Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Will Sunnis ever wake up to the duplicity of the Iranian Shiite leaders?
Excerpt from newly released book 'First Comes the Mosque' by George H. Hassanzadeh
THE MASS ARRIVAL OF ARABS INTO IRAN
AND THE MAKING OF TODAY'S SHI'A
The Safavid Era, 1501–1736
There is no credible evidence indicating that Shi'ites did little more than hold their own ground after the death of their caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, before their mass arrival into sixteenth-century Iran and the start of today's Shiism.
A newly converted Shi'a provincial warlord by the name of Isma'il Safavid (July 17, 1487 to May 23, 1524) seized Ardabil (a province of Azerbaijan), the town of his birth, and crowned himself Shah Isma'il 1, in 1501AD. Through brutality and a heavy hand, Isma'il, who reigned from 1501 to 1524, controlled the rest of Iran and began the Safavid Dynasty.1
The ambitious Ottoman Empire ruler, Sultan Salim1 (1470–520, born in Amasya, a city in northern Turkey near the Black Sea region, who eliminated all potential family claimants to his throne, including his father and brother, 2 had his eyes set on the waterways of the Persian Gulf. Salim's territorial expansion deeply worried Shah Isma'il. Shiite Shah Isma'il prepared a war against the rapidly expanding Sunni Ottoman Empire; however, he soon faced the reality that Sunni Iranians were reluctant to join his fight against their Sunni brothers north of the border, and he was left with an empty war declaration. In that era Iran had a variety of settlers, mostly Persians. In addition, there were Kurds, Arabs, Turkmens, and Baluchi tribes that were all Sunni, and Safavid's control over these various tribes proved challenging, especially when most tribal chieftains avoided joining and declared their tribes independent.
The Shiite zealot Isma'il was determined to convert the Sunni Iranians to Shiism and launched a systematic and brutal campaign of conversion. He declared rewards for the Arab Shiites of the Bilad al-Sham (Levant),3 thus encouraging the Palestinian, Syrian, Lebanese, and Iraqi Shiites to come into Iran and help convert Iranians. Accordingly, Ismail1 not only opened the doors of an idyllic land to the Arabs coming from lands of austerity, but also established a new supremacy statute, a tradition that Iran's Arab Ayatollah Kashani (1882-1962) used to say was a "miracle rebirth of Shiism," a "Shi'a reawakening." It was a dream come true for the Arab Shi'a to suppress Sunni Iranians with total impunity and be paid.
The Safavid Dynasty reigned over Iran for another 236 years. Their states were powerful, vast, and cultured. However, they massacred over four to six hundred thousand Sunni Muslim Iranians to reach their goal of conversion. Ironically, in their 1979 takeover of Iran, Arab Shiite leaders erroneously spread the word that the Safavid family root goes all the way back to Shiites sixth infallible imam, Ja'far Sadiq (702–765 CE), who lived in Arabia; therefore, Safavids are Seyyed; that is, descendants from the household of Prophet Mohammad. This unsubstantiated, politically dubious move has never been challenged; however, it has been rejected by scholars who knew that Ismail had mixed ancestry, such as Georgian, Greek, Kurdish, and Azeri, which confirms that the Safavid family came from indigenous Iranian stock. Isma'il grew up bilingual, speaking Persian and Azerbaijani.4
Looking for a "swift" conversion, Shah Isma'il declared, "I want Sunnis to be converted into Shi'a at any cost." This statement truly cost the nation dearly. The vengeful Arab Shi'a, looking for an opportunity to abolish Sunnis, allowed Arab Shi'a to drastically alter the course of his nation. A massive retaliation commenced. Thus, for the first time, the conflict of Sunni/Shiite officially found its way into Iran. Giving in to the suggestion of newcomers, Isma'il proclaimed the Twelver sect of Shia Islam to be the official religion of his newly formed state. The pronouncement sanctioned major consequences for the ensuing history of Iran and the world.
