Tehran-based Press TV anchor Marzieh Hashemi, who has been recently released from a US jail and arrived in Iran, has given an iterview on the growth of Islam in the West to the Mehr. Here is the full text of Marzieh Hashemi's remarks:
Well, we see if we look at the situation in general, in the west, we see a continual increase of Muslims in the west this is despite the Islamophobic behavior we continue to see especially since 2009 we have seen this continual attack on Islam, demonization of Muslims. But despite that we have seen people come more and more towards Islam, first of all out of curiosity to see what it is that everyone is talking about, why they are demonizing this religion and they want to see what this religion has.
Because Islam actually fulfills the needs of people we must remember that in the west when there are no limits that actually people feel laws, human beings actually need limits. This is what is obvious in society. If you look at it in general, human beings if there are no limits, then always go the extreme. We can see what is happening right now. At one point of time when we look at relationship with men and women, at first we look at the way that clothing was changed, before it was very conservative.
Then, for example, the skirts in the west came up to the knees and then came up higher and then basically very little clothing. When we look at the relationships, for example, between men and women, during this time, we can see direct correlation as far as dealing with divorce, the increase in divorce, as the women became less and less modest. And now what we are seeing because the lines have just continued, there are really no lines. We saw an increase in homosexuality and lesbianism.
Now what we are seeing is that relationships are changing and then actually men are looking for robots again if there is no line and no limits, then human beings will go all the way and redefine things constantly for themselves. Alhamdulillah, Islam has shown us the way. It has told us what we should and should not do, how we should and should not act in relationships and what kind of relationships that we have. Thus, I think with this very clear direction that we have in Islam, actually it is very positive for the growth of the Islam in the west, as the west continues to basically become morally corrupted, more morally corrupt and lost and looking for a way out of their overall situation right now, which has come about because of that distance from God and also the whole materialist perspective and capitalism which people are tired of being abused and feeling worthless and empty. So I think yes we are in for a big change, in general, and demographics of the Muslims in the west and I think that, more and more people will be turning to Islam but at the same time, I do believe that Muslims will have problems too in the west because as the powers that see the growth of Islam, that is why they will also start attacking Islam even more aggressively.
MNA