According to an image received by the Hana Human Rights Organization, a number of state-affiliated clerics issued a jihad fatwa in Arabic against Israel at Qoba Mosque in Sanandaj. The exact date of this fatwa remains unconfirmed, but preliminary information suggests it may have been issued during Friday prayers on July 25, 2025.
Among these government-backed clerics—referred to by many in Kurdistan’s political discourse as “Jash” (a derogatory term for collaborators)—were Seyed Ahsan Hosseini, the interim Friday prayer leader of Sanandaj, along with several members of the Kurdistan Provincial Fatwa Council.
The Hana Human Rights Organization strongly condemns the issuance of this jihad fatwa, viewing it as a reproduction of violence. Hana emphasizes that the historical role of Kurdish clerics has been marked by peace, tolerance, and coexistence.
In stark contrast to this recent event, a significant number of independent and grassroots Kurdish clerics, who supported the “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi” (Woman, Life, Freedom) movement, have been subjected to imprisonment, exile, and defrocking by the Special Clerical Court of the Islamic Republic.