Silence of hijab-supporters on Iranian protests
It comes as no surprise that most of the major Muslim religious organisations/groups (Shia as well as Sunni) were completely silent when Iranian women launched their protests against forced hijab, a month ago.
These are, of course, the same organizations which were hyperactive when Muslim women were forced to remove their hijab in Karnataka recently, and are the same ones who regularly criticize "intolerant" France on its hijab and burqa policy.
Their "hypocritical" stance is not at all hypocritical once you understand what their protests were actually about.
These Muslim organisations were never arguing for a woman's choice to wear whatever she wants. Their grievance against the Karnataka government (or France) was simply that they didn't allow Muslim women to dress in Islam-mandated clothing.
Their aim was to secure the religious freedom of Muslims, not the freedom of choice for women. It's critical to understand this.
The liberals and Leftist who stood by their side, are to them, opportune allies at best, and useful idiots, at worst.
Most of these Muslim religious bodies firmly believe that women should only wear what Islamic scholars have mandated for them for centuries. Countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia, which enforce female dress codes, are model states for them in this regard.
The most you can expect them to say, is that Mehsa Amini should not have been killed but instead punished according to the law of the land. Not because they have particular respect for "law of the land" but because that law just happens to correspond to Islamic law on that particular subject.
(This does not apply to the many Muslims who genuinely believe that the State should not interere in a woman's choice of clothing)