Advisor to Rouhani Emphasizes 'Positive Discrimination' for Employing Religious and Ethnic Minorities

Ali Yunusi, advisor to Hassan Rouhani on ethnic and religious minorities, has called for 'positive discrimination' to increase the presence of 'ethnic minorities' and Sunni Muslims in government positions, stating that the exclusion of minorities from social roles contradicts 'national security and cohesion.' In an interview with the Shargh newspaper published on Saturday, April 6, Yunusi emphasized that 'we must pay more attention to positive discrimination regarding ethnic minorities.' The former Minister of Intelligence of Iran stressed that 'prominent figures from Baluch, Kurdish, Arab, Turkmen, and Sunni backgrounds should be appointed to important positions' and added that, under equal conditions, 'ethnic minorities' should be preferred over a 'majority.' Since the 1979 Revolution, no ministers or government members have been chosen from Sunni backgrounds. In this context, Molavi Abdolhamid, a prominent Sunni cleric, has noted that the 'most significant problem' for Sunnis in Iran is 'discrimination and inequality,' and they face challenges in hiring within institutions, organizations, and agencies, as well as in being assigned responsibilities and positions. Ahead of the introduction of proposed candidates for the 12th government in the summer of 2017, the Sunni representatives' faction in Parliament had also requested that 'the elite of the Sunni community be prominently present among the proposed ministers.' However, no Sunni minister was introduced in Rouhani's second government either. Meanwhile, Hasal Daseh, a Kurdish political activist and former MP, stated anonymously that 'some Shia clerics have contacted Hassan Rouhani and some reformist leaders, requesting that no Sunni minister be introduced.' In Rouhani's first government, Emad Hosseini from the eighth Parliament was appointed as Deputy Minister of Oil, and Saleh Adibi was appointed as the first Sunni Kurdish ambassador to Vietnam and Cambodia. In Rouhani's second government, Suleiman Pakseresht, a Sunni Kurdish figure, was appointed as the head of the Technical and Vocational Organization of the country. In addition to Sunnis, followers of Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Christianity in Iran, recognized as three religious minorities in the Constitution, are also deprived of high government positions. Bahá'ís, another religious minority in Iran, are even denied rights such as university education and holding government jobs. 'Figures like Spenta Niknam should be mayors and governors,' Yunusi stated in another part of his interview with Shargh, asserting that the exclusion of Sunnis or members of 'a religious sect' like the Dervishes from social positions, parliamentary representation, university professorships, ministries, governorships, etc., is not in the interest of 'national security and cohesion.' He added that 'it is truly in the interest of our national unity and cohesion that individuals like Spenta Niknam not only be in the city council but also become mayors and governors.' Spenta Niknam, a Zoroastrian member of the Yazd City Council, was suspended from council membership by the Administrative Justice Court due to a complaint from his conservative rival, Ali-Asghar Bagheri, based on his non-Muslim status. Although some parliament members have reported pursuing this issue in the Supreme Council for Resolving Conflicts of Powers, the status of Niknam remains unclear despite the end of his six-month leave from the Yazd City Council. In another part of Yunusi's interview, he stated that 'religious sects' such as Ismailis, Zaidis, or Dervishes are 'certainly not a threat,' and 'we should use them for communication with the Islamic world.' The advisor on ethnic and religious minorities to Hassan Rouhani also added, 'What connects us with Islam in Africa or Islam in Central Asia is this Dervishism; because most of the Islamic world are Dervishes, most scholars of the Islamic world are Dervishes.' The former Minister of Intelligence also referred to the crackdown on Dervishes as a 'mistake' made 'by part of the government and authority.' On Tuesday, February 19, 2018, a protest gathering of Gonabadi Dervishes around the house of Nourali Tabandeh, the leader of this sect, turned violent due to the intervention of security forces and plainclothes motorcyclists. Earlier, the Human Rights Defenders Center, chaired by Shirin Ebadi, reported human rights violations in Iran in February, noting that 'the presence and intervention of Basij forces at the scene of incidents is the source of many unfortunate events in street protests.' Reports indicate that over 500 Gonabadi Dervishes were arrested during clashes in Pasdaran Street in Tehran, with reports of severe 'beatings' of detained Dervishes and 'fractures of heads, jaws, and several teeth' as well as poor physical conditions of some of them. In this regard, Amnesty International expressed concern in a statement published on Thursday, March 29, regarding the situation of at least 11 female Dervishes detained in Qarchak prison, calling for their immediate release. Yunusi also stated in his interview with Shargh that no religion or sect in Iran 'has the right to incite, promote, or evangelize.' In recent years, several evangelical Christians have been arrested and sentenced to long-term imprisonment. In many cases, the charge against these individuals has been 'acting against national security by establishing and participating in house churches.' Since the victory of the February 1979 Revolution, at least six church leaders in Iran have been killed, and hundreds of Christians have been interrogated and imprisoned. Additionally, the printing of the Bible in Persian has been banned, and some churches have been closed, with restrictions on church ceremonies conducted in Persian.