GORGAN, Golestan Prov. Friday prayer leader of this Caspian Sea provincial capital city Ayatollah Seyed Kazem Nourmofidi, said on Monday that family planning and population control is a social necessity and should be definitely implemented. Addressing a gathering on population and health, Ayatollah Nourmofidi said Islam is a religion of wisdom and science, adding that since population control is a subject which is accepted both by reason and science, therefore, it is not in conflict with religious principles.

He said if some reason that the subject contradicts Islam, in fact, they undermine the religion, adding that no step should be taken to distort the image of Islam. In another development, Health Ministry deputy Dr. Ali Akbar Sayyari said on Monday that population growth rate in Iran has reduced from 3.2 percent in 1989 to 1.4 percent in 1997. However, he told IRNA, despite the drop, the country is still seriously faced with the danger of a rise in population due to the young age of its population.

He said 50 percent of the Iranian population are below 19 years of age, adding that Iran stands third in the world in view of its young population. (IRNA)