AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Ayatollah Reza Ramazani, Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, who visited Malawi at the invitation of Shiites and Muslims, in a meeting with a group of Christian figures of the country, explaining the deviations of the liberal society, stated, “One of the deviations of liberalism is that they consider insulting divine prophets as freedom of expression! When I was in the Council of Religions in Hamburg, they told us that the picture of Jesus Christ (p.b.u.h) was replaced with the image of a horse (!) and they made it look like a normal thing. This is sacrilege in our opinion.”
“Insulting the prophets Jesus, Moses, Abraham, and Noah (p.b.u.t) is unacceptable for us and we do not distinguish between prophets. Unfortunately, now they burn the Quran, insult the Prophet of Islam, and make it look good! Sacrilege is done to destroy all sacred matters, and if something is considered sacred, they strike its root with a blade,” he continued.
Ayatollah Ramazani considered reconciliation in Sharia rules as the second reason for the deviation of Western society and said, “The result of such deviation is the loss of the religion entirely.”
Pointing out the complete separation of religion from politics in Western societies, the Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly stated, “The danger began when politics was separated from religion, and therefore governments were perverted. Now they plan to accompany religion and the church with them, therefore, they hold same-sex marriages in the church!”
“Finally, the families were also led astray. We argue that the family consists of a man, a woman, and children. This is while they consider any two people under the same roof as a family, be it two women, two men, or a human and an animal!” he continued.
Emphasizing the necessity of confrontation of ulama with society’s deviations, the Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly stated, “Today some want to invite humanity to a spirituality without God. We must confront this and say that spirituality is realized only with God. Now, unfortunately, about four thousand fake and false spirituality have been created in Europe and America.”
Regarding the relationship with the young generation, the Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly stated, “Relationship with this generation should not only be in the Sunday service at church. Rather, we must answer their questions in different fields. Young people should not go to faith alone. When the Quran talks about the Islamic and human society, it gives authenticity to two things: faith and action.”
“We must identify the deviations created in the society and respond to them using the instructions of the Holy Bible and the Holy Quran. We should continuously study the verses related to society’s deviations in the Quran and the Bible,” he said, considering referring to the holy books as a necessary matter.
“Some seek to erase religion from society. In the meeting I had with the Orthodox archbishop in Georgia, he said, “You have never experienced the bitter 70-year communist rule. They did not allow worship at all and turned mosques and churches into warehouses. Some people are trying to make religion look superstitious, and in this way, they are trying to fight religion with all their might,” Ayatollah Ramazani said.
Explaining the duty of a religious scholar, the Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly stated, “A religious scholar should seek to revive and preserve religion. One group wants to remove the religion from society and another group wants the religion to be weak and limited and its rulings not to be practiced. The ultimate goal of both groups is that religions are not the main concern of mankind and that they should not play any role in our lives.”
“This is while we believe that religion flows in all spheres of life, including thought, belief, ethics, practice, culture, society, politics, economy, and justice. This is the accurate understanding of the dimensions of religion according to Islamic scholars,” he continued.
“I hope the followers of all religions will follow their religious beliefs and convey religious teachings to the young generation. We don’t seek to make a Christian scholar convert to Islam. Rather, we only want a Christian to be a true Christian, and a Muslim to be a true Muslim,” Ayatollah Ramezani said.
ABWA’s Secretary General met with the Vatican Ambassador to Madagascar
In another part of his trip to Madagascar, Ayatollah Reza Ramazani, Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, met with Thomas Grisa, the Vatican Ambassador to the country. Iran’s Ambassador to Madagascar Hassan Ali Bakshi and Hojat al-Islam Saeed Jazari, President of AhlulBayt (a.s.) International University were also present at this meeting.
In this meeting, while referring to the activity of the anti-religious movement in the world, Thomas Grisa, the Ambassador of the Vatican to Madagascar, stated, “The big problem we are facing now in today’s world is the liberalism that rules the world. This school seeks to place religion as a private matter under cultural matters and not as an issue that is formed and expanded in society. In liberalism, religion is known as petrification, which is against modernism and does not allow man to progress in a modern way. Therefore, liberalism worries all of us, both Shiites and Catholics.”
“The Pontiff’s policy towards liberalism is that we should move towards respect for all. First, we must seek mutual respect, and then take steps in the humanity sphere. Other steps we took are in the area of freedom of religion and opinion. Of course, it does not mean that a person can only accept an opinion. Rather, he should be able to practice his rituals and beliefs in a social and free environment. The most important confrontation with liberalism is the rule of fundamental rights,” he continued.
“Our relationship with the Shiites deepened after the Pope’s meeting with Grand Ayatollah Sistani, and the effort is to expand this relationship. Therefore, we visited the center of Khoja Shiites, and in the future, dignitaries of Khoja Shiites will meet with the Pope,” noted the Vatican Ambassador to Madagascar.
In this meeting, Ayatollah Ramazani, while referring to the Western attack on religion, stated, “Divine values, religious teachings, and human values are under serious threat from the West. In the West, we are facing a series of moral deviations that have become legal. We must convey the religion to the people with today’s requirements and develop mutual respect between the followers of all religions. Communication between religious leaders plays a role in making peace in the world.”
“Communication between religious leaders is a kind of recognition of capacities and if we look carefully, it will also be a kind of synergy. Considering the new requirements and conditions of the world, different sectors should do a deep revision according to the time and place conditions,” he continued.
“I have written some letters to the Pope. One of them was about a time when insults against the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) were rampant, and the Pope, by distinguishing between freedom of speech and insulting the Prophets (p.b.u.h), denounced these insults. In my letter, I thanked him for this position. In response to this letter, he reiterated his position,” added the Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.
The threat of sacrilege for the future of humanity’s faith
Further, pointing out the significant role of religious leaders in the world, Ayatollah Ramazani stated, “Religious Leaders should play a role in confronting social harms that international societies are suffering from, and prevent some of these harms, such as poverty, oppression, and deviations from happening. As a religious scholar active in the international arena, I feel that Abrahamic religions are facing the danger that the enemies want to make every holy thing look unholy. Sacrilege is dangerous for the future of humanity’s faith, and I emphasized this issue in my dialogues. In Shiism, all prophets, from Adam to Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h), including Moses (p.b.u.h) and Jesus (p.b.u.h), as well as figures such as Holy Maria (a.s.), are holy. It is also emphasized in the Quran that the Torah and the Gospel were revealed by God.”
“Today, the way is paved for interaction between world religious leaders. The meeting of the Pope with Grand Ayatollah Sistani in Najaf was an auspicious event, and we are glad about such events. Qom, a city where one of the most prestigious seminaries in the Shiite world is located, is ready to develop inter-faith dialogue, and this development, as I said, can lead to the development of synergy. Dialogue is of great importance for all of us,” he said in the end.
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