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Iran Cabinet takes to Facebook despite ban under Islam

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ANI Melbourne
Last Updated : Sep 10 2013 | 5:30 PM IST

Cabinet ministers in Iran have opened Facebook accounts.

It is being speculated that this has been done to project government openness, a promise made by President Rouhani during his presidential campaign in June.

The move also suggests that his administration is attracted to social media platforms to push its policies in an otherwise rigid and Islamic-dominant society, News.com.au reports.

Iran imposed a ban on Facebook after re-election of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009, when his opponents used social media to organise protests.

Earlier in 2012, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, issued a religious decree in which Facebook was considered permissible, if it was not used for bad purposes.

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First Published: Sep 10 2013 | 5:18 PM IST

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