The Iranian Island of Qeshm: The largest Island In The Persian Gulf and Sunni

Omar b. al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) mosque in Qeshm island.

Qeshm is very near to the coast of Oman (60km away) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE – 180km away). It is the biggest island in the Persian Gulf. Qeshm is located at the mouth of the strategically important Strait of Hormuz in the east of the Arabian Gulf, the island has a land area of 1,500 sq km and is twice the size of Bahrain. Known in the native Arabic dialect as Jazirat al-Ṭawilah, which translates as “Long Island”.

Except in some small villages in Oman, the traditional Persian Gulf culture has practically disappeared. In Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia, the locals have moved to the main cities, and the very few places where you can see a small spillover of this culture are inhabited by Pakistani and Indian immigrants instead, so it is not very authentic.

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Sunni Growth In Iran | How many Sunnis live in Iran?

People inside Iran, especially in the last two decades have realised how much more religious and conservative Iranian Sunnis are compared to their Shi’ite countrymen.  This is based on numerous factors, one undoubtedly includes the  widespread distrust and often dislike of the Shia clergy by a large number of Iranian Shi’ites, a phenomenon that is pretty much non-existing amongst Iranian Sunnis. On top of that there is the high fertility rate amongst Iranian Sunni that has caused Shi’ite hardliners in Iran to express their worries about worrying decline of the Shi’ite population of Iran and the steadily growing Sunni population (where birth rates are often more than double and thrice compared to the Shia population). Some Shia clerics even have openly called for government intervention to reduce (!) the number of Iranian Sunni by means such as not giving them passports.

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Iranian Sunnis Pray For President Mursi

Sunnis of Tehran in one of the Namazkhanehs (converted prayer-houses, flats and halls that the regime and its mouthpieces sell as ‘Sunni Mosques in Tehran’ to the gullible) prayed Salah al-Ghayb (Absentee Funeral Prayer) for the Hafidh al-Qur’an, President Morsi (may Allah have mercy on him).

May Allah have mercy on Abu Ahmad Mohamed Morsi and forgive his sins. As Iranian Sunnis we will never forget how he spoke in support of the Syrian people and praised the Sahabah in the capital of the Neo-Safawis, putting a smile on our faces.

Eid Mubarak -1440

Eid Mubarak from the Sunnis of Iran!

 

 

 

 

 

Kak Hassan Amini is the Mufti of Iranian Kurdistan (a man of dignity who has never sucked up to the regime unlike other Iranian ‘Sunni’ government stooges) and declared today, Tuesday, as the first day of Eid of 1440 as the moon was sighted in Kurdistan, thus openly rejecting the official regime position (few Iranian Sunni scholars dare to do so).

#EidAlFitr #Sunnis #Iran

Shaykh al-Hadith Nematullah Tawhidi – A Caller to Tawhid in Shirkistan of Iran

Shaikh al-Hadith Nematullah Tawhidi was a charismatic Iranian Sunni scholar from the Sistan and Baluchestan Province in south-east Iran. A teacher of one of the Sunni institutes in Zahedan city. He was known for his sharp mind and tongue and for his bravery as he openly defended Sunni beliefs without any comprise despite all the pressure from the Iranian regime and the Shia clergy. He also openly refuted Shia allegations (in defence of Sahaba, the mother of the believers ‘Aisha etc.) against Ahl al-Sunnah and warned against the veneration of saints and graves that are so common in Iran and were actively propagated by the regime and the Mullahs of Qom in Sunni regions of Iran. He surely lived up to his name, a man of monotheism, who lived by it and died upon it.

He, along with a group of other outspoken Iranian Sunni scholars died in a suspicious bus crash in year 1427H / 2006. His family members and witnesses suspect the Iranian regime (it got rid of many critics, especially Sunni scholars, in such staged ‘accidents’). He was only 38 years young.

May Allah have mercy on his soul.

Persian Sunnis?!

Whether or not an ethnic Persian exists in the world is a topic where one will hear many opinions and arguments. Some (often Iranian nationalists) argue that the Persian-speakers of Iran are not an ethnic group but rather a lingual group (like most Arab speakers in the Arab world who although are culturally and linguistically Arab, yet very few can claim to be of pure Arab origin, although undoubtly many do have Arab ancestry).

