Grand Musalla, Basic and Urgent Need of Birjand’s Sunnis

Birjand, the capital city of the southern Khorasan province in the eastern part of Iran, is a city where thousands of Sunni citizens live. The Sunnis of Birjand have been suffering for so many years from lack of sufficient and appropriate places to hold the Friday and Eid prayers.
SunniOnline, the official website of the Sunni community in Iran cited the Telegram channel of As-Seddeeq Seminary in Birjand that Mawlana Gholam Haidar Farooqi, the Friday Imam of Sunnis in Birjand and rector of As-Seddeeq Islamic seminary said: “Sunnis of Birjand have been suffering from the lack of adequate places to hold the ceremonies of Friday and Eid prayers. The Mosque of this city is not sufficient to hold Friday and Eid prayers. Solving this problem and concern does not need much time.”
Shaikh Farooqi was talking to the Friday worshipers of Masjid-un-Nabi of Birjand on July 8, 2022.
He said: “One of the wishes of the Sunni in Birjand is to have a big place in order to hold their religious ceremonies freely. They have been demanding for a land for holding Friday and Eid prayers; the space of the current mosque has been very short and insufficient for the worshipers.”
“We have been discussing the matter with the provincial officials and governors and sent them letters to solve our problem regarding the allocating of a land for Eid and Friday prayers, but unfortunately, we have not got the wanted result yet”, said the Friday prayer leader of Sunnis in Birjand capital city of South Khorasan.
“We expect the officials to give an appropriate land to the Sunnis of Birjand in order to hold Friday and Eid prayers’ ceremonies”, he added.
Shaikh Gholam Haidar alluded to the problems of the prayer houses in Birjand, saying: “The Sunnis of Birjand have a large population in some towns of the city; the prayer houses are too small and do not have the adequate capacity for worshipers. We request the authorities to give us permission to build mosques or at least allow us to expand the current prayer houses.”
“Mosque is an honor in the system of the Islamic Republic of Iran; the supreme leader also emphasizes on holding prayers and says that schools should have exclusive places for prayers,” he further said.
“We wonder! Why Sunnis of Birjand have not been given permission to build a mosque?” Shaikh Farooqi asked.
The president of As-Seddeeq seminary in Birjand stated: “Sunnis have been in the forefront in all fields and scenes of the country alongside their Shia brothers. They have been participating in the presidential and parliamentary elections and have voted for the current president.”
He concluded his Friday speech of Birjand by saying: “Sunnis expect the officials to answer their demands and solve their problems.”