Iran’s Sunni Leader Seeks Medical Treatment Abroad
Mowlavi Abdolhamid, Iran’s prominent Sunni leader from Zahedan, has reportedly traveled abroad for medical treatment.
Mowlavi Abdolhamid, Iran’s prominent Sunni leader from Zahedan, has reportedly traveled abroad for medical treatment.
His official Telegram channel did not disclose his destination but reassured followers of his good health.
Haalvash, a human rights organization that focuses on Sistan-Baluchestan, reported that Abdolhamid has traveled to Tehran on Wednesday before heading to Turkey for treatment.
There are some unverified reports that he is suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
The trip comes amidst a backdrop of increased scrutiny from Iranian authorities in f the outspoken cleric who has openly criticized the government’s persecution of the Sunni minority. In June, reports surfaced that the Ministry of Intelligence had banned him from making his pilgrimage to Hajj, citing ‘security concerns’.
The Sunni cleric, 77 has been a vocal critic of the Iranian regime, particularly following the violent events of September 30, 2022, in Zahedan, which saw nearly a hundred citizens killed by government forces amid the nationwide uprising dubbed Women, Life, Freedom.
The incident was the bloodiest during the nationwide uprising triggered by the death in morality-police custody of Mahsa Amini in 2022.
The cleric has boldly opposed the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s policies in the wake of the uprising which has seen thousands of protesters arrested on trumped up charges and multiple executions. He has demanded the repeal of execution and decrees against protesters.
His criticisms have put him in danger and drawn sharp rebuke from conservative elements within Iran, with Kayhan newspaper—a media outlet closely aligned with Khamenei—accusing him of serving the enemies of Islam.
Yet to be approved by the Guardian Council – made up of Islamic clerics – it would usher in changes to the workweek. Fridays and Saturdays would become the official days of rest, and the work week would be reduced to 40 hours from the current 44.
Currently, Friday is the only official day of rest in Iran. However, many government offices and private companies also observe full or partial closures on Thursdays.
The bill cleared its first hurdle, despite facing opposition from hardliners and institutions closely aligned with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who objected to designating Saturdays as the second official day off due to religious and ideological reasons.
Khorasan media outlet, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), emphasized that "the issue is not just a day off; it is the issue of changing the social order.”
"Friday is a symbol of Islam as opposed to Saturday, which is the symbol of Judaism, and Sunday, which is the symbol of Christianity. We ignore the symbolic significance of days…In a society, identity determines your border with others, but neglecting it leads to cultural mixing, de-identification, and lack of individuality," the outlet said.
Both Iran’s parliament and government are dominated by ideological hardliners with anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli views. In the past four decades, the Islamic Republic's ruling regime has spent billions of dollars on anti-Israel groups and campaigns in the region and beyond.
President Ebrahim Raisi's parliamentary deputy Mohammad Hosseini said last week that the government supported Thursday's option instead of Saturday.
At a time when the Iranian regime is experiencing perhaps its lowest popularity since its establishment in 1979, it is grappling with criticism over an economy in decline and escalating inflation.
Since at least the 1990s, Iranian government officials and ruling clerics have been implicated in financial corruption and embezzlement of billions of dollars, intensifying public discontent.
According to official figures released by the interior ministry, around 60% of the 84 million Iranians live under the relative poverty line of whom between 20 to 30 million live in "absolute poverty".
Meanwhile, political supporters of Saturdays argued that cutting economic ties with the world for four consecutive days, potentially from Thursday to Sunday, would severely damage trade and production.
Lawmakers pointed out that other Islamic countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Turkey, and Iraq, also hold weekends on Fridays and Saturdays.
On Wednesday, Mohsen Pirhadi, a lawmaker representing Tehran, said, "Choosing Saturday would be the most economically beneficial and least costly option.”
To clarify that Thursday is not religiously significant or sacred like Friday, the private sector has lobbied top Shia clerics who can provide guidance, to confirm this.
In a letter on April 17, the Iran Chamber of Commerce chairman, Samad Hassanzadeh, appealed to the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, to support the private sector's position.
Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi-Amoli, a "Marja" – a high-ranking religious authority in Shia Islam with many followers—announced on Wednesday that there is no religious barrier to declaring Saturdays a holiday: "The holiday on Saturday is to coordinate with the global economic market and transactions, and it is effective in solving some economic problems and curbing inflation."
Javadi-Amoli, who has been outspoken about the financial hardships many families face, warned in April that unresolved financial difficulties could lead to losing faith in a meeting with the CEO of Iran’s National Bank (Bank Melli Iran).
“Religion will be wrecked if the economy cannot satisfy [the needs of the] people…After religious matters, money and wealth are what matters the most in the country,” he stated.
Furthermore, several top clerics in Iran, typically supportive of the government, have recently expressed concern about high inflation, which surpasses 50%, fluctuating exchange rates, and the impact of sanctions on the economy, blaming the administration.
