Abdollah Noori expects the religious authorities, the leadership, and religious scholars to break their silence.
Abdollah Noori, the Minister of Interior during the reform era, expressed his condolences on the passing of Mahsa Amini through a message on his Telegram channel. His message is as follows:
‘And those who have wronged are going to know to what [kind of] return they will be returned.’ (Surah Ash-Shu’ara, Verse 227) And those who have committed injustice will soon know what kind of place they will return to.
With a heart full of pain and sorrow, I offer my condolences on the tragic and unfortunate passing of Zhina Mahsa Amini, a young girl from our dear Kurdish compatriots, to her grieving parents, relatives, and those who love Iran. She was an example of the vast number of suffering young people of this land, whose precious life was sacrificed due to the government’s erroneous policies, mismanagement, and the ill-fated policies of the state, along with baseless justifications and unjustified violent actions by the police force.
During the days of Arbaeen Hosseini, instead of defending dignity and human rights, the most fundamental right of vulnerable and oppressed citizens was violated in such a way that it deeply wounded public conscience, to the point that one must weep blood over it.
With deep regret, after 43 years since the beginning of this regime, the wise, cultured, and oppressed society of Iran still has to witness speeches and actions contrary to reason, conscience, honor, and religion by a group of rulers and officials whose loud claims of governance in the style of Alavi justice have deafened the heavens, yet they have not found a clear understanding or worthy strategy to address the follies and disorders.
Human experience clearly shows that punitive, harsh, and unethical behaviors and actions by coercive forces have never led to a good outcome, but their heavy and ominous effects remain in the fabric of society and in the hearts, souls, and memories of the nation’s individuals. Those who speak of religious zeal from a position of power and take on an anti-imperialist and oppressed-supporting face, where are they to see that with ridiculous and baseless reasons and excuses, the noble life of an oppressed human being has been taken, and once again, a tragic incident of this kind has been imposed on a family or families? Which free, aware, and independent person, and which responsible, timely, and compassionate individual would consent to the taking of a human life with the least regulation and criterion, merely under the guise of guidance and direction, and cause the community’s conscience to sit in sigh, regret, and sorrow?
The disasters that occasionally emerge in society under the name of ‘Guidance Patrol’ by the coercive forces are not only incompatible with human, religious, and moral standards, but also add to the discredit of the system. Undoubtedly, the commission of such actions in a system that has taken on the title of Islamic is also attributed to religion and religious institutions, severely damaging their dignity and credibility. It is expected from the religious authorities, leadership, and religious scholars to break their silence to fulfill the responsibility of defending people’s rights, to cleanse religion and the clergy from such accusations, and to eradicate the roots of ignorant, fundamentalist, and Taliban-like thoughts held by some who have found a place for themselves within the regime. They should react clearly, transparently, and decisively, demanding the investigation and punishment of those who ordered and executed these actions and disasters from the relevant authorities.
I declare my aversion and disgust for these types of actions and warn and caution the government officials to base their supervisory and advisory measures on reason and logic, to remove their harsh behaviors and the glint of their sword from the heads of the people, and not to inflict more injustice on the patient and oppressed nation, especially the youth who are the hope of the future. They should know that the primary right of enjoining good and forbidding wrong for correcting the government’s deviations lies with the people, and the rulers must not only serve and be servants to the people but also be accountable for their actions before the people.
Abdollah Noori, September 17, 2022