Emphasizing on the implementation of justice and on observance of the constitutional laws, Shaikh Abdol-Hamid, the most outstanding Iranian Sunni leader while defending the Sunnis’ legal rights, stated that Sunnis are not extravagant.
Addressing among the Sunni worshipers in Zahedan’s Friday gathering on June 4, 2021, Shaikh Abdol-Hamid urged: “The implementation of justice is the biggest and most important demand of Iranians, especially of Sunnis. If justice and fairness are implemented, peace will be achieved for all”.
The Friday prayer leader of Sunnis in Zahedan said: “Shiites and Sunnis are Muslims and branches of Islam. We express our sympathy with all Muslims and human beings and consider everyone’s concern as our concern. We live in Iran, so we have more commonalities with Iranians”.
Shaikh-ul-Islam Mawlana Abdol-Hamid continued: “In our view, national demands take precedence over the ethnic and religious demands. If a Jew or a Christian or even a Baha’i or any other sect is oppressed, we will be upset; because they are all Iranian citizens and they have due rights”.
“We should have a high vision; ethnic and sectarian views hit the country and cause concerns among other ethnicities and sects”, said the eminent Sunni scholar of Iran.
“A ruler should act according to the views of the Prophet, as the Prophet PBUH said about Salman Farsi, who was an Iranian and had no relatives in Medina: Salman is from our family”, he said.
‘Narrow views cause divisions and differences’, he believed.
“Iranian Sunnis want justice and they just pursue their legitimate freedoms, freedom of speech and writing and so on”, Shaikh Abdol-Hamid urged.
President of Darululoom Zahedan continued: “The authorities should listen to the people and the public demands of the people should be taken into consideration”.
Shaikh Abdol-Hamid said: “Some say that the Sunnis of Iran are extravagant; they want portion, while the Sunnis don’t have any demand beyond the law. They only want their due rights”.
Criticizing the Article 15 of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Iranian Sunnis’ leader said: “As it isn’t stated in the constitution that the president should be from a particular ethnic community, it should also not be written in the constitution that the president should be a Shiite or Sunni; we ignore such a law in Sunni countries as well”, Mawlana Abdol-Hamid said.
He added: “The constitution states that Sunnis cannot be president of Iran, though we object to this clause and consider it the base of discrimination and call for its amendment, but the constitution has not stated that Sunnis cannot be appointed as ministers, deputy ministers and provincial governors”.
“During the forty-three years that have passed since the Islamic Revolution, Sunnis still couldn’t be appointed as ministers, deputy ministers and as provincial governors? Were such discriminations because of religious views?!” Shaikh Abdol-Hamid questioned.
He continued: “We are all Iranians and have equal rights. Sunnis have no demands beyond the law and call on the authorities to address their demands according to the law. The constitution is a national covenant that all of us are committed to implement it.”
“Sunnis want dignity. Sunnis were killed to defend the territorial integrity of the country and now they are ready to sacrifice to defend their homeland”, Shaikh-ul-Islam emphasized.
We hope the next president will solve the problems
The most influential Iranian Sunni leader continued his speech by saying: “We hope that the sincerest candidates will be elected by the people in the upcoming presidential and local council elections. We hope that in the presidential elections, the most qualified candidate that can solve the problems of the people, especially the problems of the Sunnis, will come to power”.
He stressed on the importance of unity and believed that the unity is not achieved only by slogans. He noted that instead of chanting the slogan of unity, the authorities should try for practical unity.
In his last points, Shaikh Abdol-Hamid referred to the death anniversary of the founder of the Iranian Islamic Republic and cherished his memory by urging on the importance of carrying out his words that Shiites and Sunnis are brothers with equal rights.
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