Rafsanjani Identifies 'Lies and Unjust Imprisonment' as Factors of Division in the Country

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of Iran's Expediency Council, mentioned 'lies, oppression, and unjust imprisonment' as factors contributing to 'division' among Muslims, stating that 'for 30 years we have been talking about unity, but we have not acted.' He also implicitly accused the Islamic Republic's broadcasting organization of lying, claiming that it broadcasts 'signs of division' and 'feeds the public things that do not exist.' According to the state news agency IRNA, Rafsanjani emphasized on Thursday, January 1, that 'the essence of unity and solidarity is not something easy; we have been talking about unity for 30 years but have not acted; we definitely need to take action.' He identified 'lies, oppression, and unjust imprisonment' as 'factors of division' and added, 'if disagreements remain in discussion, it is beneficial, but when it leads to action and physical confrontation and exceeds a limit, it turns into accusations, lies, and conflicts.' The head of the Expediency Council further stated, 'We must behave brotherly with each other despite our differences and should not rely solely on words; during the unity week, specific individuals or institutions should not bully others, but unfortunately, we are not like that.' Rafsanjani stressed, 'We must put aside the unnecessary divisions we create against each other and all the statements, accusations, and oppressions that we impose on individuals and imprison them, as division and polarization benefit no one.' According to Molana Abdolhamid, the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Zahedan, based on statistics from the Ministry of Interior and official sources, Sunnis make up 'about 20 percent' of Iran's total population, yet they are deprived of holding group religious ceremonies in Shia-majority cities, including Tehran. In recent years, reports have also emerged of preventing Sunni collective prayer ceremonies in Tehran after the Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr. Currently, many Sunni citizens of Iran are imprisoned in Sunni-majority cities and Tehran. The website Kalemeh, close to Mir Hossein Mousavi, reported in September 2013 that about 160 Sunni prisoners were held in Hall 10, Ward 4 of Rajai Shahr Prison, of which 26 have death sentences. However, Islamic Republic officials insist that these individuals were not arrested due to their religious beliefs. In another part of his speech, Rafsanjani said, 'These days, how much division is broadcasted by the state media, and we feed the public things that do not exist, and these divisions do not serve the country and the revolution.' Molana Abdolhamid, the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Zahedan, in November, wrote a letter to Mohammad Sarfaraz, the new head of the Islamic Republic's broadcasting organization, requesting the broadcast of the Sunni call to prayer on radio and television in Sunni-majority areas and refraining from insulting 'the religious beliefs and culture of Iranian ethnic groups' in the programs of this organization. In recent years, Sunni scholars in Iran, including Molana Abdolhamid, have repeatedly protested against the 'insult' to Sunni beliefs in the Islamic Republic's broadcasting organization. In the latest case, Molana Gorgij, the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Azadshahr, on November 16, protested against the 'distortion of Sunni beliefs' and the broadcast of images by the state media that allegedly showed Sunni mourning for the third Shia Imam. Reports indicate that following this speech, the state media launched severe attacks against this Sunni cleric. The broadcast of the series 'Mokhtarnameh' in 2010 also caused widespread protests among Sunni clerics in Iran. In recent years, some clerics close to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, including Mohammad Taqi Mesbah Yazdi, have repeatedly made statements against Sunnis. For example, on March 16, 2014, he referred to Sunni Muslims as believers in a 'false religion' and stated, 'Shia books should be promoted among Sunnis so that those with less prejudice can more quickly reach the true religion.' Rafsanjani made his remarks on Thursday at the conference 'The Prophet of Mercy and Tolerance,' which, according to Ali Yunusi, the special assistant to the President of Iran for ethnic and minority affairs, was held to introduce 'the merciful and original face of Islam' simultaneously with the violent interpretation of Islam by the ISIS group.