A group of Sunni religious leaders in several Baluch cities across Sistan-Baluchestan province called on the Islamic Republic to stop its repression machinery used against protesters.
In a joint video statement released on Monday, Friday prayer Imams and religious scholars from Khash, Taftan, Mijaveh and their neighboring towns decried the regime’s appalling attacks against the people of Kurdish majority cities, the killings on September 30 dubbed as ‘Bloody Friday’ in Zahedan, and a brutal crackdown of Khash residents on November 4, among others.
Protesting Islamic Republic’s violations of human rights and dignity, they said religious leaders, elders and intellectuals in the province with a unified voice condemn government’s violent reaction to protests across the country and show their “national solidarity.”
The clerics said the attacks against the people at the Grand Makki Mosque -- the largest Sunni mosque in Iran located in the center of Zahedan – and Al-Khalil Mosque in Khash, where security forces arrested many people, and similar incidents across the province are aimed at fomenting fear among the people to dissuade them from attending prayers at mosques. They denounced the strategy by the Islami Republic as “Mosquephobia,” apparently because the mosques are places where Sunni people gather to listen to their community leaders criticize the regime.
The signatories of the statement also called for "the release of all political prisoners in Iran, who were arrested during the recent protests." Noting that peaceful protest is the people's right, they also urged the authorities to address issues regarding women's rights. “The voices of the Iranian people should be heard," they added.
Emphasizing that the relentless ethnic and religious discrimination that has persisted over four decades of the Islamic Republic, the Sunni clerics expressed support for “the wise positions” of Mowlavi Abdolhamid as the serious and legitimate demands of the people.
Molavi Abdolhamid, officially known as Sheikh Abdolhamdid Esmailzehi, is the most prominent religious leader of Iran's largely Sunni Baluch population living in the province. Abdolhamid's popularity is largely because of his willingness to challenge the absolute authority of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Earlier in November, the outspoken Sunni Imam said women, ethnic and religious groups, and minorities have faced discrimination after the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979. He was also brave enough to blame Khamenei for the attack on protesters in his hometown, Zahedan, known as the Bloody Friday. It took place September 30, when security forces killed about 100 people, and injured hundreds. Earlier in the month, he called for an internationally monitored referendum, saying by killing and suppression the government cannot push back a nation.
The statement by the Sunni clergymen came a day after an audio file was leaked by the hacktivist group Black Reward, revealing the Islamic Republic’s plan to tarnish Abdolhamid’s reputation. The audio tape from a meeting between a Revolutionary Guard general and a group of media managers or representatives from outfits affiliated with the IRGC, revealed that Khamenei demanded Mowlavi Abdolhamid be warned over his comments. Qasem Qoreyshi, the deputy commander of IRGC’s paramilitary Basij forces, also said in the meeting that “We made a mistake about Abdolhamid. We first eliminated tribal leaders in the region to give more credit to Abdolhamid. However, he didn’t carry much weight [in the past].”
In a similar joint video statement released earlier in the month, Sunni religious leaders and Friday prayer Imams in Iran’s Kordestan province also called for a referendum under the supervision of international bodies. The Sunni clerics of Sanandaj and Dehgolan called for a plebiscite with the presence of religious and national leaders, as well as neutral international observers to “get out of the current situation.”
Clerics in Iran are among the most privileged groups in society and benefit from many financial and other advantages although a majority of them have minimal educational and almost no work expertise. Among other things, they are exempted from the compulsory two-year military service and unlike other students who have to pay hefty tuition fees, clerical students in Iran get paid for studying in seminaries.
As Iran's biggest protests against the Islamic Republic and clerical rule has been raging on for more than 70 days, turban-tossing has become increasingly a way of taking on the clerics who are blamed for economic failures of the theocratic government and violations of human rights in Iran.
Turban-tossing has turned to s port for young people who approach a cleric in the street and fling the turban off his head. Influential clerics with links to the government rarely walk in the streets and are usually escorted by bodyguards.
Moballeghi, himself a cleric, speaking in parliament Monday said that "During the past two months the people's attitude toward clerics has changed for worse as there is a lot of propaganda against clerics."
