Iran; Clashes erupted between security forces and Sufi Dervishes 2/20/2018 10:19:53 PM   facebook Google+ ► Print The sit-in of Gonabads dervishes is at the front of a police station to release one of their own peers LONDON, February 20, 2018  - Members of the Gonabadi Dervishes, who follow the mystical Sufi strain of Islam, considered a threat by the theocratic establishment, clashed with riot police after gathering at a police station to demand the release of members of their sect. Some Sufis also surrounded the house of their 90-year-old leader, Nourali Tabandeh, in the same neighborhood in northern Tehran, shouting they would not tolerate his possible arrest. The protests come weeks after a wave of anti-government demonstrations in more than 80 towns that resulted in 25 deaths and thousands of arrests. While the Sufi protests are unrelated, they are another show of public defiance prompting a robust response from the Islamic Repu...