Molavi Abdolhamid's Protest Against the Destruction of Sunni Prayer House in Tehran

The Sunni Friday prayer leader of Zahedan, in a letter to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, protested the destruction of a Sunni prayer house in the Punak area of Tehran, emphasizing that "such actions give violent and extremist elements an opportunity to exacerbate divisions." Molavi Abdolhamid also wrote in a letter to President Hassan Rouhani that the destruction of this prayer house not only "hurts the feelings" of Sunnis in Iran but also "injures the feelings of Muslims worldwide." According to the Sunni Online website, the Sunni prayer house in Punak, Tehran, was demolished on Wednesday morning, July 28, "by municipal forces" with "the support of security and police forces." The report states that on Wednesday morning, after "security forces visited the Punak prayer house and confiscated the mobile phone" of Molavi Obaidollah Mousazadeh, the prayer leader of this house, and "searched his home," the municipal forces destroyed the prayer house. Hours after this incident, the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Zahedan emphasized in a letter to the Supreme Leader that such actions give "violent and extremist elements an opportunity to exacerbate divisions" and demoralize Sunnis. The letter also stressed: "In a time when extremism, takfir, division, and violence are rampant in the world... Sunni brothers and sisters did not expect this." Molavi Abdolhamid also attributed the "spread of extremism" in the world to factors such as "intolerance," "disregard for the rightful demands of the people," and "failure to recognize existing realities." He added: "The intolerance towards a simple prayer house and its destruction in a city where citizens of the Sunni community are not allowed to build mosques, and their 37-year demand after the Islamic Revolution has remained unfulfilled, not only injures the feelings of the Sunni community in Iran but also hurts the feelings of Muslims worldwide." Molavi Abdolhamid also considered the destruction of the Sunni prayer house in Tehran as an act aimed at "pleasing narrow-minded, short-sighted, and extremist individuals." Meanwhile, according to the "Baluch Activists Campaign" website, Molavi Sadati, the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Saravan, also expressed "regret" over the destruction of the Sunni prayer house, emphasizing that if no positions or ranks have been given to Sunnis in high management levels of the country, their religious freedom should not be taken away. Security forces had previously prevented the holding of Friday prayers, Eid al-Fitr, and Eid al-Adha at this location. For instance, during the closing ceremony of the International Unity Conference in December last year, security and police forces prevented the holding of Friday prayers led by Molavi Abdolhamid in Tehran. According to the Sunni Online website, the Sunni prayer house in Punak, Tehran, had also been sealed by "security forces" a few months earlier, and after the seal was lifted, Sunnis were not allowed to hold "Friday prayers and Eid prayers" at this prayer house.