Fearing disrespect by the "new revolutionaries" in Iran, according to Moballeghi, many clerics prefer to appear in public in normal, secular outfit. Meanwhile, Moballegi claimed that the robe and turban that Iranian clerics put on follows the model of the outfit worn by Prophet Mohammad. Others, including some clerics say that the prophet dressed like everybody else. At the time everyone was wearing a robe.
Earlier, another cleric in parliament, Mohammad Taghi Naghdali warned that those who toss turbans “are playing with the lion's tail and they should know that they will be punished for that." Earlier, Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei had warned them that their "rude behavior will not remain unpunished."
He was right, as the government-owned newspaper Iran reported on Monday that at least two young men have been arrested in Tehran and Babol for turban tossing. Some videos on social media show young women also tossing turbans in the streets before running away.
Opposition to Shiite clerics has been a characteristic of what is now called the" new Iranian revolution." One of the main slogans heard in Iranian cities these days is "Mullahs should get lost."
As a result of many years of discrimination by the clerical government, Iranians have been taking on the clerics during recent protests. In a couple of cities including Qom, protesters have set fire to seminaries.
While many young Iranians are unemployed because of the country's chronic economic crisis, almost every Iranian cleric has some sort of a job at various ministries such as education, justice or Culture and Islamic Guidance. Many other government offices and military organizations in Iran have "ideological departments" led and run by clerics who know nothing about how those organizations operate.
During the protests in the past two months very few Iranian clerics have shown any sympathy with the protesters. On the contrary, many, particularly those at the parliament, or Friday Prayer Imams have called for severely punishing protesters.
Many countries and international organizations have voiced support for protests in Iran by adopting resolutions and issuing condemnations of government violence, but people wonder about tangible actions.
The United States Monday circulated a draft resolution on a measure to expel the Islamic Republic from the UN Commission on the Status of Women. The measure to remove Iran from the women's equality and empowerment body is scheduled to be voted on December 14.
The Islamic Republic has just started a four-year term on the 45-member commission, which meets annually every March.
The document also denounces Iran's policies as "flagrantly contrary to the human rights of women and girls and to the mandate of the Commission on the Status of Women." Canada, New Zealand, Netherlands and the United States are behind the push.
The resolution would "remove with immediate effect the Islamic Republic of Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women for the remainder of its 2022-2026 term."
"The US and others have been actively working the phones to garner support to remove Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women," said a UN diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to Reuters. "It seems like they're making traction – including with some initially hesitant countries."
Also on Monday, the French National Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution offering "support for the Iranian people" and condemning the restriction of women's freedoms and rights. This comes ahead of another meeting of EU foreign ministers to discuss new sanctions over the crackdown on protesters.
President Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance party deputy Hadrien Ghomi, himself a descendant of Iranian immigrants, said the 149 votes in favor of the motion in the National Assembly "sent a strong message" to the world. The resolution condemns in the "strongest terms the brutal and widespread repression" against "non-violent demonstrators".
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said that the situation "requires action, with responsibility", adding that after two packages of sanctions already imposed at a European level, new sanctions are being prepared for the next Council of Foreign Ministers on 12 December.
But many Iranians ask if statements and resolutions are enough to pressure the theocratic regime in Tehran. More forceful steps, such as closing all European embassies in Iran or imposing more sanction to directly pressure the ruling elite are possible additional measures people mention in their social media posts.
These all came after the Geneva-based UN Rights Council last week voted to appoint an independent investigation into the Islamic Republic's deadly repression of protests, passing the motion to cheers of activists. Accused Western states of using the council to target Iran in an "appalling and disgraceful" move, Tehran said Monday that it will reject the investigation into the country's repression of antigovernment protests, like it refused to cooperate with UN human rights rapporteurs for 30 years.
Some Iranian officials have started to acknowledge some of its atrocities with Revolutionary Guards general Amirali Hajizadeh saying Tuesday that more than 300 people have been killed in the protests, acknowledging that innocent people have also been killed.
"Everyone in the country has been affected by the death of this lady [Amini]. I don't have the latest figures, but I think we have had perhaps more than 300 martyrs and people killed in this country, including children, since this incident," said Hajizadeh, head of the Guards' aerospace division.
Every country has national symbols that represent its rich culture and history, traditions, and unique attributes of the land and its people. The national anthem is one such symbol that evokes feelings of patriotism among the citizens, binds them with a united purpose and collective identity, and reminds them of what they perceive as their nation's glorious heritage. It is nearly universal that national anthems demand reverence and are viewed by many as a sacred representation of their nation. It is common to see people rise and place a hand on their heart to show their commitment to their land and display their patriotism as they hear their anthem performed.
