Abbas_Tabrizian

Abbas Tabrizian

Abbas Tabrizian

Iranian Shia cleric

Abbas Tabrizian (Persian: عباس تبریزیان) is an Iranian Shia cleric and quack[1] who rejects academic medicine.

Quick Facts Born, Nationality ...

According to Al-Monitor, he is regarded as "a figure of ridicule" to most Iranians.[2]

Early life and education

Tabrizian was born in Najaf, Iraq.[2] He studied at Hawza Najaf, the seminary located in his city of birth.[2]

Practices

Tabrizian describes immunisation as "promoted by the colonialist medicine".[1] He offers a service referred to as "Islamic Medicine", which is designated as a threat to the public health by Iran's ministry of health.[3] He maintains that Islamic narrations can help cure any disease and by adopting a "true Islamic lifestyle", people would never need medical treatment.[4] Tabrizian also instructs the presumed diagnoses to his followers,[5] including recommendations for "womb preparation" and "treatment of brain debility", alongside medications such as "nerve strengthener" and "blood detoxifier".[3] He operates a popular online shop, selling those drugs.[6]

In January 2020, a video of his book burning ceremony went viral on social media, in which he set a copy of Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine on fire with lighter. Iranian officials and authorities of Shia seminaries condemned the act.[7][8]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tabrizian was among those who offered advice with no scientific basis.[9] He became a butt of jokes in Iran in March 2020, after he suggested applying violet oil to the anus as a cure for COVID-19.[2][6][8] A month later, Iran's health ministry warned against "engaging in the darkness of superstition and ignorance" and police raided warehouses of Tabrizian.[6] In February 2021, he again hit the headlines after claiming that people who have received the vaccination for the illness have become homosexuals, and urged people to stay away from them.[10]

References

  1. [1]
    Aramesh, Kiarash (July 2018). "Science and Pseudoscience in Traditional Iranian Medicine". Archives of Iranian Medicine. 21 (7). Iranian Academy of Medical Sciences: 315–323. PMID 30041531.
  2. [2]
    Faghihi, Rohollah (10 March 2020), "A cleric's cure for coronavirus becomes butt of jokes in Iran", Al-Monitor, retrieved 20 March 2020
  3. [3]
    Iran's Health Officials Raise Alarm over Islamic Medicine, Radio Zamaneh, 26 September 2017, retrieved 27 January 2020
  4. [4]
    Islamic Medicine cures every disease, Hawzah News, 21 April 2016, retrieved 27 January 2020
  5. [5]
    Fatima Mirza, Aliya (2018). "A Review on the Chemical versus Alternative Treatments of Leukemia". Traditional and Integrative Medicine. 3 (3). Tehran University of Medical Sciences: 147–161. eISSN 2476-5112.
  6. [6]
    "Quackery in Iran: Desperate Iranians are getting bad medical advice". The Economist. 18 April 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  7. [7]
    Burning Medical Book By Advocate of 'Islamic Medicine" Causes Outrage In Iran, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 25 January 2020, retrieved 27 January 2020
  8. [8]
    Bozorgmehr, Najmeh (26 December 2020), "Rise in Iranian traditional medicine as Covid crisis grows", The Financial Times, retrieved 11 February 2021
  9. [9]
    Gambrell, Jon (28 February 2020), "Virus outbreak in Iran sickens hundreds, including leaders", Associated Press, retrieved 11 February 2021
  10. [10]
    Weinthal, Benjamin (8 February 2021), "Iran cleric: People who are vaccinated for COVID have 'become homosexuals'", The Jerusalem Post, retrieved 11 February 2021
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