Reports suggest a fanatic Iranian footballer, Shayan Mosleh, has insulted some great Sahabah, including the Mother of the Believers Ayishah, the Guided Caliphs and all others who gathered at Thaqeef swearing allegiance with Abu-Bakr As-Seddiq.
Insulting Sahabah, especially some particular ones, is a common issue in Iran by the name of criticizing them on taking over the power and fighting against Ali bin Abi Taleb. But in recent years, after viral of many such insulting videos and outrageous reaction of Muslims around the world, some officials and pro-state scholars had no choice but to issue decree against insulting the Mother of the Believers.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran and a Shia Marja’, clearly said in a fatwa that “Insulting figures and symbols celebrated by Sunni brethren, including the wife of the Prophet of Islam [Aisha] is prohibited. This includes the wives of all prophets, particularly the master of all prophets Muhammad (May God’s greetings be upon him and his household).”
Despite this clear fatwa, the series of insulting Sunni sanctities seems to be non-stop. This is either because the blasphemers belong to some ultra-fanatic circles of Shia sect or they consider the fatwa just a tool to calm Sunni Muslims’ anger outside of the country following the insulting movements of Yasser al-Habib, a Kuwaiti Shia cleric.
When the state-run offices do not take such fatwas seriously, of course we cannot expect to see any respect for the Sunni sanctities. Without legislating the crime of insulting Islamic sanctities which include Sunnis’ sanctities, the process of insulting cannot be stopped or decreased, at least.