As Iran’s widespread protests enter their third month, there is an unusual phenomenon that is visible on the world stage. Many Iranians are distancing themselves from their national anthem. Iranian athletes competing in national and international arenas have chosen silence and adopted a posture of mourning during the opening ceremonies with the anthem playing. In none of the clips of popular unrests emerging from Iran has the anthem been featured or chanted. It may seem out of place that a movement of freedom for Iran would eschew what is supposed to be a symbol of national unity. But a review of the history of this anthem adopted in 1990 by the Islamic Republic provides clues as to why Iranians have moved away from this “national symbol.”
The current national anthem of Iran is the third anthem adopted by the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution. For three months after the revolution, “Ey Iran” was the anthem which was non-political and non-religious and recounted the history, beauty, resilience, and culture of Iran. Subsequently, to promote the identity of the Islamic Republic, another anthem entitled “Payandeh Bada Iran” was adopted that celebrated the achievements of the Revolution. After the end of the Iran-Iraq war in 1988 and the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989, a competition was announced for a new national anthem to raise the spirits of the war torn and mournful nation. This led to the adoption in 1990 of “Sorude Melliye Jomhuriye Eslamiye Iran” which translates as the National Anthem of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The current anthem is short. The translation of the lyrics are as follows:
“Above the horizon rises the Eastern Sun,
The light in the eyes of the believers in truth,
The month of Bahman the pride of our faith,
Your message, O Imam [Khomeini], of independence and freedom is imprinted on our souls.
O martyrs! Your clamors echo in the ears of time:
May you endure eternally,
The Islamic Republic of Iran!”
In reviewing the lyrics, the only symbolism that celebrates the heritage of the nation is the Eastern Sun. The reference to the Sun has literary and cultural implications to the land, its calendar, and its history. But the rest of the lyrics depart from Iran’s national identity and focuses on the events and figures relating to the 1979 Revolution and its aftermath.
Since nature of the revolution was Islamic, the Sun in the first line ends up only illuminating the “eyes of believers in truth” thereby disregarding those who may believe differently than the ruling power apparatus. The month of Bahman overlaps with February, and this is a reference to the February 1st, 1979, return of the Ayatollah to Iran and the February 11th declaration of the victory of the Islamic Revolution. Why would a calendar month be represented as the pride of one’s faith? This cannot be simply faith in Islam or in the nation. This is faith in the Islamic Republic whose inception was in that fateful February (Bahman) of 1979. This further narrows the people for whom the anthem is meaningful.
In the lyrics, we come across a specific reference to Ayatollah Khomeini and a focus on his message of Independence and Freedom. Nearly 44 years have elapsed since those promises were made, and Iranians today feel that the message of the Ayatollah was only a mirage as Iran today is neither independent nor free by any stretch of the imagination.
The final part of the lyrics places words in the mouths of the fallen soldiers of the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-88. The fallen soldiers, referenced as martyrs, fought for Iran and its territorial integrity. But in a distortion of history, the lyrics suggest that their voices echo in the ears of time to eternally preserve the “Islamic Republic” rather than the nation of Iran. The sons and daughters of fallen soldiers have taken to social media to refute this notion. Additionally, the current system of government in Iran does not bear any of the hallmarks of a republic.
The sustained voices of the people of Iran are loud and clear. They want regime change. They do not wish to have a dictator as a Supreme Leader. They no longer wish to live under the Islamic Republic with its unsustainable policies within Iran and its ill-conceived engagement with the world. So, it is no surprise that an anthem that limits Iran’s definition to the confines of a particular ideology called the “Islamic Republic”, disregards its symbolism and heritage, overlooks its ancient history, and celebrates a figure with hollow promises, is mere propaganda to the Iranians rather than a symbol of national unity.
Nizam Missaghi is an Iranian-American physician. Due to being denied access to higher education under the Islamic Republic, he left Iran at 18 to pursue his education. He currently practices in the US and is also a clinical assistant professor of anesthesiology at the University of Arizona School of Medicine. He serves on the board of Iran Human Rights Documentation Center and has delivered lectures and written articles on Iran related topics.
The opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily the views of Iran International