Iran’s Sunni Jihad groups — Thinking Globally but Acting Locally

English: Locator map of the Sistan and Baluchestan Province, in Iran. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As Iran moved to condemn attacks against Shias in Pakistan this week, Iranian hardline news site Mashregh once again blamed foreign “Wahhabis” for sponsoring the violence. In the wake of increasing Sunni-Shia sectarianism and violence in its Sistan-Baluchestan province — which borders Pakistan –  Iran has recently blamed its Sunni rivals Qatar and Saudi Arabia for funding and inciting Sunni separatist movements.

Whether they are sponsored by foreign states or not (and it is impossible to ascertain from open-source intelligence), the Sistan-Baluchestan separatist movements — particularly Harakat Ansar Iran (HAI) — differ from their predecessor Jundullah in that they are far more outward-looking and have connected their cause with wider Sunni causes.

HAI, for example, maintains a blog in Persian — as one would expect — but reaches a wider audience through sites in Arabic and English. The Persian website focusses mostly on local issues in Sistan-Baluchestan — including setting up an anti-narcotics wing to combat drug trafficking and addiction in the province. HAI also used its Persian-language blog to announce its cooperation with Pakistani group Sipah-e Shahada.

Aimed at a different audience, the Arabic and English sites look beyond the group’s regional goals and discuss wider issues of Sunni-Shia sectarianism. (HAI’s English site is currently suspended but the group continues to publish English-language content on its Persian blog, a sign of how important it is to HAI to be a part of the English-language “Jihadosphere”)

Like other Jihadi groups, HAI also maintains an extensive presence on social media, and has branded Twitter accounts in both English and Arabic (though, significantly, not Persian). Prior to opening its branded Twitter accounts, HAI advertised its presence on Twitter via an Arabic-speaking spokesman operating under the name Abu Hafez al-Balushi (and who may be operating out of Pakistan). Al-Balushi’s account has over 6,500 followers, many from Sunni Gulf states.

Again mimicking other Jihad groups, HAI has its own YouTube channel  and even a media wing, al-Farooq, which has put out videos but especially images with anti-Shia, pro-Sunni messages that the group has disseminated via Twitter and Facebook. One of the images, which caused some shock, is of a youth training camp:

https://twitter.com/rpg_5/status/290661283131428864

Often, HAI’s English media talks about sectarian issues but focusses on Iran, however — such as this recent posting:

A stern warning to those who call for Shia-Sunni unity. http://t.co/0CWcZa4y1h—
Harakat Ansar Iran (@AnsarIran_eng) March 08, 2013

HAI also uses its English channels to state its local aims:

@SAMujahida Pray to Allah to enable us to strike at the heart of the rawafid: Tehran and Qom. And we have every intention of doing so.—
Harakat Ansar Iran (@AnsarIran_eng) February 22, 2013

HAI’s English and Arabic language media have also emphasized support for Sunnis in other parts of the world, including in Bahrain and Syria:

Human rights in Bahrain? Are the Shia of Bahrain ever treated like this? The treatment of Alus Sunnah of Iran. http://t.co/XtnJHvx0—
Harakat Ansar Iran (@AnsarIran_eng) February 20, 2013

As with Bahrain, HAI frames the Syria crisis as a Sunni-Shia conflict, emphasizing both Sunni solidarity and criticizing Shia Iran’s role in the conflict. A recent blog post says that:

The Shi’ites are supported by Russia, Iran, China, Iraq and Hezbollah. These allies supply money, weapons, advice and manpower to keep Bashar’s forces strong and sustainable. They support Syria because of worldly interests such as oil and other valuable resources and are working extremely hard to delay the guaranteed victory of the Mujahideen.

HAI has used its Arabic language channels to provide information about local issues in Sistan-Baluchestan, but also to call on Sunni Arabs in the Gulf to join in the struggle against Iran, including by donating money.

Ultimately, while HAI makes active use of social media to connect with others beyond the borders of Iran, and while it positions itself as part of a global Sunni struggle against Shia Muslims, the Iran-dominated content of the group’s messages and its repeated return to discussing its own struggle show that HAI is predominantly concerned with local issues rather than with attempting to brand itself as merely a local offshoot of any global Jihad movement.

Related articles

• Sistan-Baluchestan Sunni Jihadi group announces ‘youth training camp’ (iranmilitarynews.org)
• Sunni Jihad group Jaish ul-Adl claims attack on IRGC in Saravan (iranmilitarynews.org)