Jafar Ardabili is not what you might expect from a Mullah or a matchmaker. Yet this Tehran-based Muslim cleric is both, and his romantic enterprise is doing a roaring trade in the midst of a society where dating is notoriously difficult.
Ardabili and his wife offer young Iranian singles in Tehran a unique opportunity to find love without breaking the law. Together, they operate the Amin International Family and Cultural Institute, a matchmaking service that draws Iranian singles together in a supervised setting.
Could this be the first step to Iran’s underground dating culture emerging into the light of day? Well… in a roundabout sort of a way, yes.
Keeping an Eye on Love
Ardabili feels being a cleric means people feel more comfortable and trusting towards him. The AIFCI’s track record of just over 2,000 marriages and zero divorces is equally reassuring, particularly if you take into account the fact that divorce is relatively easy and straightforward for Iranian men.
The Iranian government isn’t madly in love with the AIFCI, and has vocalized its suspicion of Ardabili’s enterprise, especially as the Institute enables women to have a say in their preferred sort of partner. There’s no such thing as a free lunch either: At $100 a go, AIFCI’s services are expensive but not exclusive, and business is booming – as proven by the recent expansion of the Tehran office’s waiting area.
At the Heart of a Romantic Enterprise
All potential AIFCI clients are screened, and once approved, are granted access to thousands of other intrepid love-hunters. Applicants who approve of each another’s pictures and profiles are invited to attend two supervised meetings arranged inside the Institute. After each meeting, the applicants report back to Ardabili.
If all goes well, the couples’ third meeting takes place outside the safe confines of the institute. This is where the AIFCI start to wade into troubled waters. The Tehran authorities could charge Ardabili with aiding and abetting dating, but until now, they’ve turned a blind eye.
Final Destination: The Wedding!
If the third meeting goes well, Ardabili unites the families in order that they can start planning the wedding.
And then he goes back to his office in central Tehran to play cupid to more young Irani couples for whom true love is only a few forms away.