This foremost political shift brought into the Persian body politic the virtual certainty of eventual conflict between the shah, the symbol of "secular" government, and the Arab Shiite expatriates considering all secular governments illegitimate, the ultimate goal of theocratic government.5
Arab Shi'a used their harsh tribal background against the enhanced Iranian families. There were no rules; guidelines were made as they went along. Their brutality in conversion was disguised under religious principles similar to their first invasion of I ran at the advent of Islam in 637-644 AD.
The newly invited Arabs showed no mercy for young and old. Large Sunni populations suffered loss of life along with numerous homes, farmlands, livestock, and various artifacts. A limited number of young Iranians formed resistance groups in different regions and fought to the best of their ability; however, they often were no match for the unrestrained cruelty and malevolent approach of the Arab Shiites. Many Sunni families fled the fury, taking refuge in the mountains. As Hassan Rahnavardi wrote, "Desperate families fled into the freezing, rugged mountains, where many were chased and slaughtered, and the rest only survived a short time. The remaining Sunni Persians became subject to daily harassment, abuse, and persecution at the hands of Arab Shiites."6 The ill treatment of the Iranian Sunnis has continued even to present day Iran. Sunnis never healed from the trauma, because the repression never ended.
Ironically, in the 1979 Islamic revolution, the same descendants of the sixteenth-century Arab Shiites the ayatollahs of today's Iran ruling body, set up the Revolutionary Council and called upon the people of Iran to destroy the last vestige of "the monarchy." Within weeks, the ayatollahs had authorized Revolutionary courts to round up and try innocent Sunnis. Again, Sunni Iranians were consciously singled out for particularly brutal treatment at the hands of the Arab Shiite clerics, along with former soldiers, police, and supporters of the shah. After summary trials, held mostly at night under conditions of secrecy, the accused were immediately executed. More than sixteen hundred former high-ranking officials from the Shah's regime were shot in one week in Tehran alone.
Back to Shah Ismail Safavi…By imposing Shiism as the mandatory state religion for the entire nation, he:
1. Introduced the Office of Sadr, (absolute religious leader), a committee of Arab Shiites having the task of spreading Shiite Twelver.
2. Ordered the destruction of all Sunni mosques
3. Formed another committee to impose a ritual of compulsory cursing of the first three caliphs (Abu Bakr, Omar, and Othman).
4. Commissioned a group of opportunistic Arab Shiites to seize the Sunnis' assets and use them to build Shiite mosques and shrines.
5. Replaced all Sunni scholars with unschooled Shiite preachers.
6. Continued with the spread of Shiism, 'using force.
7. Proclaimed Caliph Omar's assassination day as a celebration day, and punished, persecuted, imprisoned, and executed Sunnis who did not join the festivities. and
8. Invited large groups of Arab Shiites to move into Iran and gave them special protection and privilege.
The unfortunate decision made by Shah Isma'il not only resulted in countless Iranians losing their lives, but also gave immense power to the majority of unethical Arab missionaries, who created a cult, a Mafia-style system that hid their atrocities under a religious pretext. Where they lacked training or experience in religious matters, they instead, romanticized tribal life, championed Arab causes, and cloaked their hegemony in daily religious duty to which all Iranians had to adhere.
The children of the same cult, the garden-variety Arab ayatollahs of today's Iran ruling party, continue where the by-gone ancestors left off.
More than five centuries after Arab Shiites arrival in Iran, the bad blood between Shiites and Sunnis still exists, and many of the current problems in Iran can be traced back to the exploitation of the Arab Shiite power and mistreatment of Iranian minorities such as Christians, Jews, and especially Sunnis.
At the concluding days of writing this book, in first part of 2019, Iranians who have been crushed by the overwhelming tyranny of oppressive Shi'a and Shari'a Law, desperate and despondent about the regime, are coming out in every city, every town demanding regime change. Iranian Sunnis have finally started to fight back. The headline and subhead in the Los Angeles Times on Thursday, February 14, 2019 reads, "Iran suicide bombing kills elite troops: Attack in poor region near Pakistan leaves 27 dead and 13 injured. Sunni extremist group claims responsibility."
