Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi has met with Shaykh Dr. Ahmad Mahmoud Karimah, the director of the Department of Contemporary Islamic Jurisprudence at Egypt’s famous al-Azhar University. He explained that we have the best opportunities to express the teachings of the religion of Islam but that Takfiris are seeking to destroy the image of Islam.
Once again, Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi warned of the dangers that Takfiri terrorists pose to the Muslim world. He explained we are living in an age where many Muslims rightfully seek an “Islamic world” and have an Islamic political perspective and that there are many opportunities to promote the teachings of Islam. However, we must be careful, because Takfiris have taken advantage of this Islamic awakening and have portrayed Islam as a violent religion instead of the peaceful religion that it truthfully is.
In his speech, Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi referred to the efforts of enemies to sow discord among Muslims, noting that the enemies have been successful in enticing various Muslim sects to kill each other. He reminded his guests of the verses of the Holy Quran where God describes that Islam is a religion of mercy, love and compassion that sectarian problems should be solved through dialogue.
He pointed out that these intolerant Takfiris think that they alone are the guardians of Islam and that any other interpretations of Islam are incorrect. However, their claims to be the judges of faith, monotheism, polytheism and disbelief are utterances of ignorance due to their lack of knowledge of Islam. He emphasized that the consensus of Muslims scholars across the world is against their false interpretation of Islam and said that we will discuss this topic during our next conference. “Takfiris are a scourge on Islam,” he stated.
At the end of the meeting, Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi presented Shaykh Karimah with a gift of his book, The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Jurisprudence.
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