Iran Cracks Down on Book Shops That Sell Coffee

Frankly, the smell of coffee in book shops overwhelms the more delicate and delightful aroma of freshly printed literature, but the trend is for book stores to offer coffee to their patrons. Reading, of course, is a solitary endeavor, and drinking coffee tends to be done in groups. Inevitably when books and coffee meet, people talk about reading, authors, books, and even ideas. Such has happened in Iran, and this has upset the local authorities. A bookshop in Tehran has been forced to close for the crime of selling coffee and books. May Allah this Merciful forgive such bad policy.

Robert Tait of the Guardian reported yesterday, “Four bookshops in Tehran this week closed their coffee shops after receiving a 72-hour ultimatum from Amaken-e Omoomi, a state body governing the retail trade. The order has led to the closure of the cafe in one of the city’s best-known bookshops, Nashr-e Sales, which has hosted reading sessions by writers, including the Nobel prize-winning Turkish author, Orhan Pamuk, and become a popular meeting point for literary types.”

Now, coffee shops even without the books have bothered some of the more uptight mullahs. Reza Zarei, commander of police in Tehran province and a tool of the regime by definition, started cracking down on pool halls and coffee shops last spring. He told the Agence France Press in an interview, “One of the main grounds for the creation of social and ethical crimes are billiard halls and coffee shops.” He added, “I am pleased to have carried out this plan to elevate security in society.”

Of course, in “Revolutionary” Iran, the deal is never really about Islam the religion of Mohammed the Prophet, peace be unto him, but rather about Islam the business venture operated by the local clergy and their minions for their earthly benefit. Mr. Tait went on to report that, “The reformist newspaper, Etemad-e Melli, pointed out that Ahl-e Ghalam, a bookstore linked to the culture and Islamic guidance ministry, had been allowed to keep its cafe.”

Apparently, “mixing of trades” isn’t a sin if the right sort of person does it, or more aptly put the person with the right sort of connections.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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