Iran President Gets His Own Kiss Scandal

by Jordan Yerman | May 2, 2007 at 06:22 am

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Why should Richard Gere and Shilpa Shetty have all the fun? Iran's chief sabre-rattler Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has come under fire from the media, who labeled his kissing of a former teacher's hand "indecent". Seen as an arch-conservative by the west, Ahmadinejad is seen as far too liberal by a huge section of his own country.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stood accused of "indecency" Wednesday after he publicly embraced and kissed on the hand an elderly woman who used to be his schoolteacher.

At a ceremony Tuesday ahead of Iranian teachers' day, Ahmadinejad was photographed and filmed by state media stooping to kiss the woman's hand and then clasping her arms in an embrace.

"The Muslim Iranian people have no recollection of such acts contrary to Sharia law during Islamic rule," since the 1979 revolution, seethed the ultraconservative Hezbollah newspaper on its front page.

"This type of indecency progressively has grave consequences, like violating religious and sacred values," added the paper, which has no link to the Lebanese militant group of the same name.

The elderly woman, who was not named, wore thick gloves along with a headscarf and long black coat, meaning that Ahmadinejad avoided any skin contact.

However, his action raised eyebrows. According to Sharia law, it is forbidden for a man to have any physical contact with a woman to whom he is not related.