According to published reports, on Tuesday, September 30, government forces entered the compound of “Takieh Heydari” in the village of Tuyshami, in Dalahu district, and opened fire. This site is considered one of the sacred places of followers of the Yarsan faith.
According to Kurdish human rights activists, this action was carried out under the pretext of “pursuing a kolbar” (cross-border porter), but the armed intrusion into this religious site provoked protests from Kurdish residents as well as reactions from civil and religious activists.
Followers of the Yarsan faith described this incident as an assault on a holy site and a violation of the rights of Yarsan believers.
The followers of the Yarsan religion, who are Kurds living in different provinces of Iranian Kurdistan, especially in Kermanshah Province, have long been under severe government pressure, since they are not officially recognized in the constitution of the Islamic Republic and are often treated as an invisible and forbidden minority.
In some regions, the government appoints local officials from among Shi’a Muslims and does not allow Yarsan followers to participate in political or administrative positions.
They also face discrimination in access to higher education, as the government does not allow Yarsan students to continue their university studies unless they declare themselves Muslim.
According to human rights activists, in recent years some Yarsan followers, under economic pressure, structural discrimination, restrictions on publishing religious books, and bans on freely sharing information about their beliefs, have resorted to desperate acts such as self-immolation.
In addition, military-affiliated publications and state media have at times labeled the Yarsan religion as a “security threat” in order to justify repression against them.
Human rights organizations have also warned that pressure, arrests, searches of religious sites, and the destruction of places of worship (jamkhanas) are among the ongoing methods of repression against followers of this faith.
The followers of the Yarsan faith are among the most heavily persecuted religious minorities in Iran, as they face continuous and systematic pressure both for being Kurds and for being Yarsani.
