Stating that the human societies in all ages, and in particular the current age, have had relations with each other, in his meeting with Nikolay Mladenov, the special representative of the UN Secretary General for Iraq, Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi said: “if any single human community is harmed, all mankind will be harmed by it, and if that community is saved, this will benefit all”.
He, then, added: “the problems of Iraq are not just those of this country and its neighbors, but they can also inflict all human societies; today one can see that the problem of Takfiri terrorists, which is supposedly the problem of Iraq, has moved beyond the borders of this country and is now threatening all human societies, even the European societies”.
Referring to “The World Congress on Extremism and Takfiri Movements in the Islamic Scholars’ View” that was held in Iran, his eminence said: “we sought to clarify the threats and the dangers of the Takfiri movements for all human societies through this congress and if everyone thinks like this the problems will be resolved sooner”.
He continued: “another issue that we had as one of the fundamental bases of this congress was the principle of respecting other religions and refraining from insulting the sanctities of other religions, thus, we witnessed a practical peaceful relation between various denominations in the congress, and since we were loyal to this principle to the very end, we were able to strengthen the religious fraternity”.
Indicating the fact that the Takfiris commit such heinous crimes due to their deviant beliefs, Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi stated: “though leading military campaigns against these groups is necessary, it is not enough; the beliefs that create such groups must be identified and eradicated by the Muslim scholars, scientists, and the media so as to be able to completely defeat Takfirism”.
He, then, reiterated: “Indeed fighting with the Takfiris’ deviant beliefs is the responsibility of the Muslim scholars, but we expect the media to broadcast what we explain in this regard all over the world. Unfortunately, based on the information that we have been given, the Western media have avoided broadcasting the news about the congress that was held here concerning the extremist and the Takfiri movements, and that they have censored the news in this regard, while this was to the benefit of all of them”.
His eminence stated: “Some countries are pursuing a dual agenda about the ISIS terrorist group; they condemn them on the one hand and secretly assist them on the other. Who is delivering weapons to the ISIS terrorists and who is buying the oil that they are stealing from Iraq? Who are they selling this oil to?”
He, then, noted: “Aren’t you and the Secretary General responsible to warn these states to stop following dual agendas with regard to the ISIS so that it would be destroyed? I assure you that, if the ISIS terrorists do not receive support and this intellectual campaign of the Muslim scholars continues against them, and the Iraqi government also does its best in this regard with its military and militias, these terrorists will be finished off in a few months”.
Stating the fact that there are signs in the news that lead us to doubt the honesty of the Westerns about fighting the ISIS, Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi said: “the first issue in this regard is that Netanyahu, the prime minister of the Zionist regime, has openly announced that they have given ISIS freedom to do what they want so that the Muslims and the ISIS get in to a constant war with each other and kill each other because this is to their benefit”.
He, then, added: “another sign in this regard is the comments of some Westerns who said that the ISIS will continue to exist for thirty years; isn’t this a green light to the ISIS terrorist group to continue their atrocities? You have to study these issues a little more carefully so as to be able to locate their roots more precisely and to plan about them”.
Referring to Mladenov’s concern about the occurrence of some sort of religious confrontation and clash between different religions in the liberated areas that were formerly conquered by the ISIS, his eminence stated: “you should not be concerned about establishing justice by the followers of different religions in the territories that are freed from the grasp of the ISIS terrorists; I assure you that different religions and denominations are currently working together in Iraq”.
He reiterated: “ISIS is a small group that is losing its different resources at the hands of the Iraqi military and people; now if they are not assisted from outside, can they really last for years? How can a small group withstand a powerful army and the people of a country? And why do some state that they will last for years?”
Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi said: “we will utilize all our power and resources to eradicate the ISIS terrorist group but, unfortunately, we are not optimistic about the Westerns’ agenda in this regard”.
In the end of this meeting, his eminence welcomed any action that is taken in order to restore security to Iraq, and he appreciated the Representative of the UN Secretary General for Iraq for the humanitarian actions taken in Iraq.
