The most influential Iranian Sunni leader strongly criticized the Iranian judiciary for its weak and biased performance in recent years’ nationwide protests. Shaikh Abdol-Hamid emphasized on the importance of fair, just, and impartial judgments and believed that the judiciary must be independent of governments, power holders, and systems.
He was talking to the people of Zahedan in the Eid al-Adha prayers ceremony on June 29, 2023.
The duty of a judge is not to protect the state, but to implement justice
Referring to the national Week of Judiciary in Iran, Shaikh Abdol-Hamid said: “Judging and judicial systems have been in all cultures and civilizations of the world. Unfortunately, today many judicial systems are under the influence of power holders, but in democratic governments, the judiciary is independent and is not affected by government policies. Islam has brought a new culture and civilization in the world.”
He continued: “There was judgment at the time of the holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. The holy Prophet and the Companions judged fairly. People raised their issues to the Caliph Ali and to other Companions. The holy Prophet trained the method of unbiased judgment to the Companions. A woman who had stolen something was brought to the holy prophet PBUH. Her name was Fatimah. According to the Qur’an’s command, the holy prophet had to cut her hand. The woman’s family resorted to Osama bin Zaid so that he could say to the holy Prophet not to cut off the woman’s hand. When Osama said this to the holy Prophet, the Prophet got angry and said: Do you talk about the implementation of the divine command? Then he said: I swear to God, if she were Fatimah, the daughter of Muhamad, I would cut off her hand. There was no difference between common people and the family members of the prophet in judgment.”
“At the time of Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, a Jew took the war armor of Caliph Ali and claimed that the armor belonged to him. Ali suggested that they should go to the judge. They presented before the judge that was appointed by Ali himself. Judge Shoraih asked Ali to present his witnesses. Ali brought his freed slave and his son Hassan. The judge accepted the freed slave as a witness, and did not accept Hassan, and said that the child could not be accepted as a witness for the father. So Judge Shoraih issued his judgment in favor of the Jew and against the Caliph Ali. Ali accepted this judgment. The Jew was affected by the impartial judgment and converted to Islam and returned the armor to the Caliph Ali,” Shaikh Abdol-Hamid added.
The Iranian top Sunni leader went on to say: “In Islamic justice, the ruler and family of officials are not differing from other people. Judgment should not be influenced by political atmosphere, but should be independent and impartial. Even the judiciary is not responsible to defend any state and system, but to implement justice and fairness.”
The Friday prayer leader of Sunnis in Zahedan referred to the bad performances of judges in Iran and said: “Power holders have been commanding some judges in our country; this is contrary to the independence of the judiciary. The judge should not be subject to any security and military bureau, and must not obey any ministry, president, and even the supreme leader of the country. As Ali, who was the leader of the Islamic world, accepted the judgment of a judge he appointed by himself.”
It was expected that the judicial system would maintain its neutrality during the recent protests
“In the recent protests, the judges did not act fairly and impartially; we all expected them to judge unbiasedly. Those who were killed from both sides their murderers should have been punished,” said Mawlana Abdol-Hamid.
The president of Darululoom Zahedan called mandatory confession contrary to the Islamic and national laws and said: “Mandatory confession is not in accordance with Islam and with the constitution of the country. We do not defend riot, but peaceful protest is the legal right of the people. After nine months from the Bloody Friday incident of Zahedan; all people want judicial authorities to resolve the issue impartially and to punish the agents and personnel who targeted people. People get angry when the criminal is not punished.”
“Undoubtedly, on the Bloody Friday incidents of Zahedan and Khash, and in some cases in other parts of the country, the rights of many protesters were violated. People expected the judiciary to implement justice. In detention centers, some treated men and women violently. The judiciary had to deal with criminals. There should be no misbehavior in our detention centers, contrary to the Islamic law. All must fight corruption and illegal acts,” said Shaikh Abdol-Hamid.
He added more: “Unfortunately, corruption has been rooted as a malignant cancer in our country. The judiciary is not excluded from this. Fight against corruption seriously, so that no judge will violate the rights of the people. From different cities, people complain against judges; this has hit the independence of the judiciary. As the leader also advised, this corruption that exists in our country systematically should be resisted, and the past methods failed; there should be a new mechanism.”
People are disappointed with the elections
The most outstanding Iranian Sunni scholar said: “It is heard that many are about to prepare for the general election. Today, the Iranian people suffer from poverty and so many other problems. This shows the weak management of the authorities. Unfortunately, in our country, elites have no any special place and some run away from capable people. The Guardian Council has chosen weak people, and the intelligence offices approved the same in all government bodies. Today, people’s business has been hit and the inflation is high; all spectra and classes are distracted.”
“The MPs are supposed to be the representatives of people, not the state and government. They should defend people’s rights. How do they represent people when they are unable to defend the rights of the people? The representative must monitor the law enforcement and the domestic and foreign policies and should criticize in the parliament. People are disappointed with the elections and believe that the election cannot solve the problems of the country. The election has reached its weakest level throughout the history of Iran. No one tends to take part in the elections; all became disappointed,” Shaikh Abdol-Hamid further complained.
“In the last elections, people’s participation was minimized. I know well that people will not participate in the upcoming elections. If you want to bring change in the country, first you have to solve your problem with the nation,” he believed.
If you want to bring change, submit to the will of the people
During his Eid al-Adha speech, Imam of the Grand Makki Mosque of Zahedan said: “It is good to establish relationships with the United States and Europe and foreign countries, and this has been one of the people’s demands. However, it is more important to change the internal policies. Problems will not solve as long as you do not change internal policies. If you want to bring changes, you should reconcile with the nation, fulfill people’s demands, and release political prisoners.”
“If you release political prisoners, the value of national currency will increase. I speak as a well-wisher, and the people of the world are looking for these words. Our words are compassionate. We do not want to inflame the situation, but to bring reform. We love our homeland and defend our territorial integrity. Officials must respect the rights of all Iranians, including the rights of religious and ethnic minorities; all must have equal rights and opportunities,” said the Friday Imam of Zahedan.
My trip for Hajj does not hurt anyone
In his last points, Shaikh Abdol-Hamid said: “This year, we were about to go for Hajj, but the officials banned us from this trip. Some of our close relatives were about to go for Hajj with me. I have no complaint why they banned me, but they should answer the reason behind preventing my close relatives. This action is contrary to the teachings of the Holy Qur’an. The Holy Qur’an says: Do not prevent those who go to the journey of Ka’ba.”
“Of course, if I had the chance to go to Hajj, I would sit in a corner of Masjid al-Haram and perform the rituals of Hajj, and pray for everyone. This trip would not harm anyone, but discretion is important,” he added more.
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