Muslim Hate of Toys
Iran orders crackdown on sale of dolls deemed offensive to religious figures
Oct 13, 2025
Iran International
Iran’s judiciary has instructed law enforcement to identify and
prosecute those producing and selling dolls deemed offensive to Shiite
sanctities, after they appeared on online marketplaces and social
media, the judiciary’s news agency reported.
Mizan's report said the sale of such dolls has recently become common
on social media platforms and in certain stores, adding that many
sellers are unaware of their “anti-religious nature.”
The prosecutor’s office instructed judicial officers to identify those
involved in the production, distribution, and marketing of the dolls as
soon as possible and to hand over the suspects to the judiciary, the
report added.
Mizan’s report comes a day after a petition was launched on Karzar.net,
a government-monitored Iranian petition platform, calling on the
judiciary to prosecute those behind the dolls and tighten oversight of
online sales.
The campaign, which has gathered more than 3,300 signatures since
Saturday, accuses the manufacturers of insulting Shiite sanctities.
The dolls, marketed under names such as Morteza and Marziyeh, are
designed as stress-relief toys shaped like animals including gorillas,
monkeys, or pigs.
The name Morteza is a title associated with Imam Ali, the cousin and
son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad revered by Shiite Muslims as the first
Imam. Marziyeh is also a title associated with Fatimah, the Prophet’s
daughter and a central figure in Shiite Islam.
According to Iranian media reports, the dolls have been sold on Iran’s
biggest online marketplace Digikala and other platforms, including
Instagram.
Taliban ban sale of children’s toys in Kandahar
BY AHMAD AZIZI
JULY 21, 2025
AMU.TV
Taliban have imposed a ban on the sale and use of certain children’s
toys, including dolls and miniature figurines, in the southern province
of Kandahar, local sources and shopkeepers said.
Vendors in the Sadozo Dany area and other parts of Kandahar told Amu TV
that Taliban morality enforcers have repeatedly visited their shops to
enforce the ban. They say Taliban are preventing the sale of what they
describe as “un-Islamic” toys.
“The vice and virtue enforcers have told us these toys are ‘haram’ and
we are not allowed to sell them,” one toy shop owner said, speaking on
condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
The reported ban includes dolls and other children’s play items
featuring human or animal representations, which Taliban officials have
long criticized as inappropriate under their interpretation of Islamic
law.
Shopkeepers say the restrictions are compounding already dire economic
conditions in the city. “Business was already slow,” said another
vendor. “Now this decision has made it even worse. We are barely
surviving.”
Taliban have not commented on the reported ban.
Since returning to power in 2021, Taliban have imposed a growing number
of social restrictions across Afghanistan, often through the Ministry
for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. The rules have
included dress codes, bans on music, and strict limitations on women’s
rights and public life.
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