Abdulhamid Ismail Zahi, also known as “Molavi Abdulhamid”, is a famous figure in the city of Zahedan. He is the Friday prayer leader of the Sunni community and the director of Darul Uloom Zahedan, the largest religious and educational center for Sunnis in Iran. He is also the head of the Coordination Council of Sunni Schools in Sistan and Baluchestan province. Known among Sunnis in Iran as “Sheikh al-Islam Molana Abdulhamid”, he is highly respected and has a strong reputation. His efforts in the hostage situation of several Iranian border guards are credited as the main reason for their release.

Molavi Abdulhamid is very optimistic and hopeful about the slogans of the eleventh government regarding ethnicities and religions; his two recent meetings with the eleventh government’s president, Hassan Rouhani, indicate this matter.

Exclusive interview of the monthly magazine “Khat-e-Solh” with the Sunni Friday Imam of Zahedan, regarding his views and opinions on the situation in Sistan and Baluchestan province. This conversation took place before his travel ban from Iran; Mullah Abdulhamid Zamani was prevented from leaving the country by security forces when he intended to travel to Turkey to participate in the international conference “Attention of Muslim scholars for institutionalizing peace, moderation and sound reasoning.”

Dear Mr. Molavi Abdulhamid, during the recent months, you have met and talked with Mr. Rouhani at least twice; the first meeting was related to your trip to Tehran and the second meeting took place during Mr. Rouhani’s recent trip to Sistan and Baluchestan. In these meetings, as a representative of the people, what demands did you have from the 11th government’s president?

We talked about the problems that the Sunni community is currently facing as a whole. In both meetings with Mr. Rouhani, we discussed the pains that exist and our legal demands, and we raised the expectations of the people.

What are the main demands of the Sunni community and to what extent have these demands been addressed?

The main demand of the Sunnis is for all views to be equal towards all ethnicities and religions and to change. This was a slogan that even the President himself brought up during the elections, and the Sunnis also want this to finally happen after all these years, for these discriminations and inequalities to be eliminated. Just as it is stated in the law, everyone should be treated equally, regardless of their ethnicity or religion. It is also important for their abilities and capabilities to be utilized in various fields. This is all we ask for.

Fortunately, in this one year, steps have been taken; although it is still not enough and people are still waiting for officials to pay more attention and address their demands. However, compared to the steps that have been taken, we are hopeful and expect that, God willing, these demands will be fulfilled. The realization of these actions is in the interest of the Islamic Republic system and in the interest of national unity and national security, and it is very important and fundamental for the stability of our country.

Your biggest criticism has always been the lack of using qualified Sunni forces in key and governmental positions. What do you know about the reason for such discrimination?

In any case, every society has its own problems and our society is no exception, with numerous issues that will not be solved until all forces, from all ethnicities and religions, are utilized. Unfortunately, we witness that deserving individuals from the Sunni community and other ethnicities and religions are not being utilized at a national and regional level. The selection of managers is based more on their religion and ethnicity rather than their competence and abilities, which is not fair and just in our opinion.

Among the Sunni community, there is also a motivation to serve their country like their fellow citizens and play a role in its development and security. This opportunity must be given to them. If a nation is not employed and not given attention, it will be humiliated. Therefore, in our society, the Sunnis also demand self-respect, preservation of dignity, and respect for themselves.

Well, do you know the reason why for years they haven’t appointed qualified Sunni forces to government positions?

There is no clear reason and no legal prohibition for us to say that deserving Sunni forces were not employed. All of this has been nothing but acts of personal preference; some who were involved and had control over employment or delegation of responsibilities, have acted based on their own preferences. These preferences are also a result of biases that exist in many individuals and now their level or implementation varies. Therefore, when there is a lot of national or religious bias and it is used, it prevents a nation or a thought and religion from reaching its rightful and deserved rights. This is the issue at hand.

Some believe that this area is unsafe; how do you evaluate the factors that have caused this insecurity?

