1,000 arrested after police and Sufis clash in Iran

TEHRAN, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Iranian police have arrested around 1,000 people in the central seminary city of Qom after violent clashes over the closure of a house of worship used by mystical Sufi Muslims, city officials said on Wednesday.

Officials and a Qom resident said the police had fired teargas to disperse a crowd of dervishes, or mystics, and those who had gathered to support them. They said the dervishes were armed with knives and stones.

The fighting erupted on Monday after the Sufis refused to evacuate a suburban house where they had been congregating for dervish rites, said an official at Qom municipality who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"The violence ended and their place was knocked down on Tuesday," he said, adding the municipality had demolished the building because the Sufis had illegally turned their residential building into a centre of worship.

Sufi Muslim spirituality is tolerated under mainly Shi'ite Iran's strict Islamic laws, although some senior religious figures occasionally call for a clampdown on its rites.

The governor-general of Qom accused the dervishes of being part of a foreign plot, but he did not explain this.

"We did not aim to confront them at first, but when we felt that ... a plot was under way, we took steps," Abbas Mohtaj was quoted as saying by the Jomhuri-ye Eslami newspaper.

"The arrogant powers are exploiting every opportunity to create insecurity in our country and (the Sufis') links to foreign countries are evident," he added. Mohtaj said about 200 people had been hurt and around 1,000 arrested.

The Sufis' mystical path to God through dance and music does not go down well with some of the most senior religious figures in the country.

Ayatollah Hossein Nouri-Hamedani in September called for a clampdown on dervish groups in the holy city of Qom, which he called a "danger to Islam".

Some said the tensions with dervishes in Qom were due to the increasing popularity of Sufism there.

"Dervishes were becoming popular in Qom and the officials wanted to crackdown on them," said an employee at one of Qom's reformist seminaries.

Here's an Email I received on the subject:

Date: Wed, 15 Feb 2006 16:41:48 +0100 From: Bijnen

Since last Monday I have received rather alarming news concerning attacks on the centre of worship of the Nematollahi-Gonabadi Sufis. Maybe members are interested to read the appeal below. Also see the following link:

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ARA543607.htm

------------------ For years, the followers of Nematollahi-Gonabadi Sufi order, have been suffering quietly at the hands of Iranian government. For over two and half decades they have endured the most brutal and indignant treatment by the government. Their most basic human rights have been severely violated and oppressed to the point that as Moslems they are not allowed to practice their faith. Many of their spiritual teachers along with their followers have been jailed, tortured and their families harassed. Their situation is by far worse than many of the other religious minorities such as Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians in Iran. What exacerbates the situation is that the atrocities against the followers of Nematollahi-Gonabadi Sufi order have constantly been unnoticed and/or ignored by the international community. The latest wave of assaults against this peaceful and respected community in Iran is the seizure of their gathering and prayer center (known as Hosseinieh) in the city of Qom. What is different this time though is that the Sufis have resisted the attacks by the authorities and have not surrendered their Hosseinieh. The latest news from Iran confirms that the authorities have escalated their brutal tactics and a violent conflict seems imminent. We appeal to you our friends and colleagues, as well as the international community, especially organizations such as the International Court of Justice, Amnesty International, the Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights, to take notice of this struggle to protect our most basic human rights, and realize the urgency of the situation of Nematollahi-Gonabadi Sufis in Iran. The latest news from Iran confirms that the government's forces have steadily increased their pressure to oust the Sufis from their center, wounding 17 with gunfire and injuring over 200 men and women. You can find extensive coverage of this event in the past few days on the web through news sites inside and outside of Iran or at our website WWW.ICCHOME.ORG. You can reach Dr. Seyed Mostafa Azmaayesh through his email at SAzmayesh@yahoo.com or myself at sharareh@bellsouth.net or by phone (561) 358-4533. Respectfully, On behalf of Dr. Seyed Mostafa Azmayesh Nematollahi-Gonabadi Representative outside of Iran Sharareh Gharagozloo ICC -------------------- Loes Bijnen The Hague

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