Islamist opposition in the Islamic Republic : Jundullah and the spread of extremist Deobandism in Iran

This report examines the Iranian Jundullah movement, a Sunni Muslim terrorist group waging a small-scale war against the Iranian government and operating in the Sistan va Baluchestan region of south-eastern Iran. Created in 2004-5, the group has, during the recent years, intensified its violent campaign against the Iranian authorities, a recent phenomenon being suicide bombings. The great paradox is that Iran, who has been active in support of different Islamist movements outside her own territory after the revolution, is now faced with serious armed opposition within her own borders. Tehran claims Jundullah enjoys an intimate relationship with the Pakistani Taliban. Although plausible regarding the shift in tactics to suicide operations, the group vehemently denies any connection with regional terrorist networks. Jundullah is surrounded by secrecy and very little written literature exists about the group. Moreover, Sistan va Baluchestan is virtually closed to foreigners. This report is mostly based on the myriad of internet blogs connected to the group and media reports. While it is not – and it probably never will be – possible to verify most of the information about Jundullah, the phenomenon is interesting as it highlights violent religious tensions inside the Islamic Republic. The group is waging an armed jihad against an Islamic government. Tehran is anxious to quell information about the group’s activities. Not only does the existence of the group highlight the precarious state of security in the region with feeble governmental control over the “wild” south-east of Iran, but it also shows the limits to Islamic unity within the Islamic Republic itself. This deals a blow to the credentials of the revolution and the international revolutionary aspects of the Khomeinist doctrine. Interestingly, Jundullah challenges the government on two levels. It is a Deobandi movement following Hanifa jurisprudence, opposing the Shi’a Ja’fari School of law. It therefore questions the very pillar of the Iranian government and undermines the principle of Islamic unity, and its central importance in the Iranian state since the Revolution. Secondly, Jundullah is an expression of Baluchi nationalism, thus questioning the territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic. The group operates under two names, namely Jundullah (Soldiers of God), and “jonbesh-e moqavemat-e mardomi-ye Iran” (the popular resistance front of Iran). The dual face of the group thus highlights the fact that the Iranian government is dealing with opposition on two fronts, ethnic and religious. This report not only describes a violent opposition group within the borders of the Iranian state, but also touches upon a phenomenon which is found in the core of contemporary discussions of modern Islamist terrorism: the transformation of Sunni Islam through the growth and success of the austere Deobandi current, which underlies sectarian strife in a number of Muslim countries, and the displacement of the “heart” of radical Islamism from the Arabian Peninsula to the Indian Subcontinent.