Ahmadinijad criticized for hugging Chavez's Mother

Senior Iranian clerics have criticized President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for consoling Hugo Chavez's mother with a hug - a physical contact considered a sin under the country's strict Islamic codes.
The controversy follows a widely published photo showing Ahmadinejad embracing Chavez's mother at the funeral of the late Venezuelan president.
Iranian papers  cited clerics from the religious center of Qom who described the contact as "forbidden," inappropriate behavior and "clowning around."
Iran's strict Islamic codes prohibit physical contact between unrelated members of the opposite sex.