Iranian have an average Internet speed that is about a tenth of the global average but has one of the highest total number of Internet users in the Middle East. The Iranian government has a long struggle with social media and Internet sites to prevent access to uncensored news and Western influences. Shirazi reflected that view in saying that faster Internet means more access to “immoral and inhumane” videos and photos, rumors, and espionage. In other words, the outside world. It is hard to enforce Medieval rules for women and minorities when the rest of the world is flagrantly engaging in 21st Century living.
Of course, his preference for slow connectivity may reflect his rather slow learning curve. Makarem (whose ancestors were Jewish and converted to Islam) previously said that the Holocaust was “nothing but superstition.” Perhaps with faster Internet, he might be able to review some of those post-1943 sites and sources.
He also has issued a fatwa against dogs. Iranians would like to own dogs and asked Shirazi why Muslims are told that dogs are unclean when there is no mention of dogs in the Quran (Koran). In 2010, he responded by issuing a fatwa against dogs and said that they are unclean under Sharia law and their unclean status is based upon riwayahs, reliable narrations (hadith) handed down from the Prophet Muhammad and his household. He further denounced pet ownership as “blindly imitating the West” that would produce evil outcomes. In response the Iranian ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance banned all advertisement related to keeping, buying, and selling pets.
It is not clear what the Ayatollah would say to your using high-speed Internet to keep a virtual dog, but I expect it would not be good.
Source: JPost