A Brief History of the Struggle Between Gonabadi Dervishes and the Islamic Republic of Iran (2005 - 2018)

Abstract

The Gonabadi Sufi Order is one of the three main branches of the Nimatullahi Sufi order that was originated by Shah Nimatullahi Wali in the 14th and 15th centuries. The Dervishes, the best known of its followers, assert that they believe in peace, security, and equality and avoid violence and politics. The constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran is officially based on the "Twelver Shia" and only recognizes a small minority as a religion officially. In spite of this, even though they describe themselves as the "Twelver Shia", they reject the principal foundations of the Islamic Republic of Iran's official religion. As a result, dervishes were declared as "heretics" by the state. After the Revolution, especially after 1995, systematic attacks have intensified on members of the order and their Hosseiniyeh, where they performed their religious rituals. The Hosseiniyeh in Kerman was the first place to be attacked; the Hosseiniyehs in Qom, Tehran, Karaj, and Borujerd were also attacked and destroyed. Eventually, the scale of the attacks was expanded to the tombs of the prominent figures of the Gonabadi order. These conflicts increased in intensity after 2005, in Ahmadinejad's presidency, and caused social outrages that resulted in death at various times. In this study, the background of these fierce conflicts will be examined and the history of the conflict will be conveyed. The events that led the dervishes, who define themselves peaceful at every opportunity, to such violent conflicts with the state will be perused. In addition, the reasons why the state sees these dervishes as an internal enemy will be examined.