This is a picture of a beautiful flower.
Amir Chamani

Having beliefs that contradict the promotional and advertising beliefs of the central government system has always been met with rejection and suppression. Whether they are religious and spiritual beliefs, or political beliefs and thoughts.

Political currents

Political currents are either “critics” and “protesters” of the current situation, or “opponents” of the ruling system. Their approach and actions towards their political stance can vary from reform, participation in power, to structural change.

Governance also depends on their activities, from civil activities, human rights, women’s issues and democracy to creating a rift in the core of power for change, it adopts different approaches. From detention and suspended sentences to short and long-term imprisonment and execution.

Religious and ideological currents.

This spectrum, without the burden of power and politics, is mostly in pursuit of gaining freedom of action to continue the survival of intellectual, religious, and belief-based life. They see themselves as having rights that have been forcefully taken away from them. Now, depending on the extent of the population, the type of resistance and their hegemony also varies.

National currents

National currents operate at several levels. First of all, they exert pressure on their own national and linguistic rights, and then they have various interests in power and independence. They also try to change the type of central power’s perspective and policies in relation to their own national ideologies.

Despite having a large population, national movements in Iran have a lower success rate in pursuing their demands due to their fragmented nature and scattered political views.

The government’s response to all of these movements is the same: security measures. However, the intensity of this response varies depending on the power, activity, and nature of their demands.

The hardest encounter is with movements that, one: have the intention to change the existing structure by rejecting ideology and political domination. These movements can have a number of activists and supporters ranging from a few hundred to millions. Two: due to having supporters and a wide range of followers, they have the power of organization and hegemony.

In the new world, religion has lost its historical significance in defining the lives of humans. The modern human is either averse to religion and disbelief in God, or is searching for spirituality to fill the void left by the absence of traditional religious faith. This is one of the main reasons for the rise of new forms of mysticism. They do not have the strict rules of traditional religion, allow for more freedom of action, and are believed to provide solace for those lost and confused in the complex world of today.

In addition to the traditional religious beliefs of the modern era, in recent decades, due to the religious policies of the ruling authorities in Iran, the number of people who are turning away from religion is increasing every day. Therefore, similar to the global trend, there is a rise in new mysticisms and cosmic perspectives, as well as movements such as the dervishes, who also have a historical significance.

From the perspective of authority, religious and ideological movements that are “believers” and “faithful” and their thoughts are not in line with the dominant religion and ideology, and their followers have established their political and social lives based on their belief in their beliefs without any compromise, are more dangerous. Because these stubborn followers have countless numbers who can easily say “no” and have the ability to organize and form a large community to demand their rights.

Now, the type of dealing with these currents is also at two levels: jurisprudential and political-security.

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Opposition to the people of religion and government is mainly based on two main axes with the ascetics.

The first reason that is presented and promoted by clerics and superficial and materialistic scholars is the apparent differences in practices and beliefs of ascetics compared to the statements and actions resulting from the jurisprudential deductions of Shia scholars, which they refer to as “al-taqatti” and “bid’ah”. “Al-taqatti” in literal terms means selection and gathering, while “bid’ah” means innovation.

This group includes issues such as the concepts of pole, thought and remembrance, the division of Islam into two parts of Sharia and Tariqat, disbelief in the guardianship of the jurist, the conversion of Khums and Zakat into a tenth and not paying it to the representatives of scholars and sources of emulation, not performing prayers in mosques and not following the imams of congregations, the drinking of men, the ruling of prohibition of opium, gathering in Hussainiyyas and specific places instead of mosques, separation of religion from politics, and other similar issues have been documented as evidence of opposition to Sufism, and as a result, they have sometimes declared Sufis as apostates. Some scholars, such as Ayatollah Behjat, Fazil Lankarani, Makarem Shirazi, Sistani, and Masbah Yazdi, have officially stated in their fatwas that dealing and associating with Sufis is reprehensible

The second reason is the growing popularity of this way of thinking in society and the increase in the number of its followers – especially the significant inclination of young people – to this school of thought.

The situation of the poor in Iran

If mentioned above, for legal and ideological reasons, ascetics and any other group whose belief recitation differs from the official recitation of the ruling group, are considered as outsiders, deviants, and subject to punishment. Ascetics, Bahais, Nokeshans, Christians, and some other religious groups have faced such fate.

Deprivation of education, deprivation of work, deprivation of social and citizenship rights, are all part of the inevitable fate of followers of these movements.

From at least the 1980s, the dervishes tried to peacefully protect the rights of their followers by adopting moderate policies in response to any kind of confrontation, through letter writing, negotiations, and other similar actions. They avoided violence and tried to safeguard their followers’ human and social rights. Their gatherings were often destroyed, their followers imprisoned and executed, their leaders exiled, and their meeting places sealed; yet they continued to show compassion. In recent years, a new generation of dervishes, with a fresh perspective on politics, society, citizenship rights, and even their own dervish practices, and who had been pushed to the brink of deprivation, resorted to “resistance” which was interpreted as “violence” by those in power. In political theories, such resistance that leads to violence is also referred to as “sacred violence”.