Shah Ismail's first encounter with the Ottoman Empire was the Battle of Chaldiran,7 August 23, 1514, and ended with a decisive victory for the Ottoman Empire over the Safavid Empire. As a result, the Ottomans annexed eastern Anatolia and northern Iraq from Safavid Iran for the first time. The Chaldiran Battle turned into border skirmishes and lasted until 1639, and in each skirmish, Iran lost territory to the Ottoman Empire. The loss of Mesopotamia (the remainder of Iraq) was the last. These wars with the Ottoman Empire constituted one of the greatest military disasters in the history of Iran.
Shah Isma'il had decided to enter in to the war with little knowledge of how to fight the type of battle that was being waged and with no real idea of how to defeat the much superior army of the Ottomans. The defeat of his ragtag army by the Sunni Ottoman superior force, the loss of territories, and the ill-treatment of his fellow citizen at the hands of Arabs he'd imported, who were forever increasing their demands for more authority, took its toll on his government. The indigenous Iranians along with Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians, Sunni Baluchi, and Sunni Kurds who had inhabited the land for centuries, suffered the grim consequences. As the result, people had no choice but to revolt. A group of volunteer vigilant citizens pursued and punished the Arab cleric. They randomly detained mullahs, wrapped their turbans around their necks, and hanged them in public. This action sent a shockwave through the Arab Shiite cleric community. Many hardly ventured outside of their homes, and some went back to their homes in Arabia. Ironically, today, 2019, the table is turning against the Arab Shi'a clerics. Some Arab clerics have been chased and shot in the streets of many Iranian towns.
Traditionally, an Arab has no last name; it is common to use the father's name or "patronymic," instead of the family name; thus, a name such as Mohammad ibn Abdullah, means "son of Abdullah," Ibn Khaldun means "son of Khaldun," Ali ibn Abu Talib, Hassan ibn Ali, and so forth. Women are known by their first-born child, such as um Hassan, "Hassan's mother." Umm Kulthum, the mother of Kulthum.
In meeting after meeting, the mullahs were desperately looking for a way out; finally, they came up with a cunning scheme that worked: the Shiite leaders sent out words for the Arabs to use the name of the town or village where they currently live as their last name, for the clerics to show that they were Iranian, same as any other Iranian. "Let it be known that you are an Iranian born in such and such town or village." The communication was sent. And of course, taghiyah, the "permissible lie," did not hurt. At that point, public opinion shifted noticeably in their favor.
From then on, Arab Shiite clerics were known by the towns they came from. Names like Ayatollah Kashani (from Kashan), Behbahani (from Behbahan), Khomeini (from Khomain), and so forth. Without exception, all today's Iranian Arab clergies are the children of the sixteenth-century Arabs who came in masses from Arabia, and chose a town or village as their last name.
History tells us some world leaders have made dreadful decisions that caused their downfall, the collapse of their nation, and ultimately, the breakdown of their world. Shah Ismail's campaign of conversion is considered one of the most brutal undertakings ever waged by a leader against his own nation. It also tells us that there are leaders who have done wrong because they could not foresee the result of the wrong. Isma'il never could foresee the consequences of giving foreigners—in this case the neighboring harsh and unrestrained Arabs—unchecked power. He never envisioned the long-term effect and the prospect of a bleak future. However, when Ismail realized his monumental error, it was already too late. The Arab Shiites turned on him and started the campaigns of tarnishing his image by labeling him "a threat to Islam for heretical teaching." Ismail fell out of favor in a way that made him a much-detested ruler. He realized his immense, irreversible mistake. As a result, he became despondent and severely depressed.