There are various reasons for insecurity; this province has long borders with neighboring countries and on the other side of the borders, there is no security in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, and there are many problems. Other reasons include lack of attention, lack of response, and lack of a unified perspective on issues that have caused many people to be dissatisfied. Well, there are also some people who have a hot temper and a fiery nature and in any case, they resort to extremism and violence… But we believe that if there is proper attention and a human perspective is taken, these problems will be solved. God willing, in the current government of prudence and hope, efforts are being made towards this and we hope to have sustainable security in the future.

Mr. Rouhani, during his recent trip to Sistan and Baluchestan province, discussed plans for providing water for agricultural lands, improving the quality of drinking water in cities, constructing a railway line in Zahedan and connecting it to the national railway, providing gas to Zahedan, developing the port of Chabahar, and also establishing mines and a petrochemical factory in Iranshahr. He promised that these plans would be implemented by the end of 2014 or at the latest, the first six months of 2015. Have any actions been taken so far to fulfill these promises?

As it is clear to Your Excellency, these are national and large-scale plans, and Mr. Rouhani has decided with great determination to implement such plans that are very effective in creating employment and improving the economic and living conditions of the people in the province. However, Mr. Rouhani’s trip was a very hopeful journey, but I am not yet aware of the steps taken so far and it is better to ask the officials about it…

The question that is being raised is how more than 90% of the people in Sistan and Baluchestan province voted in the recent elections and also supported Mr. Rouhani? I ask this question from two perspectives: firstly, because Mr. Rouhani is a Shia and secondly, because many believe that the main problems in this province, such as deprivation, will not be solved by changing the president…

The people of the province are, praise be to God, a people who have open-mindedness and their biases are not extremist biases, and they do not think about Shia and Sunni at all. The people of the province think about ideas and think about wisdom. Since Mr. Rouhani pointed out the problems that the people had, and raised the issue of equality among ethnicities and religions, and said that they will enforce the law and prevent lawlessness, it made him known and increased the people’s inclination towards him. Sunnis, who have suffered more hardships, mostly voted for Mr. Rouhani. That was the reason…

It has been a while since whispers about dividing the Sistan and Baluchestan province into multiple provinces have been heard; what is your opinion on this matter? Are you in favor of turning this province, like Khorasan or Tehran, into multiple separate provinces?

Regarding the division of the province, people have heard rumors that the province will be separated and they are very worried about it. Their biggest fear is that historical words and symbols will be taken away from the region, which is unbearable for them. In fact, this issue has become a concern for them. However, I agree that the province should remain as it is, for it is better and more compatible in terms of conditions and culture of the people. Of course, maybe their intentions are good and they think about it because this province is very vast, but we have also seen in relation to Khorasan that dividing the province did not help improve the situation of deprived areas. On the other hand, people have also heard whispers that the name of Balochistan may be removed from this region, which has made them sensitive. But I don’t think that if officials think carefully, they would decide to remove the name of Balochistan from the province, because it is recorded in the history of

As a final question, we must say that your efforts in the freedom of Iranian border guards played a significant role. Now that some time has passed since this incident and emotions have calmed down, perhaps we can better analyze. In your opinion, what is the main reason for the extremist actions of such groups in the region?

Finally, these groups have created insecurity while people want their region and country to be safe. These are people who are aggressive and extremist and use this to make themselves known. There are many problems and issues, such as economic problems and extreme poverty, discrimination and inadequacies, which are among the most important causes. But everyone has their own problems or complaints for various reasons, and they should not raise them with weapons; they should raise them through dialogue. Especially now that the platform for dialogue is more available in the government of prudence and hope than in the past, and the government itself is a government of dialogue, so let’s come together and raise the issues through dialogue so that, God willing, they can be resolved.

We thank you for the opportunity you have given us to be featured in the monthly magazine of “Khat-e-Solh” (Line of Peace).