IRGC Personnel arrest Ahwazi Arab Mandaean

Ahwazna

Intelligence affiliated with the IRGC arrested the Ahwazi activist Sheik Fayez Zahruni Mandaei, who resides in Khafajeh city on Tuesday last week.

After the Iranian forces raided his workplace, he was led to an unknown destination.

Activists said Sheik Fayez was arrested over his high activism within the campaign to defend the identity of the Ahwazi people.

The campaign aims to bring back Arabic names to Ahwazi cities, which are named in Persian.

According to eyewitnesses, the IRGC forces confiscated the properties of the Ahwazi activist.

The Iranian regime forces had earlier arrested three Ahwazi activists within the same campaign.

They were also led to an unknown destination.

This comes within the schemes of the Iranian regime to target activists who defend the cultural identity of the Arab people of Ahwaz.

Sheik Fayez Mandaei, an ethnic Arab and follower of the ancient Mandaean faith.

The Mandaean faith is included among the Abrahamic religions and mentioned in the Holy Quran as one of the divine religions, uniting its followers with Muslims, Jews, Christians, and Sabaeans, as believers in God and in the Last Days, with the Quran explicitly states that those who do righteous deeds shall have their reward with their Lord and should have no fear, nor shall they face punishment. 

Ahwazi Mandaeans are extremely oppressed and denied all their basic rights. They are considered an essential component of the Ahwazi Arab population, are believed to number around 50,000 in total, and have lived peacefully for hundreds of years alongside their Muslim brothers and sisters, who make up the majority in the Arab region.

Sheik Fayez is an activist for the rights of religious and ethnic minorities in Iran.

His arrest comes in the aftermath of month-long protests by Ahwazi Arab people against what they saw as anti-Arab racism and deliberate neglect and of their Arab identity by the national radio and television in Iran.