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On September 26, 2022, Harakat Muhajirin Ahl-Sunnat Iran, a Syria-based Salafi Sunni jihadi group comprising Iranian fighters, issued a statement on Twitter commenting on the ongoing demonstration in Iran against wearing hijab.[1] The protests erupted in several Iranian cities over the death on September 16 of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been apprehended in Tehran and taken to a "re-education center" for not wearing her hijab properly.
In its statement, the group, which is aligned with Idlib-based Ha'yat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), and opposes the Iranian Shi'ite regime in Tehran noted that although wearing the hijab is an Islamic obligation meant to shield women, adherence to this ruling, like other Islamic rulings, requires training and education. It added that while the group offers its condolences to the bereaved family of Mehsa Amini, it wants also to convey several important messages to the Muslims of Iran.
Among them, the statement said, that the Velayat Al-Faqih[2] regime in Iran is not an Islamic government because it fights Muslims in Iran and the rest of the region.
"The biggest means of fighting cruelty and crime in this regime is to get to know true Islam and its glorious history, Da'wah [preaching, invitation]," said the statement.
Further, it warned protesters that their demonstrations could be misinterpreted by the "enemies of Islam" as a rejection of their religion, not the regime.
"Muslim brothers and sisters, be very careful about adhering to Islamic rules and rituals, because the enemies of Islam can take advantage of your hatred toward this regime. They are trying to make people hate Islam as well."
Concluding the statement urged Iranians to unite against the Shi'ite regime and its "oppression."
[1] Twitter.com, September 26, 2022.
[2] ("Guardianship of the Islamic jurist") Iran's government has been based on this religious and political doctrine since the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution.
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