AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): On Friday, September 2, 2022, on the second day of the 7th General Assembly of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, the session of the Commission for Communications and Networking of the African-Arab region was held in hall number two of Iran International Conference Center in Tehran with the presence of Shiite thinkers and ulama.
Referring to the necessity of communication between Shiites, Ayatollah Mohammad Hassan Akhtari, the chairman of this commission, stated, “The followers of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) school in general, and the members of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly in particular, must have a communication network with each other.”
“In order to make more use of the commission, members need to express their opinion briefly and away from repetition. The members of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly are aware of the capacities of the Assembly,” he added.
“The Holy Quran emphasizes the necessity of human communication. This communication becomes more necessary among the followers of a religion, especially for us followers of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) school, who are in a critical situation. The followers of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) school are chosen by God. We must revive the orders of AhlulBayt (a.s.). Of course, the followers of the of AhlulBayt (a.s.) school have different situation in different countries. The Shiite population of the world is about 380 million people, and followers of AhlulBayt (a.s.) school are present in almost all countries of the world” added the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.
“Rituals such as congregational prayer, Hajj and Friday prayer are good opportunities for Muslims to communicate with each other. Martyrdom or birthday anniversary ceremonies of the Infallibles (a.s.), and Ramadan are all opportunities for propagation of Islam and communication of followers of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) school. We should also use the opportunity of Awaiting for the Reappearance of Imam Mahdi (a.s.) for the mentioned goal,” Ayatollah Akhtari clarified.
“The Supreme Leader of the Revolution raised the Jihad of Enlightenment. Currently, five billion of the world’s population have no accurate information about Islam. Therefore, we must communicate with the world people and convey the message of Islam to them. Our school is the school of rationality and logic, and in this regard, we must give good tidings and warn individually or in groups,” added the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.
Referring to the communication of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly of with the Shiites of the world, Ayatollah Akhtari stated, “As I said before, one of the problems of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly is the lack of communication between the members and the coordinators, with the Assembly. Sometimes they don’t even answer our messages. 800 personalities are members of the General Assembly of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.”
“There should be communication between the followers of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) school and the local Assemblies, as well as between these Assemblies and the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly. In this regard, a social communication network should be established so that we can spread the virtues of AhlulBayt (a.s.) in the living languages of the world,” he continued.
“The mourning ceremony for the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (a.s.) is held all over the world. Therefore, there is a need for a social communication network between Hey’ats, Hussaynias and Mawkbs in the world, so that coordinated actions between them can be created all over the world,” added the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.
“Mosques are bases. There is a need to establish a social communication network between imams of mosques around the world in at least two languages, Arabic and English. Also, it is necessary to create a network for Shia students, university professors, businessmen, publishers, women, and the like,” Ayatollah Akhtari stated.
“There is necessary capacity to invest in various fields in the African countries. Therefore, we should look for communication with investors from different countries to be present and operate in Africa,” he continued.
Further in the session, while pointing to the role of Iran in the expansion of Shiism, Allameh Naseri, a prominent scholar of Iraq, said, “Shiites all over the world should be self-sufficient. Missionaries should not only manage their Islamic centers but should also take care of Shia affairs.”
“The members of the General Assembly of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly have little connection with each other. In this regard, we can create groups for members on WhatsApp so that we can synergize our activities through it,” he added.
Dr. Jarir Hashem Bekar, one of the other personalities participating in the session, while pointing out the necessity of holding virtual conferences, stated, “There is a need to hold annual virtual conferences with the presence of the members of the General Assembly of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly in order to achieve good results.”
“Mere creation communication networks for the AhlulBayt (a.s.) school followers is not enough. Rather, we should seek to create incentives to attract the audience to these communication networks. For example, it is good to hold international cultural competitions. Many institutions, even we can say many TV channels, that have already been established, do not have suitable outputs,” Dr. Jarir Added.
Dr. Mohammad Hafizi Jalo, the head of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) Society of Guinea, also stated, “Missionaries need support. As long as they have problems materially and spiritually, they cannot perform their duties properly.”
“Communication programs should be held annually. There is no use for gatherings with long hiatus,” he added.
“Many imams of mosques in Africa speak to the audience in local languages. Therefore, creating communication networks for imams of mosques in just a few languages is not helpful,” Dr. Hafizi added.
Mozambican thinker Mohammad Ali Canani stated, “The AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly needs to relate to the clergy from other countries who are present in Qom Seminary. Because they will be the future leaders of their Shiite communities.”
“The Velayat week should be held as an international event. In this regard, necessary arrangements need to be made,” he mentioned.
Sayyida Aliah Hakim, the head of Hazrat Zahra (a.s.) seminary in Beqaa, Lebanon, referring to the experience of the seminary under his management, said, “In this seminary, we enrolled female students from the Syrian cities of Homs and Aleppo. After graduation from this seminary, they returned to their areas and were successful.”
“With the coordination of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, we can enroll female students from all over the world at Hazrat Zahra (a.s.) Seminary in Beqaa. Of course, Qom seminary remains the main seminary for us,” she continued.
In this meeting, while referring to the propagation of Islam in Algeria, Noor al-Din Abolhudah, an Algerian figure, stated, “We live in a country where the Wahhabi atmosphere prevails, and Shiism is considered a crime there! This issue affects the propagation of Islam.”
“We need the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly to create a platform to introduce the members of the General Assembly and their works to each other, so that we can communicate with each other,” he added.
Issa Gando, a thinker from Burkina Faso, while pointing out the need for Shiite missionaries to pay attention to the villages, stated, “Shiite missionaries pay no attention to villages. While the Christians pay attention to the villages and took control of vast lands.”
