The Velayat-e Faqih and Historical 'Retribution' Against the Dervishes

The year 2018 began with a noticeable increase in pressure on political, civil, and religious dissenters. In this context, the Gonabadi dervishes are at the center of heavy security pressures and confrontations. Their application of civil disobedience and resistance in defense of their rights and religious freedom, as well as their opposition to the assault on their leader, Noor Ali Tabandeh, has instilled fear in the authoritarian powers, leading to intensified actions against them and punishments aimed at serving as a lesson for other critical and opposing groups. According to some reports, imprisoned dervishes are being pressured and tortured to confess in accordance with the security apparatus's demands. Contrary to the claims of the political and propaganda institutions of the Islamic Republic, the Gonabadi dervishes have primarily been victims of unjust state pressure and violence. The harsh actions attributed to them, even if true, have a significantly narrower scope and have emerged as a defense and reaction to the larger violence of the government and widespread rights violations. Although the Intelligence Protection of the IRGC and the police, with the permission of the judiciary, are the main actors in heavy arrests and interrogations, the Ministry of Intelligence also pursues a similar policy of strictness against them. In fact, Hassan Rouhani and the ministers of the interior and intelligence of the eleventh government have not only failed to defend the civil rights of the Gonabadi dervishes but have also facilitated their repression through their silence. Rouhani's promises and claims regarding the realization of civil rights have not gone beyond words and slogans and have not created practical capacity for improving the bleak human rights situation in the country. The pressures on the Gonabadi dervish community have led all official media of this movement to go silent. The political system's plan is to limit the public efforts of the Gonabadi dervishes and prevent the growth and development of their beliefs in the religious realm of society. It also seems that the practical approach of the dervishes in standing up for their rights and utilizing civil disobedience has made breaking their resistance particularly important for the Islamic Republic and especially the institution of Velayat-e Faqih. The defense of Mohammad Thalath, who is accused of running over security forces with a bus and has denied the charge of premeditated murder while shedding light on the initial violence of government agents and the beating of dervishes, has also broadened the conflict between the dervishes and the government and made society more sensitive. Running over police officers by anyone, regardless of motivation, is an unjustifiable act and an example of unwarranted violence; however, the judgment in this regard should be based on a comprehensive assessment of the tragic incident and consideration of its entirety. Certainly, those who, by violating the right to freedom of religion and depriving the right to peaceful protest, have pushed the environment towards angry reactions and the loss of rational controls bear the primary role. Monitoring events shows that the goal goes beyond the dervishes, aiming to prevent the spread of this type of struggle, which the government, especially the repressive apparatus, has shown vulnerability against. The Gonabadi dervishes have paradoxically become one of the most radical civil and social forces in confronting authoritarian nationalists. While their teachings are based on peace, brotherhood, and distancing from materialism and focusing on spiritual matters, they have transformed the image of isolation that has formed in public opinion regarding the dervish character and the famous passive approach. Their active confrontation in defending their beliefs has added a vibrant spirit to the arena of resistance against state repression. This approach, along with their high organizational cohesion and strong will in defending their fellow believers, poses a significant threat to the Islamic Republic, as the organization and capability of collective will of any group outside its social base cannot be tolerated. The expansion of pressures and harassing actions by the government over the past decade, which have included arrests, deprivation of university education, and destruction of dervish prayer houses, have not disrupted their targeted efforts to preserve and develop their beliefs. They have acted more cohesively in the face of hardships. The Gonabadi dervishes have also become more active in response to repressive actions in the political arena. Their political approach is focused on political responsibility, pursuing demands such as the independence of civil society, the expansion of freedoms, and especially the observance of religious freedom requirements and the rejection of thought control. They do not claim to seek political power. However, the Gonabadi dervishes have long been interested in actively participating in determining the fate of the country and the elevation of the homeland and nation within the framework of a national-religious perspective. The leader and other leaders of their community have been active in contemporary Iranian history, from the nationalization of oil to the Islamic Revolution, the reform era, and the Green Movement, and their anti-authoritarian orientation has caused anger and discomfort among defenders of religious despotism and the instigators and carriers of the Velayat-e Faqih institution. The main reason for the Islamic Republic's problem with the dervishes relates to the realm of religion. The decrease in interest in a fundamentalist interpretation of Twelver Shiism over the past two decades has worried senior government officials, and they have chosen to exert pressure on minority religious groups that have managed to increase the number of believers in their faith despite all constraints and discriminations. This problem also has a historical background and context. Shiite jurists have long had a negative view of dervishes and Sufism. Although the officialization of Shiism in Iran was shaped by the will and action of Shah Ismail Safavid as a Sufi leader, and during the first period of the Safavid dynasty, Sufis had a sort of superiority over jurists, in the second half of the reign of the Safavid kings, the relations gradually changed, and jurists gained the upper hand. The government of Mohammad Shah Qajar was the last unsuccessful attempt to restore the power of Sufis, and after that, the Shiite jurists were able to completely seize religious authority in Iran. Therefore, after the establishment of the Islamic Republic and the historical opportunity for settling scores, the dervishes, including the Ahl-e Haq in Kermanshah and the Safi Ali Shahis and Gonabadi dervishes, came under attack. Pressures on them have fluctuated during different periods of the Islamic Republic, but since 2005, tensions between security forces and the Gonabadi dervishes, who are closer to all Sufi movements and are fundamentally considered Shiite dervishes, have increased significantly. It now seems that the Gonabadi dervishes are the vanguards of the struggle for religious freedom, believing that all followers of existing religions in Iran, including Sunnis, Zoroastrians, Armenians, Jews, Sabians, Baha'is, and various dervish and mystical groups, should have the opportunity to freely practice and promote their religious teachings. The iron fist policy of the political system against the dervishes may overshadow their resistance and defensive activities in the short term and reduce their capabilities, but the continuation of this trend seems unlikely. Government actions increase the social capital of the Gonabadi dervishes and their influence in society.