 

 

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A Persian Sunni poem in response to the enemies of the two Shaykhs

Abū Ḥamīd bin Abū Bakr Ibrāhīm aka Attar Al-Nishaburi* (Nishabur lies in current day Iran, in the Khorasan province where ethnic Persian Khorassani Sunnis still represent a large minority, even in Mashad city) on one of the accusations of the Shia against the two noble Shaykhs (Abu Bakr and Omar):

 

در خلافت میل نیست ای بی‌خبر
میل کی آید ز بوبکر و عمر
میل اگر بودی در آن دو مقتدا
هر دو کردندی پسر را پیشوا

عطار نیشابوری

Translation:

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The people of the Qur’an in south Iran

The Abdullah ibn Mas’ud Hifdh Al-Qur’an school in Iran, Parsian county (formely known as Gavbandieh) of Hormozgan, south Iran. Wheverer you find Ahlus-Sunnah, you’ll find Ahl Al-Qur’an.

Parsian county is one of the many remaining  ethnic Persian Sunni (Shafi’fi) pockets in the south of Iran which also has a minority Iranian Arab (Sunni Shafi’i) population, living in harmony (with intermarriages being very common among southern Persian Sunnis and Arabs).

 

Head of the Tablighi Jama’at in Hormozgan passed away

Shaikh Mohsen Mo’tamad passed away today (16/02/2018) on Jumu’ah. He was one of the most famous Da’wah carriers (who also studied Mathematical Physics) in the south of Iran (Hormozgan) and amir (head) of the Tablighi Jama’at in the Hormozgan province (yes, they do operate in Iran, only in predominantly Sunni regions and even there they are often faced with harassment by the regime).

May Allah have mercy upon him and forgive his sins and make Jannah Al-Firdaws Al-A’laa his eternal home.

Senior Sunni scholar in Iran Supports Protests

One the most senior Sunni scholars of Iran, Molawi Abdul-Rahman Chabahari, has expressed his support for the demonstrations. Subsequently, demonstrations were announced in a number of majority Sunni cities in the Iranian #SistanBaluchestan province.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The regime of Khamenei has subsequently employed whole caravans of armed forces in majority Sunni towns of #SistanBaluchestan.

#IranProtests2018
#MargBarKhamenei
#Sunnis

The ethnic Persian (Khorasani) Sunnis of Mashad

Eid al-Fitr 2017 prayers in Mashad, Iranian Khorasan province. Unknown to many, the city has a Sunni population (Khorasani Persians) of around 15-20%. In fact Mashad is one of the few majority ethnic Persian Shia cities with a sizeable indigenous ethnic Persian Sunni community (most Sunnis in Tehran, although Iranian are not indigenous to the city). Iranian (Khorassani) Persian Sunnis are basically the indigenous people of the city and region who have either survived the Safavid onslaught or managed to avoid forced conversions to Shiism in the 16th century.

Mashadi Persian Sunnis (Hanafis) only differ from the Shias of the city and region in the way they dress; Most Persian Khorassani Shias wear western style clothes wheras Persian Khorassani Sunnis wear Shalwar Qamiz like most Muslims in the Khorassan and central Asia region, hence they are not to be confused with Afghans (majority of Afghans inside. Iran are Shia, particularly in Mashad city).

Sunnis in Mashad are often pushed outside the city to rural areas and many of their “mosques” (around a dozen in Mashad) are actually so called “Namaz Khanehs” (prayer houses like in Tehran). The biggest Sunni Mosque of Madhad, the famous Shaykh Fayz mosque (very close to the Imam Rida “shrine”) was demolished in the 90s by the order of Khamenei himself; hardline Shia clerics have always expressed their hatred for the native Sunni community and in particular for the visible and large Shaykh Fayz mosque that wqs turned into a public park.

The largest Mashadi Sunni institute (in the whole Iranian Khorassan region) is based at the outskirts of Mashad (some towns in the Iranian Khorassan region are still majority Sunni like Tayabad, Khash, Tombat Jam and others).

Tarawih prayer by Persian Sunnis (Birjand/Khorasan)

Ramadhan 1438 / 2017 in Birjand city (southern Khorasan province of Iran) which has a large Sunni population of ethnic Persian Sunnis (Hanafi). The Shalwar Qamis is their traditional clothing just as it is the traditional clothing of Persian/Tajik Sunnis of Afghanistan. Shias in Iran are one of the few nations in the Islamic world that are devoid of any traditional Islamic clothing (the Shia clergy is wears clerical clothing which is for them only, like in a Hindu caste system or the Church where priests only wear specific attire).

