Iranian Sunnis across the country have offered Eid al-Fitr prayers on Wednesday 5th June, 2019 in Mosallas and mosques. There are reports that Sunnis in Tehran could offer prayers in some prayer-houses allocated and permitted by the authorities and others were forbidden.
Sunnis in Iran have own mosques in cities and towns where they are in majority, but there are cities where they do not have mosques and neither they are permitted to build mosques such as in Tehran, Esfahan, Tabriz and Kerman. In a city like Shiraz they have only one mosque.
State should prohibit religious pressures
Talking to tens of thousands worshipers on Eid al-Fitr day in Zahedan’s grand Mosalla, Shaikh Abdol-Hamid defended Iranian Sunnis’ due rights and criticized religious pressures and self-made regulations imposed by some security and intelligence authorities, mainly in metropolises.
The official website of Maulana Abdol-Hamid reported that Khateeb of Sunnis in Zahedan said: “Allah Almighty likes justice and implementation of justice even more than personal worships like offering prayers. Justice is very important in Islam; it is one of the main elements of Deen according to Sunnis and one the principles of Islam according to Shias.”
“Durable peace is the fruit of justice. Justice strengthens national unity and peace. We all are responsible to act justly. Men should be just with their children and wives and states should be just with their people who belong to different ethnic and religious sects and communities. Allah orders us in the Noble Qur’an: “Surely Allah enjoins justice, kindness; [16:90]”, he added more.
The most influential Iranian Sunni leader said: “The constitution is a national contract for all Iranians. They should respect law; especially officials and power-holders should execute law and respect it.”
“The freedoms which have been clarified in the constitution should be respected and implemented. The state and government are supposed to stop and prohibit illegal religious pressures and self-made obstacles. We’d like to draw attention of the authorities especially to Sunnis live in metropolises and they are in minority over there; they are vulnerable; their due rights should not be violated by powerful elements and bureaus against the constitution,” he underlined.
People of Ahvaz should enjoy religious freedom
Friday imam of Sunni of Zahedan further said: “The respectable people of Ahvaz are also Iranians and they should get officials’ attention. Authorities should be careful about the due rights of those people; their rights should not be violated and they must be free to worship Allah according to their ways.”
“Respectable people of Ahvaz sacrificed for the country and they were victims of Ba’thi assault in the 8-year-long war. They should be respected and cared more,” he said.
Shaikh Abdol-Hamid said: “Religious issues and tendencies should not deprive people from their due rights.”
He urged on the officials and said: “The state and masses have bilateral rights on each other and no one should violate the other’s rights. I’d like to call on the officials to abide with the international treaties which are for the whole world. We should try to not give justification to any side, but the indisputable rights of the nation should be defended, too.”
“All Muslim countries and nations should be vigilant as the enemies create sectarian disputes and they have plans for creating distance between nations and states, religious and ethnic communities and they misuse all chances to create troubles,” Maulana Abdol-Hamid added more.
He said: “Muslims should be careful; the US, the occupying regime of Israel and other powers just want to steal our interests. So Muslims should protect their independence and show more wisdom. Tension in the Muslim world has been in rise and it is not in favor of Muslims.”
At the end of his speech, Shaikh Abdol-Hamid said: “Eid al-Fitr of 2019 was exactly on 5th June as it has been announced in the country. We completed 30 days of fasting and there were not acceptable legally. So no one can blame us that we announced Eid a day later in order to avoid its coincidence with the death anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Mufti Qasemi: We have only two Eid holidays
The grand Mufti of Darululoom Zahedan and its senior Hadith teacher, Mufti Mohammad Qasem Qasemi talked to the audience of the biggest gathering for Eid prayers in Iran and said: “There are only two legitimated Eid holidays in Islam; Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. If other holidays are named Eid, it is not legitimated by Shari’ah.”
“Ramadan has two happiness; happiness of breaking fast at sunset every day and happiness of Eid after the end of Ramadan. Eid is a prize for Muslims as they observed fasting and purified their selves,” he added more.
Aleem Yarmohammadi, representative of Zahedan’s people in the parliament also talked with Sunni worshipers on Eid day.
He said: “Insulting Sahabah on the state TV was a deliberate act and such acts should be classified as crimes in the law of Islamic penalty.”
Eng. Yarmohammadi criticized smuggling of fuel with big tankers by some official sides and decried firing on common Baloch youth by security forces.