After the Battle of Chaldiran, Ismail lost his supernatural air and the aura of invincibility. He became fatally depressed and gradually fell into drinking of alcohol heavily.8 He showed no interest in military campaigns and withdrew from active participation in the affairs of the state. He left these to his vizier, Mirza Shah Husayn,9 who became his close friend and drinking companion. This allowed Husayn, who was handpicked by Arab Shiite leaders, to expand his authority and gain influence over Isma'il. However, Mirza Shah Husayn was assassinated in 1523 by a group of Qizilbash.10
Being a prolific poet, Ismail responded to the allegation by writing poems about his massive mistake and regrets. In fact, he chose the pen name Khatai e,11 which means "he who made mistakes" or "he who has done wrong" in Persian. He criticized the Arab Shiites, the people he so eagerly invited into his land, but mostly condemned himself. He contributed greatly to the literary development of the Azerbaijani language and the Persian literature. Suspiciously, only a few of his Persian writings survived.
On May 23, 1524, at the age of thirty-six, Shah Isma'il died. Some historians believe sadness, regrets, and guilt killed Ismail, a broken-down man; however, others believe the same Arabs he brought into Iran assassinated him. As journalist and Shiite critic Ahmad Kasravi wrote, "Iran lost territories and gained a repulsive set of laws favoring Arabia called 'the Shi'a,' the Shari'a doctrines."12
1. Roger M. Savory. "Safavid's." in Peter Burk, Iran Habib, Halil Inalci: History of Humanity Scientific and Cultural Development: From the Sixteen to Eighteenth Century," Taylor & Francis. 1999. Excerpt from pg. 259.
2. Hostility between Selim I and Ismail I underlies sectarian differences by Ekrem Bugra Ekinci, Istanbul, September 4, 2015.
3. The Levant is historical geographical term referring to the Eastern Mediterranean states including Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Cyprus and the Palestinian Territories.
4. Evidence available confirms that the Safavid family came from indigenous Iranian stock, and not from Arabic or Turkish ancestry as it is sometimes claimed. It is probable that the family originated in Persian Kurdistan, and later moved to Azerbaijan where it became assimilated to Turkic-speaking Azeris and eventually settled in the small town of Ardabil sometime during the eleventh century. After 1979 coup d'état by Iran's Arab Shiite, corrupted many international institutions, universities enabling them to modify, influence the history of the Shiite sect to their advantage. For example, on the subject of the origin of Shah Ismail 1, the ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA is compelled to disclose and says, "You will notice that many of the encyclopedic articles on this site are attributed in full or in part to the Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. The vast majority of articles attributed solely to the editors have been written, reviewed, or revised by external advisers and experts, and the lack of formal acknowledgment of their contributions was an editorial policy.
5. Encyclopedia Iranica, Esma'il 1 Safavid, 1. Biography.
6. Hassan Rahnavardi, 'The Rise of Theocracy Government and Spiritual Mafia in Iran', p. 88.
7. The Chaldiran County is in West Azerbaijan Province. The capital of Chaldoran is Siah Cheshmeh "Black spring." the population of Chaldoran are Azari and Kurmanci Kurds. Momen (1985), p. 107.
8. The Cambridge History of Islam, Part 1, By Peter Malcolm Holt, Ann K. S. Lambton, Bernard Lewis, p. 401.
9. Momen 1985, p 107.
10. Qizilbash, Savory, 2007, p. 47.
11. Khatai, Encyclopedia Iranica, Ismail 1 Safavi Archived October 21, 2007, at the Way back Machine.
12. Ahmad Kasravi.
GEORGE H. HASSANZADEH born and raised as a Shi'a Muslim in Iran and is the author of 'IRAN: HARSH ARM OF ISLAM,' and just released book "FIRST COMES THE MOSQUE."
Hassanzadeh is recognized as an expert in Islam and is in process of releasing a series of books which provides reliable details on Islam, Shi'a, Shari'a, Jihadist and the infallible Arab Shiite clerics forcing medieval rule and a system of mind control in 21st century Arab and non– Arab nations.
George H. Hassanzadeh is a U.S. Army Veteran and lives in California, U.S.A.