Alan Badiou, in one of his interviews about violence, says: “The issue of violence is a very complex issue; but why? It’s one of those situations where we can never say violence never! We can’t say this, because we know that there are certain circumstances where violence, for example defensive violence against an aggressor, is a “necessity”. We also know that violence has a destructive power against politics.”

Naser Zarafshan writes in a note about capturing the concept of tyranny and violence: “Violence is related to the relationship between two ordinary citizens and is certainly undesirable and condemned from an ethical and cultural perspective in human relationships, while tyranny is a historical concept and is related to the relationship between government and people. Society is inevitably progressing and changing, and of course, everyone prefers this historical evolution to take place without anyone being harmed. But what can be done about those whose interests lie in maintaining the status quo and hinder the progress of society? They are the ones who always stockpile the most advanced tools of tyranny, which they have acquired with their own money, in their palaces, and they are the ones who always use and continue to use tyranny against the people.”

Yes. Of course, people prefer to make progress peacefully without shedding anyone’s blood, but freedom and progress without social justice is not achievable and as Joseph de Maistre said, the stench of blood rises from every page of history and from the very beginning, in this painful and tragic process of evolution of history, resistance has also been present alongside the efforts of people to make progress and assert their rights against the powerful and governments.

In December 2017, a series of protests erupted in cities across Iran, all stemming from widespread dissatisfaction in recent decades. People, fed up with financial and living conditions, took to the streets in hopes of finding a way out of the existing crises. The protests in December were a movement of hungry and impoverished people. Unemployment, poverty, deprivation, workers’ rights violations, the plight of bankrupt and depositors of financial institutions, various social issues, women’s demands, environmental destruction, and more were all contributing factors to the critical situation of the past few months.

“این عکس یک منظره زیبا از کوهستان است که در آن آسمان آبی و ابرهای سفید به طور طبیعی ترکیب شده‌اند.”

This photo is a beautiful landscape of a mountain where the blue sky and white clouds are naturally blended together.
An example of the threat of Dervishes in Khorramshahr – a photo of the followers of light.

In continuation of these protests, the Gonabad Dervishes were also not spared from the security crackdowns, and in the month of Bahman, on the seventh of Golestan Street in Pasdaran, Tehran, clashes broke out between security forces and followers of the Gonabad Dervishes. Supporters of Mr. Tabandeh stated that their gathering was to protect the Gonabad Dervish center from any potential attacks by security forces and plainclothes officers. This is because some of their comings and goings to Mr. Tabandeh’s house in the days leading up to the clashes were restricted by security forces.

The dervishes were overwhelmed by the intensity and severity of the clashes. They were on the brink of death and had nothing else to lose. They were forced to defend their last stronghold. Against the military forces stationed in the streets surrounding the seventh garden – who were equipped and armed – they resorted to “resistance” with empty hands and human shields, to protect their religious and human dignity, but were accused of “violence”, “attack” and “murder”. When tear gas and rubber bullets were fired by the police, they had no choice but to pick up stones and sticks. They were beaten, injured, more than 300 people were arrested, but they continued to resist. Two days of resistance and refusal, after the 1990s, is considered a new experience. But the price of this resistance was the execution of Mohammad Salas and long-term imprisonment of other detainees. And surely, there will be even more deprivation and severe restrictions for the dervishes to

History of Security Measures against Dervishes and Destruction of Khanqahs

Tabriz

In the year 62, the forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Committee of Tabriz attacked the Ne’matollahi Dervish Khanqah on Saghah al-Islam Street, adjacent to the mausoleum of the poets, claiming that they were promoting atheistic ideas and corrupting the youth. After a confrontation with the Dervishes, they forcefully expelled everyone from the Khanqah and bulldozed the oldest Khanqah in the city, which was 50 years old and had been renovated in the 1940s. Mr. Khamsa’i, the elderly leader of the Tabriz Khanqah, who was 90 years old, was also shown in the courtyard of the Khanqah to witness its destruction. Khamsa’i passed away one week after this incident.

Ouch Tappeh village in Miandoab.

In August 1979, “Hossein Mohammadi”, a member of the Ahl-e Haq sect, goes to serve in the military. According to the Ahl-e Haq tradition, their followers must carry a staff. Hossein, who disobeys the commander’s order to shorten his staff, causes a dispute between a clergyman and one of the officers in the barracks. They use the Shia-Sunni conflict as an excuse to force Hossein to take leave and flee from military service due to concerns for his safety. One of the senior commanders had told the Sunnis: “Kill him. I will take responsibility for it.” Because there is no retribution for these actions.

