Abdolhamid Ismaeelzahi


Abdolhamid Ismaeelzahi is an Iranian Sunni cleric who is regarded as a "spiritual leader for Iran’s Sunni population", according to Reuters. Ismaeelzahi enjoys support of the overwhelming majority of Baloch people in Iran, who hail him as their Molavi.
He is the imam of the Makki Mosque in Zahedan and the director of the Jamiah Darul Uloom Zahedan, the main seminary in the city.

Views

Ismaeelzahi is a vocal critic of the status of freedom of religion in Iran and an advocate of nonviolence. He has stated that capital punishment is "not suitable" and should be "used only when there are no other alternatives".
On 2 August 2017, he sent a letter to Ali Khamenei addressing concerns over the “issue of religious discrimination in Iran”, which was publicly replied to.

Travel restrictions

Ismaeelzahi is under alleged travel restrictions imposed by the establishment. In July 2014, he was barred from leaving the country. In 2017, it was reported that the restriction was intensified, barring him from any travel except to Tehran. However, in December 2018, he was allowed to visit Muscat, Oman to meet the Iranian Baluch minority living there.

Accolades