Claim by a Member of Parliament: Some Dervishes Believe in Armed Struggle

A member of parliament has claimed without providing any evidence that a "group" of dervishes, allegedly affiliated with U.S. and Israeli intelligence agencies, has separated from the Gonabadi dervishes, and that a "more radical group" among them believes in armed struggle. Abolfazl Hassanbeigi, in an interview with Mehr News Agency, claimed that these two groups are not under the leadership of Noor Ali Tabandeh, the leader of the Gonabadi dervishes, and have "separated" from the main group. He mentioned that the first group, which he claims is present in "Qom, Shiraz, and Borujerd," is "subservient" to Mossad and the CIA, asserting that they have "admitted this in various places." However, the MP did not specify where or how this group has made such admissions, although he stated that they "do not accept the Islamic Republic." A member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Parliament further spoke of a third group of dervishes that is "more radical than the second group, has recently been formed, and believes in armed struggle." According to him, members of this group have "procured weapons and are attempting to use them in various locations, having carried out small-scale actions in several instances." This MP claimed that this third group has become "very upset and worried after the epic of Bahman 22 (February 11) and is trying to... create casualties... and use levers like the Security Council and human rights issues to impose heavy sanctions on the Islamic Republic." He also stated that the second group's goal is to "bring Americans into the field" to raise issues in the UN and condemn the Islamic Republic. Like other hardline figures in the Islamic Republic, he referred to these dervishes as "Daeshis" and called on the judiciary, police, and all security agencies to "deal with these groups with full force." Hassanbeigi also suggested that the judiciary should "publicly disclose the details of their crimes on television and not show leniency." Following recent clashes between Gonabadi dervishes and police and plainclothes forces around the home of Noor Ali Tabandeh in Pasdaran Street, Tehran, opponents of the dervishes have made various unfounded claims against them and called for decisive action against them. Shia clerics Hussein Noori Hamadani and Nasser Makarem Shirazi have also labeled this group as "false mysticism," "invalid and deviant," comparing them to ISIS. These statements from the two Shia clerics come at a time when Noor Ali Tabandeh, the leader of the Gonabadi dervishes, has called on his followers to remain calm. Reports have previously emerged regarding the destruction of the Gonabadi dervishes' Hosseiniyeh at the behest of Hussein Noori Hamadani and some other Shia clerics. Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad, has also referred to the dervishes as "enemy spies" and described the clashes between this group and the police as "planned by America and Britain." Hossein Baqeri, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran, also issued a statement calling the deaths of three police officers and two Basij forces in the clashes on Pasdaran Street a "brutal crime by the germs of corruption and the dregs of ISIS in dervish disguise." Baqeri further described the dervishes who clashed with police in Pasdaran Street as a "wicked and mercenary group." The statements against the dervishes come at a time when the "Silsilah-e Ni'matullahi Sultan Ali Shah Gonabadi," which is usually referred to as the Gonabadi dervishes, is one of the Sufi orders that adheres to the principles and branches of Twelver Shia Islam and is known for its tolerance. Abolfazl Hassanbeigi, the member of parliament, also noted that the dervishes "under Noor Ali Tabandeh do not have a doctrinal divergence with the Islamic Republic and believe that their actions are lawful, and their effort is to announce that a group has separated from them." He added that these dervishes cooperated with security and law enforcement agencies during the recent clashes in Pasdaran Street, but the group that engaged in destruction and killing is one that has separated from them, having attacked people's homes and even thrown the belongings of a defenseless elderly woman into the street to block the road. These statements come amid reports that plainclothes forces used vulgar language to address the dervishes and assaulted them during the clashes. Nevertheless, Hassanbeigi defended the involvement of plainclothes forces in these clashes, stating that "the police announced that due to the volume of chaos, we could not cope alone, and according to the legal regulations that the Revolutionary Guards are the judicial authority, we sought help from the nearest Basij base." The Human Rights Defenders Center, chaired by Shirin Ebadi, reported on human rights violations in Iran in Bahman, referencing these clashes and stating that "the source of many unfortunate incidents in street protests is the presence and intervention of Basij forces at the scene of the incident."