The Arab Spring and Extremism among Sunni Minorities in Iran

ABSTRACT

Scholarly works underline that sections of the Sunni minorities, mainly the urban middle class and the educated elites supported the creation of the Islamic Republic. Despite the Sunni ulema publicly censuring Sunni extremist groups and developing a new ‘Islamic Diplomacy’, the state’s insecurity and paranoia towards its Sunni Muslim minority increased. The state suppressed any public expression of sympathy towards the Arab Spring, tightened censorship on publication, destroyed Sunni places of worship and higher religious schools, and imprisoned, executed and assassinated Sunni leaders. Apart from the resurgence in Sunni extremism within the state, evidence refers to the union of Iran’s Baluch, Kurds and Arabs with the Jabhat al-Nusra, an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria. While the world watched the MENA region engulf in protests in 2011, Tehran quietly promoted Jama‘at-i Da‘wat was Islah-i Iran (The Appeal and Reform Society of Iran) as a political party to stall a ‘Sunni Spring’ within Iran.

The volume, Politics of Change in the Middle East and North Africa since Arab Spring: A Lost Decade?, commemorates the ten years of the eruption of Arab Spring protests. It captures some of the prevailing political, economic, strategic and social issues in MENA through thematic or country-specific essays that explore the ongoing transformations and underline how despite the hopelessness, the MENA societies have made progress on various fronts.

Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bhutan).

Maria Elizabeth Joseph

Ms. Maria Elizabeth Joseph, Assistant Director at Ananta Aspen Centre. She holds a Master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies from Tel Aviv University and was a recipient of the Middle East Studies Thesis Grant for her comparative historical work on Iran’s policy towards the Baluch and Kurds. She writes on the Middle East and her chapter “The Arab Spring and Sunni Extremism among Sunni Minorities in Iran,” edited by MD. Muddassir Quamar in Politics of Change in Middle East and North Africa Since Arab Spring was published by Routledge in 2023. She has a working knowledge of Arabic and is currently studying Persian and Urdu.

Related

News

News

Letter

Ambassador Sharat Sabharwal, Former High Commissioner of India to Pakistan and Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Ananta Centre

AFPAK DIGEST

Pramit Pal Chaudhury, Foreign Editor, Hindustan Times, and Distinguished Fellow & Head, Strategic Affairs, Ananta
Mr AK Bhattacharya, Editorial Director, Business Standard, Distinguished Fellow, Ananta Centre Editorial Director

Pramit Pal Chaudhury, Foreign Editor, Hindustan Times, and Distinguished Fellow & Head, Strategic Affairs, Ananta

Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar, Former Ambassador of India to Kazakhstan, Sweden and Latvia; President, Institute of

Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar, Former Ambassador of India to Kazakhstan, Sweden and Latvia; President, Institute of

Australian High Commissioner- Ambassador Series ( 30 May 2024)

Tweets:https://x.com/AusHCIndia/status/1796460242710229478 Articles:https://www.timesnownews.com/india/australia-high-commissioner-sees-potential-for-indias-role-in-aukus-collaboration-article-110571507https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/india-is-australias-top-tier-security-partner-says-high-commissioner-green/articleshow/110598184.cms?from=mdrhttps://www.myind.net/Home/viewArticle/india-is-our-indispensable-partner-in-the-indo-pacific-says-australian-envoy-philip-greenhttps://www.wionews.com/world/india-is-our-indispensable-partner-in-indo-pacific-australian-envoy-philip-green-727380https://organiser.org/2024/06/01/240595/bharat/india-an-indispensable-top-tier-security-partner-for-us-australian-envoy-phillip-green/

News

Letter

Ambassador Sharat Sabharwal, Former High Commissioner of India to Pakistan and Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Ananta Centre

AFPAK DIGEST

Pramit Pal Chaudhury, Foreign Editor, Hindustan Times, and Distinguished Fellow & Head, Strategic Affairs, Ananta
Mr AK Bhattacharya, Editorial Director, Business Standard, Distinguished Fellow, Ananta Centre Editorial Director

Pramit Pal Chaudhury, Foreign Editor, Hindustan Times, and Distinguished Fellow & Head, Strategic Affairs, Ananta

Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar, Former Ambassador of India to Kazakhstan, Sweden and Latvia; President, Institute of

Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar, Former Ambassador of India to Kazakhstan, Sweden and Latvia; President, Institute of

Australian High Commissioner- Ambassador Series ( 30 May 2024)

Tweets:https://x.com/AusHCIndia/status/1796460242710229478 Articles:https://www.timesnownews.com/india/australia-high-commissioner-sees-potential-for-indias-role-in-aukus-collaboration-article-110571507https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/india-is-australias-top-tier-security-partner-says-high-commissioner-green/articleshow/110598184.cms?from=mdrhttps://www.myind.net/Home/viewArticle/india-is-our-indispensable-partner-in-the-indo-pacific-says-australian-envoy-philip-greenhttps://www.wionews.com/world/india-is-our-indispensable-partner-in-indo-pacific-australian-envoy-philip-green-727380https://organiser.org/2024/06/01/240595/bharat/india-an-indispensable-top-tier-security-partner-for-us-australian-envoy-phillip-green/

News

Letter

Ambassador Sharat Sabharwal, Former High Commissioner of India to Pakistan and Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Ananta Centre

AFPAK DIGEST

Pramit Pal Chaudhury, Foreign Editor, Hindustan Times, and Distinguished Fellow & Head, Strategic Affairs, Ananta
Mr AK Bhattacharya, Editorial Director, Business Standard, Distinguished Fellow, Ananta Centre Editorial Director

Pramit Pal Chaudhury, Foreign Editor, Hindustan Times, and Distinguished Fellow & Head, Strategic Affairs, Ananta

Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar, Former Ambassador of India to Kazakhstan, Sweden and Latvia; President, Institute of

Ambassador Ashok Sajjanhar, Former Ambassador of India to Kazakhstan, Sweden and Latvia; President, Institute of

Australian High Commissioner- Ambassador Series ( 30 May 2024)

Tweets:https://x.com/AusHCIndia/status/1796460242710229478 Articles:https://www.timesnownews.com/india/australia-high-commissioner-sees-potential-for-indias-role-in-aukus-collaboration-article-110571507https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/india-is-australias-top-tier-security-partner-says-high-commissioner-green/articleshow/110598184.cms?from=mdrhttps://www.myind.net/Home/viewArticle/india-is-our-indispensable-partner-in-the-indo-pacific-says-australian-envoy-philip-greenhttps://www.wionews.com/world/india-is-our-indispensable-partner-in-indo-pacific-australian-envoy-philip-green-727380https://organiser.org/2024/06/01/240595/bharat/india-an-indispensable-top-tier-security-partner-for-us-australian-envoy-phillip-green/