“Did You Know?” Iranian Seminaries To Receive 50 Percent More Funds Than Red Crescent

In our “Did You Know?” series of articles, IranWire collects, analyses and compares reliable data to produce illuminating infographics on current events in Iran.

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Did you know that the government’s draft budget plan for the next Persian year starting in March allocates 1 1/2 time more resources to religious seminaries than to the Iranian Red Crescent Society?

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Less than $155 million are allocated to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, including 30 million for construction work and the rest for operating costs and other expenses. More than half of its budget comes from its own revenues.

According to the statute of the Red Crescent Society, its most important tasks include "providing relief services during natural disasters," "providing first aid” during emergencies and "helping to provide medicine and medical equipment."

The total resources allocated to seminaries in the budget bill reaches $227 million, including 212 million for the Supreme Council of Seminaries and Service Center of Seminaries.

The Supreme Council of Seminaries, which groups Islamic scholars and experts, is responsible for “policy-making and planning of the Qom Seminary in various educational, moral, social, and livelihood sectors,” as well as other seminaries that use its services.