According to information received by Hana, Mamosta Loqman Amini, the Friday prayer leader of the Chahar-Yar Nabi Mosque in Sanandaj and a widely respected cleric, has been sentenced by the Special Clerical Court in Tehran to three years and one month of imprisonment and the permanent removal of his clerical status on charges of “insulting sanctities.” This ruling was formally delivered to the Kurdish cleric in recent days.
It should be noted that Mamosta Amini had previously been abducted by security forces in February 2023 (Bahman 1401) on the Marivan road due to his support for the revolutionary “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement. After enduring harsh conditions under the custody of security forces, he was released on March 3, 2023 (Esfand 1401) on bail pending the conclusion of legal proceedings.
Hana Human Rights Organization strongly condemns the sentence recently issued by the Special Court for the Clergy in Tehran and declares the following:
According to the established principles of the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi‘i, and Hanbali), any judicial authority created by Shi‘i institutions to exercise oversight over Sunni clerics, particularly Shafi‘i religious scholars (Mamustas), is devoid of legitimacy and unlawful. Within Sunni legal doctrine, and especially in the Shafi‘i tradition, there is no precedent or legal basis for courts to regulate the private conduct, personal appearance, or religious duties of clerics. The very existence of such oversight represents a judicial and doctrinal bid‘a (innovation) imposed by the legal order of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and therefore cannot be recognized as binding under Sharia.
On this basis, Kurdish Shafi‘i Mamustas are entitled to full discretion in matters of clothing and religious dress. They are not bound by the “Regulations on Clerical Attire of the Seminaries,” which reflect Shi‘i clerical norms and are alien to Sunni practice. Accordingly, any sanction described as “removal of clerical garb” (khal‘ al-libas) has no standing in either Sunni jurisprudence or positive law and is null and void.
Hana Human Rights Organization expresses its firm support for Mamusta Loqman Amini and calls upon all Sunni Mamustas and community leaders to take a principled stand against this unlawful innovation, against the insult directed at Kurdish Shafi‘i clerics, and against the violation of their constitutionally and religiously protected freedom of belief and practice.