According to Majzooban Noor, on the eve of Eid al-Adha (feast of the sacrifice), the imprisoned Dervishes announced the end of their hunger strike saying “We do not want to make our brothers and sisters, who are all members of one soul, to suffer even more”.
Part of their letter reads: “The security-oriented approach to Gonabadi Dervishes has given us, lawyers and activists, a political identity without us wanting it. We are not interested in this imposed identity which contradicts our Sufi ideology in certain respects. We leave this identity to politicians. Our only request of the state is removal of the security-oriented attitude toward Dervishes, the guarantee of public safety, freedom within the law, and the right to live in peaceful co-existence.”
In their analytical letter, the imprisoned Dervishes elaborated on what they mean by “removal of the security-oriented attitude toward dervishes” as follows:
“If officials think that resolving issues related to the imprisoned Dervishes and addressing their demands means surrendering authority or weakness, they are mistaken. We are lawyers and consider what we do as a reflection of our respect toward the nation’s fundamental freedoms, interaction, reconciliation, and integration between the state and the nation, and, therefore, an opportunity for development of the country and striving toward a more balanced Iran.”
As lawyers and human rights activists, these nine prisoners considered their hunger strike a consequence of “the blockage of all legal paths”. Apologizing to all Dervishes, political activists, and society at large who were concerned about their health and asked them to put an end to their strike, they concluded their letter by emphasizing “since hunger strikes are a final choice for prisoners faced with cul-de-sacs created in the name of law, we reserve the right to use this only remaining channel whenever necessary in order to achieve our goal, which is removal of the extant security-oriented approach toward Dervishes.”
The full text of the letter is as follows:
Hoo
121
The destruction of places of worship (hussainias), deprivations, and the imposition of restrictions upon sufis, especially Gonabadi Dervishes, over the last ten years is the outcome of the Iranian authorities’ extremist and dogmatic ideology. Politically, it is a consequence of a serious strategic mistake in national security respects. The intelligence services and legal system have given authority to those who abuse it. This was the case in the previous government and is continued by the current government. No measures have been taken to resolve these abuses. The security-oriented approach to Gonabadi Dervishes has given us, Sufi lawyers and activists, a political identity without our seeking it. We are not interested in this imposed identity which contradicts our Sufi ideology in certain respects. We leave this identity to politicians. Our only request from the state is removal of this security-oriented attitude toward Dervishes and provision of safety, freedom, and what a human being is entitled to for us within legal constraints. Considering Dervishes “political” and imposing a security-oriented approach on them render their personal and social life vulnerable to personal biases and irrational prejudices. Consequently, Dervishes are frequently violated on the pretext of supporting religion or the state. In other words, our demand for removal of the security-oriented approach should be regarded as an offer of friendship and peace for those who are interested in the nation’s prosperity. This was the intention behind launching the Majzooban Noor website, and we, the managers of the website, were convicted of disruption of security and social order and incarcerated because of this very security-oriented approach pervading the legal structure of the country. We strongly believe that this approach to Dervishes must stop as the recent conflicts and problems are the inevitable ramification of this policy.
Mr. Rohani had said: “A security behavior gets a security response.” Therefore, it is obvious that if a Dervish’s rights are violated, the Sufi community assumes the responsibility to defend those rights, and this defense is not only natural but also recommended by the holy Sharia. If officials think that resolving issues related to the imprisoned Dervishes and addressing their demands means surrendering authority or weakness, they are mistaken. We are lawyers and consider what we do as a reflection of our respect toward the nation’s fundamental freedoms, interaction, reconciliation, and integration between the state and the nation, and, therefore, an opportunity for development of the country and striving toward a more balanced Iran.
Uproot the seedling of animosity as it yields suffering Plant the tree of friendship as it bears bliss (Hafiz)
Dear Dervishes
First of all, we heard news of your being suppressed while supporting our rights and, therefore, we cried from the bottom of our hearts. Your blood was spilt and ran over your cheeks because of your respect for law and humanitarianism. Here we had tears running over our cheeks in mourning for your innocence.
Esteemed brothers and sisters
Regarding hunger strikes, we should tell you that avoiding eating and taking medication is not death nor suicide; rather, it is perseverance, resistance, and murder while fighting oppression, as all legal channels have been closed to us. No longer can we put up with our mowla’s (leader-Qutb) sadness over the oppression his spiritual children are suffering, no longer can we see fear and terror in our brothers’ and sisters’ eyes because of the state security summons, no more can we tolerate the conspiracy between judges and interrogators to impose sentences on our brothers and sisters. We do not have as much patience as our esteemed mowla, His Holliess Hajj Dr. Noor Ali Tabandeh, Majzoob Ali-Shah, has to exercise in his constrained existence. We cannot come to terms with the fact that he is not allowed to visit his hometown, Beidokht.
Dear soul mates
We are tired of our futile efforts to practice law; however, we do not want our brothers and sisters who are all members of one soul, to suffer more. Therefore, we obey the order of our esteemed mowla, Dr. Hajj Noor Ali Tabandeh, Hazrat Agha Majzoob Ali-Shah, who is a true guardian of peace, teaching us that peace with all creatures is a key principle of Sufism. We hereby announce that on the eve of Eid al-Adha (feast of the sacrifice), we will stop our hunger strike hoping this small gift brings a measure of happiness to you who have suffered so much.
In closing, we’d like to thank those who accompanied and sympathized with us during the hunger strike, Mr. Rasoul Hoveida, Salar Sotoudeh, Reza Sigarchi, and the other Dervishes, Yarsan followers, physicians, and civil and political activists who expressed their worries about us and asked us to end the strike in letters and announcements. We’d also like to tell brothers who are opposed to Sufism that, since hunger strikes are a final choice for prisoners faced with cul-de-sacs created in the name of law, we reserve the right to use this only remaining channel whenever necessary in order to achieve our goal, which is removal of the extant security-oriented approach toward Dervishes.
Congratulations to brothers who are our friends and brothers who are opposed to us on the Eid.
Hamid-Reza Moradi Sarvestani
Afshin Karampour
Farshid Yadollahi
Mostafa Daneshjou
Amir Eslami
Omid Behroozi
Reza Entesari
Mostafa Abdi
Kasra Nouri