i guess it would make sense for highly religious countries to trust that these things are brought upon them by god's power due to their sins, but it doesn't stop this idea from being wacky as can be. i am open minded to anything, but this is just too mcuh. to an extent i would understand their belief, but to ignore that this is at least somewhat scientific is just turning a closed eye. however, this presents itself as a great oportunity to increase the control voer the people, and what better way than through blamign the country's issues on sin? these kind of things bring people together like it or not. religion is a means of controlign the crowd, so it makes perfect sense to say this.

--Previous Message--
: A senior Iranian cleric says women who wear immodest clothing and
: behave promiscuously are to blame for earthquakes.
:
: Iran is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, and
: the cleric's unusual explanation for why the earth shakes
: follows a prediction by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that a
: quake is certain to hit Tehran and that many of its 12 million
: inhabitants should relocate.
:
: "Many women who do not dress modestly ... lead young men
: astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society,
: which (consequently) increases earthquakes," Hojatoleslam
: Kazem Sedighi was quoted as saying by Iranian media. Sedighi is
: Tehran's acting Friday prayer leader. Women in the Islamic
: Republic are required by law to cover from head to toe, but
: many, especially the young, ignore some of the more strict codes
: and wear tight coats and scarves pulled back that show much of
: the hair.
:
: "What can we do to avoid being buried under the
: rubble?" Sedighi asked during a prayer sermon Friday.
: "There is no other solution but to take refuge in religion
: and to adapt our lives to Islam's moral codes."
:
: Seismologists have warned for at least two decades that it is
: likely the sprawling capital will be struck by a catastrophic
: quake in the near future. Some experts have even suggested Iran
: should move its capital to a less seismically active location.
: Tehran straddles scores of fault lines, including one more than
: 50 miles (80 kilometers) long, though it has not suffered a
: major quake since 1830.
:
: In 2003, a powerful earthquake hit the southern city of Bam,
: killing 31,000 people - about a quarter of that city's
: population - and destroying its ancient mud-built citadel.
:
: "A divine authority told me to tell the people to make a
: general repentance. Why? Because calamities threaten us,"
: Sedighi said.
:
: Referring to the violence that followed last June's disputed
: presidential election, he said, "The political earthquake
: that occurred was a reaction to some of the actions (that took
: place). And now, if a natural earthquake hits Tehran, no one
: will be able to confront such a calamity but God's power, only
: God's power. ... So let's not disappoint God."
:
: The Iranian government and its security forces have been locked
: in a bloody battle with a large opposition movement that accuses
: Ahmadinejad of winning last year's vote by fraud.
:
: Ahmadinejad made his quake prediction two weeks ago but said he
: could not give an exact date. He acknowledged that he could not
: order all of Tehran's 12 million people to evacuate. "But
: provisions have to be made. ... At least 5 million should leave
: Tehran so it is less crowded," the president said.
:
: Minister of Welfare and Social Security Sadeq Mahsooli said
: prayers and pleas for forgiveness were the best "formulas
: to repel earthquakes."
:
: "We cannot invent a system that prevents earthquakes, but
: God has created this system and that is to avoid sins, to pray,
: to seek forgiveness, pay alms and self-sacrifice," Mahsooli
: said.
:
: