The Ahl al-Sunnah in Iran

For centuries, Iran’s Sunni minority has lived under a shadow of suppression—politically silenced, religiously marginalized, and largely invisible to the wider Muslim world. In The Ahl al-Sunnah in Iran: A Study in Religious Discrimination and State Repression, ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad al-Gharīb presents a searing examination of their struggle, drawing from first-hand testimonies, interviews, and rare internal documents to uncover what state propaganda has long concealed.

Tracing the story from the Safavid dynasty’s imposition of Shi’ism to the Islamic Revolution’s unfulfilled promises of unity, the author reveals how sectarian discrimination has persisted under successive regimes, culminating in the clerical establishment’s systematic persecution of Sunni scholars, activists, and ordinary believers. Through the voices of leading Sunni figures and others silenced by the Ayatollahs, the book exposes the brutal machinery of repression—imprisonment, torture, and forced assimilation—wielded against those who refused to conform.

By documenting these realities with precision and courage, the author unmasks the contradiction between revolutionary slogans and lived reality. His work is essential for anyone seeking to understand the deep sectarian undercurrents shaping Iran’s politics and its uneasy relationship with its own Sunni citizens.

The Ahl Al-Sunnah In Iran
A Study In Religious Discrimination And State Repression

by:
ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad al-Gharīb

Click one of the sections below:

Introduction

The Ahlus Sunnah in Iran  – A Study in Religious Discrimination and State Repression

Introduction

The Sunni Majlis al Shura (Consultative Council)

Proposal Set for Constitutional Reform

Statement by the Maktab Qur’an about the Government’s Measures

Addendum to the two aforementioned letters

Interviews

The Conditions of the Ahlus Sunnah After the War

Observations by Sunni ‘Ulama’ who visited Iran

What happens in the Prisons of the Ayatollahs?

Conclusion