Ahmadinejad Hugs Chávez’s Mother; Why Is The Iranian President Under Fire?

A photo of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has sparked the rage of senior Muslim clerics for consoling the late Hugo Chávez's mother with a hug -- a contact that is considered a sin in Iran's strict Islamic code.

The image shows Ahmadinejad and Elena Frías de Chávez holding hands and touching cheeks during a moment of shared grief during Chávez's funeral last Friday. Religious conservatives say his actions are sinful under Muslim doctrine, which forbids men from touching women outside their immediate family.

Iranian papers cited clerics from the religious center of Qom who described the hug as "forbidden," "inappropriate" behavior.

"Touching a non-mahram [a woman who is not a close relative] is forbidden under any circumstances, whether shaking hands or touching the cheek," said Mohammad Taqi Rahbar, one of the clerics. "It is contrary to the dignity of the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

The Iranian President had already been in trouble with conservatives for posting a blog last week in tribute to Hugo Chávez which predicted he would return with Jesus Christ on "resurrection day."

Ayatolla Ahmad Khatami, a senior Iranian cleric, said that "he went too far with what he mentioned in his tribute."

Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Mirtajeddini, who accompanied Ahmadinejad to the funeral, initially tried to deny the story, saying the photo was a fake, but it was later confirmed that the photo is in fact legit.