Sufi dervishes have stimulated the Iranian culture for centuries. Not only through the deep and touching poems of Hafez, Sa’adi, Rumi, Shah Vali Nematollah and many others, not only by the Sufi music which effect is now highly valued worldwide in spiritual rituals and therapies and examined in detail by scientists. …

In Iran are living, according to unconfirmed estimates, 20 million dervishes, who belong to varied religious and ethnic groups. All these different orders practise their own methods and maintain their own traditions to find individually the connection with the Creator, God, Allah. Basically, Sufi dervishes have nothing to do with politics. They are primarily interested in a harmonious coexistence of tolerance, mutual respect and support.

There are Sunni as well as Shiite Sufi Orders in Iran which suffer persecution in varying degrees. The largest and oldest Shi’ite Sufi order in Iran is the Nematollahi-Gonabadi Order, which has its headquarters in Tehran and which is originated from the northeastern Iranian city of Gonabad. This order states that they have approximately 4 million members. The head of this order is under severe pressure by the regime. Many meeting and prayer houses in different cities of Iran have been destroyed in the last 6 years by  Basij militia, Pasdaran and riot police forces loyal to the regime. Many dervishes are banned from travelling, many have served prison terms on charges of acting against national security and many had to suffer lashing as they were accused of inciting public disorder. The regime does not like it when dervishes are standing in the way of the security forces to prevent the destruction of their meeting houses.

Sufi dervishes are banned from working in public or official services and are dismissed from their employment as soon as it becomes clear that they are dervishes.

In 2005, the Kayhan Institute, which is close to Supreme Leader Khamenei, handed over more than 70 publications agitating against dervishes, which were distributed among young Basij and religious students in Qom. What were they blamed of? The accusations range from “enemies of the system” and “friends of foreign powers” to “filthy and unclean rats” to “un-Islamic, as representatives of a s”oft American” Islam.” Since Ali Khamenei, in 2000 in Qom, identified four religious groups as main enemies in Iran (Bahai, Sunnis, new Christians, Sufi dervishes) increasing mopping up operations are reported.

From September 2011 on, Dervishes from the Sarvestan regions have been targeted.

One of them, Vahid Banani, died of his gunshot wounds and four others were transferred without treatment, despite their gunshot wounds, to a prison near Shiraz. When journalists, originated from the region Sarvestan, reported about the attacks on the in Tehran based website Madjzouban-e-Nour, the editorial house was raided and all persons present were arrested. One of the editors managed to flee to Turkey, where he is remaining in a hopeless situation not to be able to return to Iran and not daring to hope to be allowed to live in Germany, since he is not a known journalist or filmmaker.

As the spokesman for the International Organization to Preserve Human Rights in Iran, Dr. Mostafa Azmayesh, was speaking out and reporting about these events and the brutal human rights violations in Iran in several Persian-language broadcasts (BBC Persian), he received clear warnings from the Iranian intelligence service threatening his life. Since then he had to restrict his travel activities and is under police protection. How crucial are Human Rights for the Western countries if the regime in Iran can threaten people in the West?

Source : Inside Of Iran