During the days of the American and Zionist invasion of Iran, the support of Afghan Sunnis for the Islamic Republic of Iran in cyberspace and real-life was so impressive that it seemed that religious differences had completely faded. Anyone who opposed this wave of solidarity faced severe criticism from Sunnis themselves.
Publish dateMonday 13 April 2026 - 13:25
Story Code : 350951
From Shia-Sunni Sympathy to the Discordant Explosion in Herat; Hidden Hands Ambush Unity
Seyed Mohammad Shirzadi*
In the real-life space of society, I personally witnessed people supporting the Islamic Republic of Iran who were not expected to take such a position; many of them simply said: “May God grant victory to the Muslims.” They did not care what religion the other side was, and they did not even analyze what the war between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the criminal side was about.
Across the border, in Iran, large conferences were held to express appreciation and gratitude for the support of Afghan brothers by Iranian officials and people, in a way that resulted in nothing but unity and brotherhood between Iranians and Afghans, Shiites and Sunnis.
Right at the peak of this atmosphere of empathy and convergence, suddenly painful news was published in the headlines of major media outlets: the massacre of Shiites in Herat. Most media outlets made headlines that made it as clear and obvious as the sun shining in them to incite religious differences. With all due respect to responsible media outlets, the inattention of some media outlets in presenting the incident in such a way is truly catastrophic.
The reality is that in Herat, we do not have and have never had any Takfiri armed groups with the address of “Ahle Sunnat”, especially since the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is in a fierce battle with Takfiri ideology and, as far as I know, is not making the slightest lapse in combating this phenomenon. So who were these people? Where did they come from? How did they get to the scene of the incident? How did they know that there were no security officials there? How did they know that Shiite brothers and sisters would gather at that specific spot on such a day so that they could come safely, first collect their mobile phones, then give religious speeches and then...? Someone goes to the local lord and they come and there is a fight between them? And dozens of other fundamental questions that remain unanswered.
In any case, I do not consider this brutal incident to be unrelated to recent events, especially the atmosphere of empathy and brotherhood that had been created between Shiites and Sunnis, and I do not think that the matter will end here. What is clear is that there is a behind-the-scenes divisive movement aimed at neutralizing the unity achieved between the religions.
I ask the media to be aware of their responsible duty to report. The divisive terrorist is the common enemy of all the innocent people in the world; sometimes he wears the garb of religion and sometimes he introduces himself as a member of a particular tribe, but ultimately his goal is to shed the blood of innocents and fuel the fire of religious and ethnic differences. So let us try to ensure that our way of communicating information does not add fuel to the enemy’s mill and instead of reinforcing divisions, it provides a basis for solidarity and common awareness.
*Seyed Mohammad Shirzadi, former head of Hajj and Endowments of Herat
Across the border, in Iran, large conferences were held to express appreciation and gratitude for the support of Afghan brothers by Iranian officials and people, in a way that resulted in nothing but unity and brotherhood between Iranians and Afghans, Shiites and Sunnis.
Right at the peak of this atmosphere of empathy and convergence, suddenly painful news was published in the headlines of major media outlets: the massacre of Shiites in Herat. Most media outlets made headlines that made it as clear and obvious as the sun shining in them to incite religious differences. With all due respect to responsible media outlets, the inattention of some media outlets in presenting the incident in such a way is truly catastrophic.
The reality is that in Herat, we do not have and have never had any Takfiri armed groups with the address of “Ahle Sunnat”, especially since the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is in a fierce battle with Takfiri ideology and, as far as I know, is not making the slightest lapse in combating this phenomenon. So who were these people? Where did they come from? How did they get to the scene of the incident? How did they know that there were no security officials there? How did they know that Shiite brothers and sisters would gather at that specific spot on such a day so that they could come safely, first collect their mobile phones, then give religious speeches and then...? Someone goes to the local lord and they come and there is a fight between them? And dozens of other fundamental questions that remain unanswered.
In any case, I do not consider this brutal incident to be unrelated to recent events, especially the atmosphere of empathy and brotherhood that had been created between Shiites and Sunnis, and I do not think that the matter will end here. What is clear is that there is a behind-the-scenes divisive movement aimed at neutralizing the unity achieved between the religions.
I ask the media to be aware of their responsible duty to report. The divisive terrorist is the common enemy of all the innocent people in the world; sometimes he wears the garb of religion and sometimes he introduces himself as a member of a particular tribe, but ultimately his goal is to shed the blood of innocents and fuel the fire of religious and ethnic differences. So let us try to ensure that our way of communicating information does not add fuel to the enemy’s mill and instead of reinforcing divisions, it provides a basis for solidarity and common awareness.
*Seyed Mohammad Shirzadi, former head of Hajj and Endowments of Herat
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