In his meeting with the Turkish President of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi extended his congratulations on the occasion of the Prophet (s)’s birthday anniversary and expressed his hope for a bright and prosperous future for both the people of Turkey and Iran as two neighboring nations with a lot of cultural and religious commonalities.
He also added: “I have been told that there are nearly ninety thousand mosques in Turkey, hundreds of which belong to Shia Muslims, and that they perform their religious rituals freely, which is very good news. Around ninety percent of the people of Turkey are Muslims and the Friday Prayers held in Turkey are attended by a huge number of people. Turkish people, with their long history, have a significant role in the world, and regarding Islam”.
Stating that the danger that threatens the whole Muslim world today is the one posed by the Takfiri terrorists, his eminence noted: “Takfiris are like a plague for the world and for Islam. Therefore, all Muslim scholars must work together to eradicate the ideology of Takfir”.
He continued: “military campaign alone cannot completely exterminate the Takfir; rather, all Muslim scholars must work together to eliminate the ideology of Takfir. Last year we held a great congress in Qom in which many scholars and Muftis from all over the Muslim world took part. After their meeting with each other and much discussion, they came to the conclusion that the ideology of Takfir must be targeted and eliminated for the Muslim world to find peace again.”
His eminence also informed the Turkish President of Religious Affairs of the plans to hold another, similar, congress against Takfiri ideology in near future and said: “in this congress, Muslim scholars from various countries will convene to find solutions to this problem as well as strategies to fight and eliminate the ideology of Takfir. We hope that the Turkish scholars will also j o i n us in this congress to work with the Iranian scholars in order to find solutions to the problems that have inflicted the Muslim world”.
Takfiris spill the blood of Muslims and destroy the infrastructures of Muslim countries. The enemies have pitted Muslims against one another, and now they are watching this and enjoy it. These Takfiri terrorists have created enmity amongst Muslims and they have depicted a distorted image of Islam, as a religion of violence and bloodshed, to the whole world. Thus is all while the world is ready to accept Islam and many people around the world are willing to convert to Islam”.
Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi also noted: “one of the best-seller books in the US is the Quran and recently an American official has said that they have to prepare themselves for a time when the Americans would wake up with the sound if Adhan. However, the Takfiri terrorists hindered this progression of Islam in the West with their atrocities and crimes. They sometimes make reference to some verses of the Quran as proof for the legitimacy of their atrocities; however, these verses have nothing to do with their evil purposes.”
He, then, added: “the best way of eliminating the problems of the Muslim world is to have the Quran and the Tradition as the basis of whatever we do. Islam is, and has ever been, a religion of mercy and peace and the Prophet of Islam (s) was merciful to all mankind. Now, how can the Prophet (s) ever be happy with the act of locking up a human being in a cage and then burning him alive as the Takfiris have done?! I believe the only solution to these problems is to return to the Quran and the Tradition”.
Stating the fact that there isn’t much difference and disagreement among various Muslim schools and the differences which do exist would not create serious problems, his eminence said: “we live in peace and harmony with our Sunni brothers here in Iran and we cooperate with each other in many things such as national elections.” Thank God, the same is true in Turkey where the religious differences among the people have not caused any problems which show the rich culture of the Turkish people.”
He continued: “adding fuel to the flames of sectarian conflicts is what only the enemies of Islam do and are benefitted from. Therefore, we must be vigilant not to become their puppets.
Emphasizing the fact that there are some TV and satellite channels which are controlled by the enemies and which are tasked with fanning the flames of discord amongst Muslims, Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi stated: “we strictly renounce these channels because they are the puppets of the enemies of Islam and they have nothing to do with Shia school. These channels even insult the great Shia religious authorities as well”.