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“Mr. Soltanali Mohammadi, along with a number of residents of Ouch Tappeh village in Miandoab, by writing letters to local and national authorities, including the Ministry of Interior, the Article 90 Commission of Parliament, and the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, demanded respect for the beliefs and immunity of the Ahl-e Haq (People of Truth) from insults and humiliation in barracks and offices, and protested against discrimination in employment and early retirement of followers of Ahl-e Haq due to their beliefs. The follow-ups and open letters of the residents of Ouch Tappeh village during the years 1980-1982 had no result and at times faced reactions and pressure from security forces.”

In 2003, Mr. Soltanali Mohammadi’s attempt to publish a book on the beliefs of the Ahl-e-Haq and install signs with the beliefs of the Ahl-e-Haq on the door of his cattle farm in the village of Ouch Tepeh was met with opposition and resistance from local authorities. This led to the summoning and temporary detention of some of the followers of Ahl-e-Haq. The decision of the county council to remove the signs and the insistence of some of the followers of Ahl-e-Haq on their religious beliefs ultimately resulted in two armed clashes in October 2004 at the cattle farm in Ouch Tepeh. These two clashes resulted in the death of six villagers and three police officers, and the injury of 20 others. The commander of the police force in Miandoab, Soltanali Mohammadi and his son were among those killed in the clashes. Behrouz, the brother of

The destruction of the Darvishan Hosseiniyeh in Qom.

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On February 2006, following the unrest over the closure of the Darvishan Namatollahi Gonabadhi Hosseiniyeh in the city of Qom, it was reported that the Hosseiniyeh and two adjacent residential buildings belonging to two members of the Darvishan and their relatives, were set on fire and destroyed during the night. Eyewitnesses stated that one day after the attack on the Hosseiniyeh and the two buildings, there was no sign of the structures. The Hosseiniyeh, which was built three and a half years ago, had not yet been put into use. The governor of Qom announced that 1000 people were arrested during the unrest and 200 people, including the deputy commander of the Qom police, were injured. Mostafa Azmaish, the representative of the Gonabadhi Darvishan outside of Iran, stated that the Darvishan had no role in causing

In 2006, two lawyers from Gonabad were sentenced to imprisonment and a five-year ban from practicing law. Some of the dervishes were also sentenced to imprisonment and fines. Farshid Yedollahi, one of the two lawyers, told ILNA news agency that following the incident of the destruction of the Shariati Hosseiniyeh in Qom, 52 Gonabadi dervishes were sentenced by the court to flogging, imprisonment, and paying fines for disrupting public order and disobeying police orders.

The destruction of the Darvishan Gonabad Shrine in the city of Borujerd.

In November 2007, the Darvishan Gonabad Shrine in the city of Borujerd, in western Iran, was destroyed by law enforcement forces. Fars News Agency reported that the attack by a group of Darvishan Gonabadis on the Prophet Mosque in Borujerd and throwing stones at the mosque was cited as the reason for the start of the conflict. During the attack on the Darvishan Gonabad Shrine, dozens were injured and 180 were arrested.

Husseiniyeh and library of Gonabadis dervishes in Takht-e Foolad, Isfahan.

In Bahman 1387 (January/February 2009), the Hosseiniyeh and Library of the Gonabadis Dervishes in Takht-e Foolad, Isfahan, was attacked and destroyed by a bulldozer. Some of the dervishes who were present at the time of the attack, including those who were taking refuge with Dervish Naser Ali, were arrested but later released after the destruction of the site. The website of the Lovers of Light, belonging to the Gonabadis Dervishes, reported that 200 security forces, special units, and municipal authorities surrounded the area and entered the mausoleum under the pretext of inspection and investigation. They then collected all the books and items in the library and demolished all the buildings around the mausoleum (including the old building and the gathering place) with a bulldozer. (6)

Attack on the dervishes in Kavar city.

In September 2011, in Kavar County, Fars Province, a clash between Basij forces and Dervishes resulted in the death of a Dervish named “Vahid Banani”, the injury of dozens of people, and the arrest of many Dervishes. This bloody clash, in which security forces used tear gas and bullets to confront the Dervishes, was sparked by widespread propaganda by seminary students and Basij members in Fars Province, who labeled the Dervishes as “American” and “heretical”. In addition, the Dervish gathering place in Kavar was set on fire and the members of the Dervish news agency (Majzooban-e Noor) were arrested.

Notes:

1. Confectionery, Zohreh, Iranian government and Dervishes (accessible through YouTube website).

2. Zarafshan, Naser, A Note on “Violence” in Struggle, Lajvar, 12 Dey 1396.

3. A memorial project; about Mehdi Qasemzadeh, the Bonyad-e Baromand Foundation.

4. The Dervishes of Gonabad and the Struggle with the Iranian Government, BBC Persian Website, 1 Esfand Month 1396.

5. طور که

   As it is

6. طور که

   As
   

7. Attack on Dervishes in Fars Province with the slogan “Death to American Dervishes”, Radio Farda, 12 Shahrivar 1390.