Shia Mourner Who Insulted Molavi Abdulhamid and Sunnis Arrested in Qom

The prosecutor of Zahedan promised on Sunday, January 6, to address the case of a mourner who insulted Sunni individuals in the city. This mourner was arrested after insulting Molavi Abdulhamid and the Maki Mosque of Sunnis. According to Mehr News Agency on Sunday, quoting Mehdi Shamsabadi, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Zahedan, "The individual who disrupted the unity between Shia and Sunni in Qom has been arrested and will be transferred to Zahedan." This judicial official in Sistan and Baluchestan province stated that this Shia mourner was arrested after an arrest warrant was issued by the investigator of the case and was handed over to the intelligence of the Qom IRGC. The news of this Shia mourner's arrest came after a video surfaced of Ali Rezaei's mourning session at the 'House of Grief of Bibi Sharifeh bint al-Hasan' in Qom, where he stated, "Eating Abdulhamid's bread is forbidden" and that praying in the Maki Mosque of Zahedan is akin to committing adultery. He also likened the Maki Mosque to the 'Mosque of Dhirar,' which was destroyed by the order of the Prophet Muhammad. The release of this video sparked significant criticism in Sistan and Baluchestan and even drew criticism from government officials. The Basij Organization of Mourning in Sistan and Baluchestan issued a statement calling Ali Rezaei's actions "subversive and against national unity and the commands of the Imams of the Revolution" and demanded serious action against him. The intelligence organization of the Salman IRGC in Sistan and Baluchestan also announced that it had begun judicial proceedings and formed a case against this mourner. Based on videos released from the 'House of Grief,' one of the common themes in these mourning sessions is the insult to Sunni Muslims. Since the establishment of the Islamic Republic, government officials in Iran have consistently emphasized 'Shia and Sunni unity'; however, insults to Sunni sanctities have also been prevalent in the country and can even be found on state television. Insults against Sunnis in Iran are particularly common among government-affiliated mourners, who have always received special attention from Ali Khamenei and meet with him at least twice a year. The special attention of the Supreme Leader to this group of government supporters has persisted for years, even as their actions have incurred costs for the regime both domestically and internationally. In this context, last week, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the chargé d'affaires of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Baku to protest the remarks of a mourner in Ardabil, which Baku described as "a sign of increasing anti-Azerbaijani sentiments." This mourner made statements against Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of Turkey, and Ilham Aliyev, his Azerbaijani counterpart, stating, "A day will come when the descendants of Shah Ismail Safavi will raise the banner of Imam Zaman in Baku and cities that were part of Iran until about two centuries ago."