The most influential Iranian Sunni leader warned of the dangerous consequences of forcing people to act upon religious rituals and rulings, saying there is no value in the faith which is adopted by force.
During his lesson of the interpretation of the holy Qur’an in the Grand Makki Mosque of Zahedan on March 24, 2023, the president of Darululoom Zahedan said: “Scholars, authorities, and power holders should not force people to accept their commandments. This is a mistake that we should force people to follow religious codes. There is no value in a religion that compiles people to its verdicts. We do not allow anyone to force people to accept Islam. We cannot push anyone to the paradise forcibly. We can only clarify the truth so that everyone has a choice to accept or not.”
Shaikh Abdol-Hamid continued: “Governments, scholars, and missionaries should not behave in a way that lead people to hate the religion. Once some guests met me at home; among them was a woman. She said: “I’m not against the hijab, but when the officials did not pay attention to our demands, and forcibly ordered us to wear hijab; I discovered my scarf to show ‘civil disobedience’. If the authorities meet our demands, I would put a scarf in my head.” If officials listened to the people, they would obey the law themselves without any need of force.”
“Force does not solve problems, rather, it increases them. Ethics are important. Maintaining the power is not possible by force, but by serving the people and loving and encouraging them. Love is still in the heart of Muslims. Authorities and scholars can reform the community with love and passion,” said the Iranian top Sunni leader.
He said that the reformation of society is possible when Ulama and officials are purified and good in deeds.
No government or organization has the right to force prisoners for confession
Imam of the Grand Makki Mosque of Zahedan called compulsory confessions against Islam and international laws.
“According to Islam and international laws, no government or organization has the right to recognize the forced confession. Mandatory confession is not credible. In this city, some authorities forced a man to confess to a murder of someone, then the Supreme Court suspended the sentence, and later it was disclosed that the accused of murder was forced to false confessions,” the top Iranian Baloch cleric said.
He expressed hope that the disrespect and torture of prisoners and detainees will end in Iran.
“They are all Iranians. The people of Iran are the real owners of this country. People do not accept compulsive confessions. Violence should end,” Shaikh Abdol-Hamid said in his class of the Qur’an interpretation.