The situation of Gonabadi Dervish community

By Gholam-Reza Harsini

As part of our special series focusing on the systematic violation of human rights in Iran, Gholam-Reza Harsini, an attorney for the Gonabadi Dervish* community, discusses the destruction of their house of worship in Isfahan.

The razing of the Gonabadi Dervish community's house of worship in Isfahan was the third of its kind in the last couple of years. It was preceded by the destruction of our dervish community centers in Qom and then Borujerd.

Usually the meetings of our community took place on Saturdays, Mondays and Fridays. The poor gathered there for traditional prayer and worship. Nearly 3,000 people used to come to our gatherings. Most of them were in need of food and other basic necessities.

Late one night the authorities stormed our “Hosseiniyeh” (religious center), looted the place and then bulldozed it to the ground. At the time, there were only a few custodians and guards in the Hosseiniyeh. Many books, including a number of Qurans, were among the items taken.

What should we do? Do we not have the right to live? Are we not human? Are we not Shiites? Are we asking for anything but the right to live? All we want is a place of worship of our own. We don’t even know why they are doing this to us. It makes no sense.

A while back, we bought a place called “Reza Hosseiniyeh,” but they forced us out. Then we sought sanctuary at the cemetery, but they threw us out of there as well.

We intend to file a complaint. We might even sue the government.

Unfortunately, these people don’t understand or respect the law. If they did, they would have known there is absolutely no justification for destroying and looting our property.

The authorities don’t know the first thing about the law and don’t care to learn.

About eight years ago, they also tried to bulldoze our Hosseiniyeh but were unsuccessful because women and children threw themselves in front of the bulldozers.

For a while, we gathered in small congregations in people’s homes (17 or 18 small gatherings all over Isfahan).

Then the authorities told us they have no problem with us. But then, all of a sudden, they came and razed our Hosseiniyeh in the middle of the night. Even they know what they did is wrong, otherwise they would have done it during the day. They are nothing but thieves.

And it isn’t just in Isfahan, Qom and Borujerd. Soon after the revolution, they attacked our Hosseiniyeh in Tehran, looted it and then burned it to the ground.

Who is responsible? As far as we know, the culprits are so-called “pressure groups” affiliated with the Basij, working in cooperation and coordination with security and intelligence forces.

When you ask them why, they say “we were defending our revolution,” as if we are anti-revolutionaries—they immediately add that it wasn’t them or the “pressure groups,” but “the people.”

The fact is the public abhors such acts and would never resort to such a disgraceful act. Everyone knows who is responsible. It is those salaried government mercenaries.

* Dervishes are Sufi Muslims, known for their pacifism, extreme poverty and austerity.