The REAL sons (and daughters) of the Sunnis of Iran

Do you see these little innocent gorgeous children?

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They are the TRUE Sons (and Daughters) of the Sunnis of Iran. They are Balochis, an ancient Iranic people, Sunnis to the bones, notorious all over Iran for their good character, bravery and religiosity. They are also from among – if not the most – deprived children and people of Iran, being guilty of two crimes, first benign Sunni and second being of non ethnic Persians ethnicity, but by Allah who raised the seven heavens, the rotten Rafidi Safavi clergy of Qom with their wasteful shrines and golden domes envy nothing more but these kids. These proud people who despite all the injustice that they’ve faced have never lost their faith and have never been broken by the authorities (despite decades of Shia missionary work in Irwnian Sunni areas) so much that Iranian Shias themselves admit that the average Iranian Sunni is a thousand time more religious and attached to Islam than the Iranian Shiites who despite all the efforts of the Safavi regime is known around the world as the most irreligious and often even straight apostate Islam

The Persian Sunni Muslim Samanid Empire

12291840_913355128702251_8228486039471214070_oThe Samanid dynasty (Persian: سامانیان, Sāmāniyān), also known as the Samanid Empire (819–999). It was the first native Persian empire after Arabs ruled Persia for around 300 years. This first ever Persian empire after the Muslim conquest by Caliph ‘Omar Ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) was not just Muslim but Sunni to the core. The Samanids ruled in Khorassan and Transoxiana. During the era of the Abbasids they ruled as Amirs of Khorasan, appointed by the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad. The Samanids were of Persian dehqan origin with roots stemming from Balkh (to this day a majority Persian-Tajik area in Afghanistan) in present-day northern Afghanistan.They claimed descent from the House of Mihran, high nobility of the Sassanian and Parthian (ancient Khorassan) empires conquered by the Muslims.

 

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Persian Sunni (Ex-Shia) female preacher

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Maryam Amirebrahimi knows the Quran by heart. Basically she’s a real Ayatullah (sign/miracle of Allah), not one of those Living corpses in Qom and Najaf who can’teven recite a single verse of the Fatihah with correct Tajwid and Makharij. She received her master’s in Education from UCLA, where her research focused on the effects of mentorship rooted in CriticalRace Theory for urban high school students of color. She holds a bachelor’s in Child and Adolescent Development from San Jose State University, where she served as the President of the Muslim Student Association for two consecutive years. Currently, she is pursuing a second bachelor’s degree in Islamic Studies through Al Azhar University. Maryam spent a year studying the Arabic language and Qur’an in Cairo, Egypt, and has memorized the Qur’an. She has been presented the Student of the Year award and holds a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Maryam frequently travels to work with different communities on topics related to spiritual connections, social issues and women’s studies

‘Eid Mubarak – ‘Eid in ethnic Persian Sunni areas of Khorassan/Iran

تقبل الله منا و منكم صالح الأعمال
عيد مبارك

Happy ‘Id to all Muslims in particular our loyal supporters of our blog and Facebook page.

Picture is from the Sunni city of Taybad - stronghold of ethnic Persian Sunnis - in the khorassan province of Iran. The Persian lands of khorassan in particular the part which lies in current day Iran, cities such as Nishabur used to be the fortresses of Islam. Beacons of knowledge emerged from these lands. Persian khorassan in its Sunni era used to surpass Baghdad and all other major Muslim cities when it came to scholarship and Islamic and scientific learning institutes. Numerous scholars of the Salaf and Khalaf, Al-Hakim Al-Nishaburi, Imam Al-Ghazali and many more. Post-Safavid Iran produced the likes of Ayatullat Vahid Khorassani who can't even recite the first verse of the Fatiha with correct Tajweed. Nevertheless, Sunnis are still presence in the khorassan province of Iran, even Mashhad city has a sunnibpopulation of 10-15%, and some towns south of Mashhad are even completely Sunni. The Majority of Sunnis of khorassan are ethnic Persian khorassanis and hanafis with a minority of Iranian Baloch and mainly Tajik (Persian) Sunnis from Afghanistan. To this day greater khorassan (which includes Afghanistan, Uzbekistans etc.) is inhabited by mostly Persian Speaking Sunnis.

