The Hana Human Rights Organization has learned that on the evening of Tuesday, 10 February 2026, Mohammad-Hossein Rajabi, commander of the IRGC Martyrs of West Azerbaijan Corps, together with Ali-Akbar Pourjamshidian, commander of the Hamzeh Seyed al-Shohada Headquarters of the IRGC Ground Forces, visited the homes of several Sunni clerics (mamostās) in the Soma Baradost region of Orumiyeh and attempted to pressure them into expressing support for the Islamic Republic in Friday prayer sermons.
According to informed sources, the mamostas firmly rejected this request and emphasized that “the pulpit and the beliefs of the people must not be turned into tools for political games.” One of the clerics reportedly told the IRGC officials that “supporting movements that threaten freedom-seekers and insult the beliefs of the people has no legitimacy and deserves no defense.”
Sources further stated that at the end of the meeting, IRGC commanders left the gathering after issuing explicit threats against the mamostas.
It is worth noting that Kurdish Sunni clerics have historically believed in the separation of religious affairs from political matters. Since the establishment of the Islamic Republic and the designation of Shiism as the official state religion, they have consistently refused to accept state-imposed requirements regarding the administration of religious schools, seminaries, and the conduct of Friday prayers.