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Prominent Sunni leader in Iran Sheikh Abdul Hamid Ismail Zahi, the Friday Imam in Zahedan, central Balochistan province, sent a message to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, in which he said the Sunni citizens of Iran are still considered “second class citizens”.
“The main problem of discrimination against Sunnis in Iran comes from certain parties in the decision-making centers,” said Zhi, known as “Maulvi Abdul Hamid” (72).
Abdul Hamid said that “42 years after the victory of the Islamic revolution, Sunnis in Iran still face many civil rights issues and concerns, as they see themselves as second class citizens in Iran.”
He cited issues such as the non-appointment of Sunni figures as ministers, governors, advisers or vice-presidents, representatives of the Supreme Leader, advisers to the Supreme Leader and other positions.
He also complained about the lack of jobs in ministries, armed forces and center offices of the Sunni governorate as examples of the problems Sunnis suffer in Iran.
And Abdul Hamid, Iran’s Supreme Leader, warned that “a cluster of Sunni issues and fears has gradually made them lose confidence in their country, even though they love their homeland very much, but they were disappointed with the lack of improvement of their conditions “.
He also criticized the creation of an emerging organization called “Sunni Schools Planning Council”, which he said wanted “to oversee all Sunni religious affairs through security and judicial institutions in different parts of the country.”
The letter also states that Khamenei’s order to eliminate discrimination against Sunnis in Iran, which was issued in response to Sheikh Abdul Hamid’s letter in 2017, is just a “pseudo-order” because ” it was not implemented by the country’s leaders.
It is worth noting that Sheikh Abdul Hamid Ismail Zuhi is considered one of the moderate Sunni figures who are very popular in political circles inside and outside Iran, and whom he has previously criticized Tehran’s foreign interference, as well as the hegemony of the Revolutionary Guards over the country’s political and economic life.
He also earlier criticized what he described as the “bitter reality” of the “lack of equal rights for religious and national minorities in Iran”.
Because of his positions, the Iranian authorities have for years prevented Sheikh Abdul Hamid Ismail Zahi, a member of the Mecca-based “World Muslim League”, from traveling to Saudi Arabia to attend the League’s conferences.
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