Khorasan Razavi's guidance advisor called a Sunni mosque in Zahedan a "house of corruption"
Mohammad Bagher Tabatabaei, an advisor to the Khorasan Razavi Province’s Guidance Department, called Zahedan’s Makki Mosque, the largest Sunni mosque in Iran, a “house of corruption” and called for its demolition on his Twitter account. He deleted his tweet after widespread protests.
The provocative statements of the advisor to the Khorasan Razavi Guidance Department on the eve of Eid al-Fitr sparked protests from Iranian Sunnis. In response to the protests and for the sake of “national peace,” the Iranian official was forced to delete his post from his Twitter account.
Tabatabaei writes: "I posted a message on Twitter that was a mistake and caused confusion among some compatriots. Out of respect for the peace of the homeland and out of respect for the soldiers who guard the peace of the homeland, I deleted it."
In a since-deleted tweet by the advisor to the Department of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Khorasan Razavi, the Makki Mosque in Zahedan, one of the largest Sunni mosques in Iran and the world, was called a “house of corruption.” He wrote: “One of the houses of corruption that must be destroyed is here. Makki Mosque.”
In response to users' reactions, Tabatabaei continued his tweet by referring to the architecture of the Meccan Mosque and explained: "Their building design was borrowed from the Anatolian usurpers!"
The Mecca Mosque is one of the greatest cultural and religious heritages, built in 1974, before the establishment of the Islamic Republic, during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi in Zahedan, the capital of Sistan and Baluchestan Province. The exterior of this mosque is reminiscent of the mosques of the Ottoman era in Turkey, and its interior is reminiscent of the Prophet's Mosque in Medina.
The design of the mosque building and its interior architecture are the achievements of Iranian artists. The Baloch people collaborated voluntarily and without payment in the construction of this building, and government institutions had no role in its establishment.
The unfortunate situation of Sunnis in the Islamic Republic
After the Islamic Republic of Iran came to power, Iranian Sunnis have faced many problems in establishing their mosques and religious centers.
In Tehran, the capital, there are more than a million Sunnis living, and Iranian Sunni leaders have repeatedly requested the construction of a mosque, but after more than four decades since the Islamic Republic came to power, "extralegal" institutions have not allowed its construction.
In addition to Tehran, in metropolitan cities such as Mashhad, where Sunnis live in a minority, some of their prayer rooms have been destroyed.
A Sunni prayer house in Tehran, known as the “Ponak Prayer House,” was demolished a few years ago by municipal forces, with the support of law enforcement and security forces, without prior notice. This action was met with strong criticism from the public and Sunni clerics.
Sunni scholars, including Maulvi Abdul Hamid, the Sunni Friday Imam of Zahedan, sent separate letters to the Leader and the President, protesting the destruction of the Poonak prayer hall.
Continuing insults and humiliation of Sunnis
Hassan Amini, the popular religious leader of Kurdistan, who has attended and given speeches at the Mecca Mosque many times, told Deutsche Welle Persian that the Mecca Mosque in Zahedan is the most important religious center for Sunnis and that Mawlawi Abdul Hamid is the most prominent Sunni figure in Iran.
Hassan Amini continued to emphasize that insulting statements are nothing new and that those who insult others go unpunished.
Regarding the statements of the advisor to the Khorasan Razavi Guidance Department, he says: "This person wants to create division among the Iranian people and create a difference between Shiites and Sunnis. Such comments are not new, and such insults have been raised in Iran in previous years, and as a Sunni minority in Iran, we are and have been attacked from all sides, and we are now accustomed to such issues."
Source: DW
