Alluding to the statement of the “Defenders of Human Rights Center” on Mawlana Abdol-Hamid’s recent remarks about Afghanistan’s crisis and his support for the president Raisi as a presidential candidate of Iran, Shaikh Abdol-Hamid’s office responded to this organization by issuing a statement in order to enlighten the public opinion.
The official website of Shaikh Abdol-Hamid publishes the statement of the office of the Friday Imam of Sunnis in Zahedan which is as follows:
Shaikh Abdol-Hamid (the most influential Iranian Sunni scholar) is a human rights’ defender who defends the rights of the minorities and oppressed people. He believes that he should stand up against oppressors; his stances have not been changed in this regard.
Mawlana Abdol-Hamid believes that human rights are fully considered in Islamic laws. The Holy Qur’an as the last divine book emphasizes on the importance of human rights more than the rights of Allah the almighty. If some Muslims don’t respect human rights, this is their own problem, as they are weak in other divine commands.
Islam has the highest capacity for human rights; the Islamic experts have to discuss human rights to make it clear that Islam cares more about human rights than other religions and sects. The issue of human rights is so important to him that he wants to hold a conference on Islamic law and human rights, and he wants to invite intellectuals and thinkers from different countries of the world to comment on this issue.
Shaikh Abdol-Hamid objects that some human rights’ activists do not challenge those in power for their opinions, for political purposes.
It should be said that as a close neighbor of Afghanistan and as an Islamic veteran expert, Shaikh Abdol-Hamid is more aware of the Afghanistan’s current affairs.
Shaikh Abdol-Hamid believes that after 20 years of experience, the Taliban movement has changed its approach. Declaration of general amnesty by Taliban, their entry into the cities without bloodshed, respect for women’s rights and providing security for Shiite mourners in Muharram are examples of the Taliban’s good approach.
Another positive and good performance of Taliban is that after their victory they didn’t claim that their government had been overthrown by the United States and now they are the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan without sharing power with others, but they seem to make efforts to form an inclusive government after the victory. This shows that now they have a high approach and capacity.
It is noteworthy that Afghans have been waiting for peace and security for years. The positive effects of security and peace in Afghanistan will be felt in other countries and the world as well. Taliban is the only party that can establish security in Afghanistan unlike the other Afghan parties and international organizations.
At the time of the previous corrupt government, dozens of the best elites, including Ulama, educated personalities and so on, were assassinated suspiciously by unknown people. Unfortunately both foreign forces and their Afghan allies were committing human rights abuses in Afghanistan. On that time, religious minorities were so afraid, but now Shia scholars express their happiness and satisfaction.
In recent days, Taliban have shown a change in attitude and actions; if there is a mistake, Afghan scholars and intellectuals of the Islamic world can be effective in reforming this group. Adopting a confrontational approach by scholars is not in the interest of the Afghan people. Surely, Shaikh-ul-Islam Mawlana Abdol-Hamid will use his influence to modify Taliban’s policies on issues such as women’s rights, ethnic and religious minorities and so on. Thinkers and real human rights activists are expected to consider these issues.
We eagerly hope that lasting security and peace will prevail in Afghanistan soon and all people of this country, including women, will achieve their maximum rights, God willing. We hope that in the near future human rights activists will be able to travel to Afghanistan with peace of mind and examine the human rights situation.
Regarding of Shaikh Abdol-Hamid’s support for the president Raisi, it should be said that after enduring more than 40 years of suffering, the Sunnis of Iran are still deprived of their obvious rights.
For several periods, Sunnis voted for the reformists; they paid the expenses of the reformists’ victory with no significant achievements for themselves but only the anger of fundamentalists who considered Sunnis the reason of their defeat. The reformists promised the Sunnis to fulfill their demands but failed to prove their promises.
After the disappointment from the reformists, the Sunnis of Iran decided to vote for the fundamentalists as they used to say Sunnis to experience them at least once a time. On the other hand, the Sunnis cannot play an independent role in the national political issues. In the same time the Iranian Sunnis are not members of any of those two factions, but they support the one who can address their demands. Minorities in the world are more vulnerable than other classes of a society, and their particular circumstances must be understood.
Corruption has been one of the vital issues of the country which has damaged the nation badly. President Raisi had gained experience in fighting corruption in judiciary in the last years. He has shown that he is serious in fighting corruption and ousting weak officials.
Mawlana Abdol-Hamid has been trying to bring reforms and he believes that efforts should be made in this direction as much as possible. Individuals and groups are not judged solely on the basis of their backgrounds; pragmatic actors consider a number of issues before making decisions. In the light of these points, in an interview with SunniOnline, he called the new government the “last hope for Iran”. It should always be kept in mind that for Mawlana Abdol-Hamid, national interests take precedence over the ethnic and religious demands.
At the end, it should be said that the award that Mawlana Abdol-Hamid received for his human rights’ activities from the DHRC, he did not expect to receive the award. Rather, it was their optimism that they awarded him a Prize. He believes that people and the whole society should be served for the sake of God, without expecting any prizes and receiving encouragement.
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