Buried deep, so to speak, in this AP story in today's Boston Globe ( "Iran sentences three activists to prison for role in postelection protests") is the newest theory about the cause of earthquakes, straight from Iran:
Iranian media reported that a senior Iranian cleric said women who wear revealing clothing and behave promiscuously are to blame for earthquakes.
“Many women who do not dress modestly, . . . lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity, and spread adultery in society, which [consequently] increases earthquakes,’’ Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi was quoted as saying.
Iran is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries, and the cleric’s unusual explanation for why the earth shakes follows a prediction by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that a quake is certain to hit Tehran and that many of its 12 million inhabitants should relocate.
Women in the Islamic Republic are required to cover from head to toe, but many, especially the young, ignore some of the more strict codes and wear tight coats and scarves pulled back that show much of the hair.
I'm glad only "young men" are being led astray, by the way.