TEHRAN -- Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi, a top cleric from Qom that is home to Iran’s major Islamic seminary, has told the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance to make corrections to its policies.

He made the remarks in a short statement published on his official websites on Monday.

The statement is a response to the Qom office of the Culture Ministry’s decision to organize a concert in the city last Tuesday. 

The gig, which was done by the traditional ensemble Mahbod, provoked a storm of protest from Qom’s top clerics who view any musical performance in Qom as insulting to the city.  

“I think that the Culture Ministry is suffering from a series of miscalculations about the situation of society,” Makarem Shirazi said and asked the ministry to consult with the top clerics of the Qom Islamic Seminary in organizing entertaining programs that are in agreement with Islamic culture.

Makarem Shirazi has summoned Hojjatoleslam Abbas Daneshi, the director the Culture Ministry’s office in Qom. However, he was not satified with Daneshi’s explanation.

Daneshi apologized for organizing the concert and promised that the office would never again arrange a similar program in Qom.

Photo: Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi in an undated photo

MMS/YAW