Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi has issued a statement in condemnation of the Saudi-led attack on Yemen and called on the Saudi regime to reconsider the effects of their actions in the impoverished and war-torn Arab country.
Grand Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi’s statement has been translated as follows:
In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
Once again, another Islamic country, Yemen, has been destroyed by the hands of Muslims and has been financed from their own pocketbooks.
Recently, Libya and Syria and much of the great country of Iraq were destroyed – and will not recover from this destruction for at least a dozen years. Now, it is Yemen’s turn and next it will be the turn of those who have destroyed all these countries.
The imperial powers consider Islam as the main obstacle to their illegitimate interests. They formulated a strange, astonishing and unprecedented plan to come between Muslims and provoke them to turn against each other and destroy their own countries.
Stranger yet is that the Saudis accept Israel’s support in this program, when Israel is the staunchest enemy of Islam. The Saudis openly promise to collaborate with Israel and once again they have surrendered to the Zionist’s will.
What is worse, is that that none of the international organizations have taken a principled stance against any of the [recent] devastating onslaughts. With their silence, they expressed their weak judgement and added fuel to the fire.
In reality, nothing remains of the large tree that is the United Nations and its Security Council but a bunch of dried and leafless branches which are worth nothing but to be burnt.
On the other hand, the Arab League, which formed its philosophy on protecting the rights of Arabs, has also added fuel to the fire by supporting Saudi Arabia on this war and has encouraged Islamic countries to destroy each other.
Even more regrettably, the fatwa issued by the muftis of Hejaz, which formed a congress a few days ago wherein they condemned the shedding of innocent Muslim blood, but today they took a 180° turn in regard to the Saudi regime’s attack on Yemen as a wise decision and considered the attack as permissible.
If we look carefully, the problem is clear – the overwhelming majority of the Yemeni people rose in revolution against their corrupt government and the head of the Yemeni government [Mansur Hadi] fled to another country in fear for his life. Is there a not a wiser method but to help the Yemeni people to restore peace in their country and solve their internal conflicts through negotiation?!
In today’s world, innovations have gained ground. Any country which is not satisfied with the conditions in another country can launch a war against them without first obtaining permission from international institutions. What a strange world full of insecurity we have made!
The most shocking part of this is that it has been more than fifty years since Israel has occupied an important and critical part of the Islamic world and there has not been a decisive front against these agitators from any Arab country. According to the courageous mujahid, the secretary-general of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance front [Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah], these Arab monarchies have done nothing for the people of Palestine. However, he invited them to come see the terror that the United States and Israel have provoked there.
The Saudi rulers knows that if they do not extinguish the fire of the Yemeni revolutionaries, it is very probable that they [Ansarullah] will become victorious or this war will continue for many years and will lead to the destruction of both countries.
It is desirable that they revise their decision as soon as possible to prevent the loss of any benefit.
“...And may peace be upon him who follows guidance” [Quran 20:47].
Naser Makarem-Shirazi
30 March, 2015
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