâs hit song âHappy,â which attracted controversy over what many in the Islamic community considered a âvulgarâ way to promote Islam. In Iran, however, dancing along to the innocuous song has more dire consequences: six young Iranians were arrested and forced to publicly apologize on state television after dancing in a music video to âHappy.â
According to the Telegraph, the six twentysomethings â three men and three women â were arrested for their âvulgarâ video, which Tehranâs police chief personally decried as âhurt[ing] public chastity.â The video itself, part of a Pharrell campaign with the United Nations for the International Day of Happiness, racked up nearly a quarter of a million views before the state government took it down and charged the six with violating morality codes. The charges mainly centered on the fact that the womenâs hair appears to be uncovered, a huge no-no according to strict Islamic dress codes for women, which state that âwomen must cover themselves from head to toe.â (One of the women who appeared in the video says they used wigs in order to conform to said codes.)
http://www.mediaite.com/online/six-iranians-arrested-for-dancing-in-pharrell-approved-happy-video/