“Every preacher should have good conduct with people, and this is of great importance. According to a hadith of the Prophet (p.b.u.h), we should attract people with our morals, not with our wealth,” he added.
Sheikh Jafar Giavo from Guinea-Bissau stated, “The role of divine prophets is educating and training people. Al-Mustafa (p.b.u.h) International University has been successful in the field of education and the graduates of this university are a clear example.”
“Al-Mustafa (p.b.u.h) International University, instead of bringing the clergy to Qom for a long time, should seek to establish educational centers and branches in universities in African countries. Because after returning to their countries, the African clergy do not find a school or educational center to teach,” he added.
Referring to the problems of missionaries in West Africa, Ibrahim Hashem Takite, the director of the Fatimah Zahra (a.s.) Center, and the founder of the Human Services Center in Ivory Coast, stated, “Although we must be self-sufficient, but the problem of us, missionaries in Ivory Coast and other West African countries, is the financial issue.”
“African countries are oppressed. We are at the beginning of the path of spreading Islam in these countries. In African countries, 99% of newly converted Shiites are poor people who do not even have their daily food. It is necessary to create investment projects to become self-sufficient in spreading Islam in these countries,” he continued.
Issa Makzi, a Congolese scholar, while referring to the General Assemblies of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly said, “I have participated in four General Assemblies so far. There is a need for us in the commissions to follow up the implementation of previous proposals.”
Abu Jaafar Muhammad Jabati, a scholar from Mali, referring to the propagation of Islam in Mali, said, “I am a graduate of Qom Seminary and I have been propagating Islam since 1992.”
“Self-sufficiency for preaching Islam in African countries is the correct claim. However, sometimes there are conditions for self-sufficiency. For example, when I returned to my country to preach Islam, there was no Shiite school! Therefore, I had to sell some of my books so that I could start a business and spread Islam,” he continued.
“In African countries, foreign aid is needed to strengthen the propagation of Islam. Sometimes appearing on television channels in these countries requires money. Frankly, I should say that we are helpless,” he added.
Ruqayya Shebli, the director of Sayyida Zainab (a.s.) Orphanage Institute from Syria, said, “The war in Syria caused the displacement and martyrdom of the heads of many households. After the partial abatement of the war, the situation of these martyrs’ families worsened. However, we tried to make the wives and children of the martyrs self-sufficient.”
“According to my personal experience in Syria, I suggest, in order to preserve the honor of the martyrs’ families, the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly support the small institutions active in Syria. In this regard it is essential not relying on large institutions,” she added.
Sheikh Mohammad Niam from Senegal stated, “We initiated preaching Islam in our country by relying on God and we were able to achieve many of our objectives. We established the Assembly of Ulama of Senegal, and in this regard, we seek help from domestic figures.”
“At the Imam Reza (a.s.) Seminary of Senegal, we train clerics. Also, the cultural center of Lady Zahra (a.s.) is active in this regard. We established some schools and universities, and we address the orphans’ affairs in an institution dedicated to this issue. All these actions were using internal capacities in Senegal,” he continued.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran should play the role of a father and the figures who come to Senegal from Iran should seek unity,” Niam added.
Further in the session, Hojat al-Islam Dr. Farmanian, Deputy of Cultural Affairs of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, stated, “All the works published by the Assembly in 36 languages will be distributed to the guests in the form of a flash drive so that they can use these works in their countries. Also, a booklet for introduction the works of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly will be given to the guests so that they can know these works. Guests also have access to the software and databases of Noor Center for four years.”
Abdurrazzaq Taghura, the head of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) Center in Togo, referring to the spread of Shiism in Africa, stated, “With the efforts made, the message of AhlulBayt (a.s.) reached our country and centers such as mosques, schools and clinics were established in this country.”
“The situation is different in different countries. For example, the propagation of Islam in our country is the construction. We are exposed to different groups and governments tend to money. To enter some areas and strengthen relations with governments, we need to provide human services. Because they look at us as terrorists,” he continued.
Ali Abdullah, the founder of the Ummat Cultural Center in Chad, while referring to the activities of this center, said, “This center deals with activities related to AhlulBayt (a.s.) in Chad and is at the beginning of its activity.”
“I agree with self-sufficiency. But we must work on self-sufficiency methods. In this regard, since last year, with the emphasis of the president, we have had meetings with the clerics of Al-Mustafa (p.b.u.h) International University. We demand the presence of Iranian investors and their participation to create economic projects,” he added.
While pointing to the need to establish continental assemblies, he stated, “We should establish an African AhlulBayt (a.s.) Assembly that makes communication easier. The Wahhabis created the African Union for their activities.”
“Many countries build hospitals in Chad and earn money in this way. Trying to treat patients in Chad causes the people of this country to convert to Shia,” he mentioned.
Sheikh Mohammad Tawi, the Head of the Supreme Assembly of AhlulBayt (a.s.) of Burkina Faso stated, “To communicate with the intellectuals in this country, we need to give them valuable books. Communication networks should be established locally in African countries and previous successful experiences should be used for unity among the followers of AhlulBayt (a.s.).”
“For the self-sufficiency of the followers of AhlulBayt (a.s.) in Africa, Iran’s experience should be used. Of course, the Shiite missionaries in Africa are doing their duty with or without aid. But the aid speeds up the activities. Because the field for propagation of Islam in Africa is provided,” Tavi added.
Sheikh Mohammad Amin from Sierra Leone said, “Sierra Leone is a small country and the Shia wave started there 15 years ago. We have a radio and several mosques in Sierra Leone. This country has four states, each of which has a Shia seminary.”
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