Saudi Shia Religious Leaders Raise Significant Topics in Ashura Season

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - With the beginning of Ashura season of 1434AH/2012, thousands of Shiites participated in reviving this season through conducting diverse programs in different cities and towns of Qatif region on Saudi Arabia’s eastern coast. Moreover, many of Qatif’s Shiites religious speakers tackled various significant topics and issues on different fields for educating the society.Within his first lecture in Muharram, Sheikh Hasan AlSaffar, a prominent religious leader from Qatif, rejected the accusations against Shiites of being considered anti the companions of Prophet Mohammad, and against Sunnis of being considered anti the Prophet’s family (Ahl Al Bayt). He believes that there are radical parties from both sects; Shiite and Sunni, who seek exploiting such accusations. He confirmed that those parties promote such accusations to create division between citizens in order to serve their own political interests.Dr. Sheikh Faisal AlAwwami, a well-known religious speaker, delivered a lecture on “The Social Concept of Shi’ism”. He emphasized that Shi’ism from its social perception does not mean living in isolation or adhering to conflicts with the different others, but it is a message with values that enforce peace for the human kind.Sheikh AlAwwami attributed discussing such topic to two reasons. The first one is to explain the confusion between the fundamental principles of Shi’ism and the inconstant, changing things which are attached to a certain phase. The other reason, according to AlAwammi, is the necessity for delivering a message about the essential principles of Shi’ism in order to make other people, who are observing Shiites, have and integral and comprehensive view about Shiites to be understood without relying on a couple of events occurred on a certain time for certain reasons.On the other hand, Sheikh Fawzy AlSaif from Tarout, in his public, religious speech in Safwa, stressed the importance of developing the religious discourse in a way that does not eliminate the existing rituals. He, also, confirmed the necessity of having speakers be religiously and intellectually qualified for delivering public speeches./129