Officials must Quell People’s Anger

Referring to the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman from the northwestern city of Saqez in police custody in Tehran, while demanding for a fair investigation to the case, the most influential Iranian Sunni leader insisted on taking wise measurers in order to quell people’s anger.

Issuing a statement released by official website of Shaikh Abdol-Hamid, “establishing an independent fact-finding committee and dealing with the culprits behind the incident” and “changing the government’s ineffective behaviour with the people” were among the most important and significant suggestions of the most influential Iranian Sunni leader.

The text of Shaikh Abdol-Hamid’s statement is as follows:
“The painful and shocking incident of the death of a Kurdish woman in one of Tehran’s police detention centers has seriously wounded public sentiments. According to the statements of the deceased’s parents, she had no previous disease; so it is necessary to form an independent fact-finding committee that announces the result of the investigation to the people. The culprits of this incident should be punished.

The severe reaction of the people over this tragic incident needs serious exploration. In my opinion, today, the Iranian people are angry all over the country. The severe economic crises, the embezzlement of billions of money in some government offices, the increase of the number of capital punishment over drug trafficking, harsh treatment of suspects and accused, the death of some suspects and prisoners in detention centers and prisons, and the intensification of religious pressure on minorities, are among the main factors of such protests. In fact, there are so many cases of complaints.

In Baluchistan, people are straggling with so many problems, including the livelihood and economic problems. Some people resort to fuel smuggling to earn a little money in order to spend their lives; sometimes they are killed by the armed forces and burned in fire. We see a similar situation in Kurdish regions too.

In order to fulfill the legal aspirations of the people and to change the current miserable situation, the officials must take concrete measures; otherwise, problems will be remained unsolved, and distance between the nation and the system will increase day by day. Injustice that leads to violation of people’s rights has had adverse consequences.

The holy prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, warned his commanders of the sigh of the oppressed and said: There is no obstacle between the sigh of the oppressed and Allah, and the cry of the oppressed is answered immediately.

I believe there should not be such a treatment in the case of hijab that violates the dignity of people and breaks the Islamic laws. People should be directed through encouragement and persuasion, not by force and conversion that lead to mistrust and suspicion.

The physical contact with women is against the teachings of Islam and lead to many other evils and sins. I hope that the respected officials will bring a fundamental change in country’s policy after the public protests against this unfortunate event that led to the death of Mahsa Amini.

At the end, as my duty, I express my sympathy and condolences to the people of Iran especially to the Kurd countrymen, the family and survivors of Ms. Amini.

Sep. 20, 2022