The most influential Iranian Sunni leader called on the authorities to bring fundamental changes in policies and insisted on fulfilling public demands. He said: “Ignoring demands of the people and neglecting to bring changes in the past policies caused mass dissatisfaction of the people. People have lost their hope to be presented in all political scenes.”
Shaikh Abdol-Hamid was talking to the people of Zahedan before the Friday prayers on February 16, 2024.
Justice and freedom are public legitimate demands
The Iranian top Sunni leader continued his speech by saying: “The people of Iran have been raising their legitimate demands. It was expected that people’s demands would be taken into consideration. Did people have bad demands? All over the world, people’s needs and demands are taken into consideration. Paying attention to these demands is in the interest of the government and the nation. People wanted justice and fair distribution of posts.”
“The holy Quran emphasizes on justice. According to the jurisprudence of our Shia brothers, justice is considered as one of the principles of the religion. People want justice and hate discrimination; these are not bad demands. Islam and the constitution emphasize on freedom of speech and writing. These are the legitimate demands of the people, “said the Friday prayer leader of Sunnis in Zahedan.
In democratic countries elections are held fairly
The president of Darululoom Zahedan reacted to the mass disqualification of candidates and said: “In some countries, the president has already been selected and so-called elections are held. In every term of election, the same president comes to power. In such countries, people’s candidates who get votes are removed from the scene or put in jail. But in many other countries, there are freedoms and elections are held fairly, parties are free, and the election determines who will be the president and who will enter parliament.”
“In democratic countries, the representative of the parliament is not the representative of the system and the ruler, but the representative of the people. Iranian people wish that the capable people should not be removed. The Iranian nation says, why the capable people from different tendencies and religious and ethnic communities are not qualified to run the country?,”Shaikh Abdol-Hamid said.
The eminent Iranian Sunni scholar strongly opposed the interference of military officials in political scenes and said: “The military officials cannot run the country like the politicians. People should be able to send their own representatives to the parliament who have the ability to defend their rights, a representative who can supervise the implementation of the law and can monitor the internal and external policies of the country, because if the policies are wrong, it will hit both the country and the nation.”
Those who embezzled were qualified
People would be satisfied if you qualified their competent candidates
Shaikh Abdol-Hamid further criticized mass disqualification of candidates and said: “In the current situation, I wish that the qualification criteria were discussed. The final qualifications of candidates is entrusted to the Guardian Council. The Guardian Council has put very difficult conditions for qualifications of candidates. Practical commitment to Islam is one of the conditions of the Guardian Council, while this is a condition for accepting Islam. If a person, later, cannot fulfill all the obligations of Islam, he/she will not become an infidel.”
He added: “There is no need to put practical commitment to Islam as a condition for qualifying the candidates. Practical commitment is to mean that the person must participate in religious ceremonies, while the capability must be the main condition of the candidate.”
“Those who embezzled were qualified by government organs and had passed tough filters. Those who took the camel with the load and you qualified them, you thought they had a practical commitment to the leadership, “said Imam of the Grand Makki Mosque of Zahedan.
“Today, corruption has spread in the country in such a way that no one is able to fight it. The nation has come to the conclusion that the government cannot fight corruption. People would be satisfied if you qualified their competent people who could build the country. Unfortunately, the demands of the people were not met. Well-wishers of the country have been raising these issues, “the Friday Imam of Zahedan further said.
He continued: “Iranians, both men and women love Islam and respect the religion and love their country. If the people were heard, it would be to the goodness of the country.”
Today, people don’t have the hope to attend the scene
Satisfaction of people will not be achieved until you do not change the policies
Shaikh Abdol-Hamid urged on respecting people’s demands and said: “Problems will not be solved and the people will not be satisfied, until you do not change the policies. If the policies that have reached a dead end were changed, people would respond to your call. It is a fact that today people have lost their hope.”
He questioned: “Why those who served the country yesterday, are sitting at home today?”
“The past policies will not solve the problems, therefore, do not repeat the past methods, “Mawlana Abdol-Hamid believed.
The status of women is very high in Islam
The Iranian top Sunni cleric referred to the status of women in Islam and said: “In the pre-Islam era, and during the period of ignorance, the people of the world had fallen in belief, morality, and performance. The rights of weak people, especially the rights of women, were violated. Women had no dignity and status. When the religion of Islam emerged, the right belief and good ethics were established in the community. Women gained respect, special position and strong support. The holy Prophet peace and blessings of Allah be upon him gave a special place to women and made women equal to men.”
ShaikhAbdol-Hamid said: “Islam strongly prohibits inappropriate treatment of women. The holy Prophet peace be upon him condemned violence against women and said that those who do violence against women are not good people. In a hadith, it’s said: The best of you is the one who treats his wife and children well. The best women are those who respect their husband’s rights, are kind to their children, and raise them properly.”
The holy Prophet paid special attention to the education of women
The president of Darululoom Zahedan continued his speech by saying: “A government that does not have programs for the education of its nation, including the education of youth and women, is an incomplete government. The holy Prophet peace be upon him paid special attentions to the education of women. There was a particular door for women in Masjid al-Nabi. Women used to participate in daily and Friday prayers in the mosque. During the time of the holy Prophet, a large number of women participated in the Eid prayers. The Prophet peace and blessings of Allah be upon him held a special meeting for women, addressed them and answered their questions.”
“This shows that the Prophet paid special attention to the education of women, “he believed.
In our society, women should be respected
The dignity of women must be preserved in detention centers
The eminent Iranian Sunni leader called on the authorities to treat women well and said: “The holy Prophet peace be upon him used to look at all people equally. He listened to everyone and respected women. In our society, women should be respected. Officials and the public have a duty to respect women.”
“If a woman is arrested or if she has not observed hijab, her dignity must be preserved. No official should insult any woman. Unfortunately, women were treated badly in our society and women’s status and dignity were not maintained. In dealing with women, the responsibility was given to those who are far away from the teachings of Islam, “said the Friday Imam of Zahedan.
Mawlana Abdol-Hamid urged on respecting the rights of detainees and women by saying: “Women are our mothers, daughters and sisters and their status and dignity should be preserved even in prison. Those who have the slightest smell of Islam do not disrespect women. Police Officers must respect the dignity of women. No Police officer or investigator should speak harshly to male and female prisoners. Such interactions are against the principles of Islam and are contrary to the teachings of the Prophet, Companions and Ahlul-Bayt.
The Caliph Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, did not disrespect any accused. The holy Prophet and the righteous caliphs respected the captives on the battlefield. It is the prisoner’s right to get an independent lawyer and defend him/herself.”
He questioned: “Why the police officers who act against the law are not dealt with?
The judicial and security authorities should investigate the suspicious murder of Sepehr Shirani, impartially
The top Sunni leader of Iranian Baluchistan emphasized the need to investigate the suspicious murder of Sepehr Shirani, a Baloch student. He stated: “Two weeks ago, I warned that the suspicious murder of Sepehr Shirani should be clarified. This issue is still not clear to the people. These issues affect the security. We hope that the judicial and security authorities will investigate this issue impartially.”
“The fact should be determined to the people, “he insisted.