Abdolhamid Ismaeelzahi (; born 1946/1947) is an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

cleric who is regarded as a "spiritual leader for Iran’s Sunni Muslim population" though his influence is limited to the Baloch population, according to

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

. Ismaeelzahi, a Baloch, enjoys support of the overwhelming majority of

Baloch people The Baloch ( ) or Baluch ( ; , plural ) are a nomadic, Pastoralism, pastoral, ethnic group which speaks the Western Iranian, Western Iranic Balochi language and is native to the Balochistan region of South Asia, South and Western Asia, encompas ...

in Iran, who hail him as their '' Molavi''. He is the imam of the Makki Mosque in Zahedan and the director of the Jamiah Darul Uloom Zahedan, the main seminary in the city.

Views

Ismaeelzahi is a vocal critic of the status of freedom of religion in Iran and an advocate of

nonviolence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...

. He has stated that

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

is "not suitable" and should be "used only when there are no other alternatives". On 2 August 2017, he sent a letter to Ali Khamenei addressing concerns over the "issue of religious discrimination in Iran", which was publicly replied to.

Relations with Taliban

He traveled to Chabahar on 25 November 2013, and told the directors of religious schools in Sistan and Baluchistan: "All these groups are not takfiris. For example, the Taliban group is not takfiri. The differences that we have with the method of their functions will remain, but this group is not takfiri." In 2020, Ismaeelzahi issued a statement and considered the signing of the peace agreement between the "Afghan Taliban Movement" and the "American Government" as "a great success of the present era" and an example of "the victory of right over wrong". In August 2021, Ismaeelzahi said about the Taliban that the vast advances of the Taliban in Afghanistan are the result of God's help and the people's support for them, and the goal of the Taliban is to implement the Islamic law and the way of the Prophet and the decree of God.

Travel restrictions

Ismaeelzahi is under alleged travel restrictions imposed by the establishment. In July 2014, he was barred from leaving the country. In 2017, it was reported that the restriction was intensified, barring him from any travel except to

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

. However, in December 2018, he was allowed to visit Muscat,

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

to meet the Iranian Baluch minority living there.

Accolades

* Defenders of Human Rights Center's Activist of the Year (2013)

References

External links