Picture is from the Sunni city of Taybad – stronghold of ethnic Persian Sunnis – in the khorassan province of Iran. The Persian lands of khorassan in particular the part which lies in current day Iran, cities such as Nishabur used to be the fortresses of Islam. Beacons of knowledge emerged from these lands. Persian khorassan in its Sunni era used to surpass Baghdad and all other major Muslim cities when it came to scholarship and Islamic and scientific learning institutes. Numerous scholars of the Salaf and Khalaf, Al-Hakim Al-Nishaburi, Imam Al-Ghazali and many more. Post-Safavid Iran produced the likes of Ayatullat Vahid Khorassani who can’t even recite the first verse of the Fatiha with correct Tajweed. Nevertheless, Sunnis are still presence in the khorassan province of Iran, even Mashhad city has a sunnibpopulation of 10-15%, and some towns south of Mashhad are even completely Sunni. The Majority of Sunnis of khorassan are ethnic Persian khorassanis and hanafis with a minority of Iranian Baloch and mainly Tajik (Persian) Sunnis from Afghanistan. To this day greater khorassan (which includes Afghanistan, Uzbekistans etc.) is inhabited by mostly Persian Speaking Sunnis.

‘Eid prayers in Sunni majority areas of Iran [pictures]

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‘Eid Al-Fitr Khutba 1436/2015 in the city of Azashahr (Golestan province) in northern Khorassan part of Iran Northern and southern Khorassan province of Iran – despite the famous Imam Al-Ridha shrine in Mashad – have still a large Sunni minority. Even many towns outside Mashad are still majority Sunni. Khorassani Sunnis are of Baloch, Turkmen and even Persian (khorassani) descent. In fact Persian Khorassanis are amongst the few ethnic Persian Sunni minorities left in Iran (most Persian Sunnis were massacred by the Safavids) along with the southern Iranians (Larestanis/Khodmoonis) who are also of Persian descent (unlike Baloch and Turkmen. It is also noteworthy to mention that many of the greatest scholars of the Ahl Al-Sunnah emerged from the lands of Golestan (in particular Gorgij, hence many scholars carry the title Al-Gorgiji/Al-Jorjiji).

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The Sunnis of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas

Bandar_Abbas_government_logo.svgIn previous posts and articles we have shown that not all Sunni Iranians are of non-Persian (like Baloch, Kurdish etc.) ethnic backround. In fact vast landscapes of Iran are still inhabited by ethnic Persians, including unsuspected areas such as the outskirts of Mashad and and in general many towns in the Khorassan province of Iran (where Khorrassani Persian Sunnis represent a significant minority) and of course the southern provinces of Iran such as the Fars province (most towns south of Shiraz in the Fars province are majority Persian and Sunni) and the Bushehr (Abu Shahr) and Hormozgan province. The people in the southern part of the Fars province speak an ancient Persian dialect called Achomi.

 

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Khāqāni, a Persian Sunni poet on the Rafidah (Shia)

10923559_777388372298928_8032703292211313572_nKhāqāni (1121 – 1190, Tabriz), was a Persian poet during the pre-Safavid era (where the majority of Persians in what is known today as Iran were staunch Sunnis).

He was born in the historical region known as Shirvan (located now in present country of Azerbaijan), under the Shirvanshah (a vassal of the Seljuq empire) and died in Tabriz (Tabriz used to be a majority Persian city of staunch Sunnis, today it’s majority Azeri and Rafidi), Iran.Ironically many Iranians (including nationalist) love to attribute him to themselves, not realising that
1. He was a proud and believing Muslim
2. He was a Sunni, a orthodox Muslim who despised the Rafidah with a passion

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Most of the Persian lands of Khorasan are still majority Sunni

10802040_779631625407936_7618253580462506739_nKhorasan means the land of sunrise.

The older Persian province of Khorasan included parts which are today in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Some of the main historical cities of Persia are located in the older Khorasan: Nishapur and Tus (now in Iran), Merv and Sanjan (now in Turkmenistan), Samarkand and Bukhara (both now in Uzbekistan), Herat and Balkh (now in Afghanistan), Khujand and Panjakent (now in Tajikistan). In its long history, Khorasan knew many conquerors and empires: Greeks, Mauryans, Arabs, Seljuk Turks, Safavids, Baloch, Pashtuns and others.

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