Shiites, Sunnis unite to denounce and condemn extremists
Today, the
sweeping wave of extremist groups and organizations has paved the way for
religious reforms moving away from radicalism. However, the outcome of these
reforms depend on future political developments in the region, and the extent of
change in the West’s approach with the region, whether based on humanitarian
solidarity or utilitarian imperialism.
Source: Al Monitor
Despite all the
negative developments concerning extremist groups in the Middle East,
they have had a positive impact on religious communities. Shiite and Sunni
institutions in Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to denounce and
condemn extremists, deeming their acts to be in direct conflict with Islam.
The
extremist voices calling for the killing of other Islamic denominations have
been drowned out by calls for moderation, dialogue and cooperation.
The
past three weeks have witnessed three major conferences to combat religious
extremism in the Middle East. The Iranian city of Qom, the Vatican and Cairo have each hosted conferences one at
a time. Senior clerics from different Islamic sects took part in these
conferences and stressed the need for joint action to combat extremism and
militancy.
The
Pontifical Councils initiated the interreligious dialogue under the auspices of
Pope Francis and held the Catholic-Muslim summit titled "Muslims and Christians:
Believers living in society," Dec. 2-4. The conference was attended by senior Christian and Muslim clerics
of every stripe.
In
the same vein, during his visit to Turkey on Nov. 28-30, the pope called upon
believers of all religions to differentiate between
religiosity and intolerance and to reject all forms of extremism and
fundamentalism that use religion. He also urged Muslim clerics to condemn the
brutal acts of the Islamic State (IS) that are being committed in the name of
Islam.
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue, said that on Dec. 5 he had received promising and
encouraging messages from Muslim scholars who attended the conference. They
called for the need to understand and interpret the sacred texts in their
historical contexts rather than literally apply them, which could lead to
uncivilized actions. The cardinal urged for developing the dialogue between
religious and nonreligious individuals so as to reach a comprehensive agreement
between citizens in their communities.
Al-Monitor spoke to
Jawad Al-Khoei, who attended the summit in his capacity as a representative of
the Iraqi Council for Interreligious Dialogue. He said that preserving religious
and cultural diversity in Iraq is one of the top priorities for the religious
authority in Najaf. He said that ever since the establishment of this hawza
(traditional Islamic school) 10 decades ago, not a single fatwa was issued
against other religions or other Islamic sects and it has never taken a
sectarian or extremist stance on any issue or against any other religious
denominations.
Another summit was
held on Nov. 23-24 in Qom titled "The World Congress on Extremist and
Takfiri Movements in the Islamic Scholars’ View." The conference was attended by
Iranian and non-Iranian Sunni clerics.
Some
academic institutions and universities in the city took advantage of this
opportunity to host certain Sunni Iranian clerics who have visited the city for
the first time, including Molavi AbdolHamid, who is the Friday imam of the city of
Zahedan, and a senior theologian and cleric in the Balochistan region of
southeastern Iran.
AbdolHamid was made famous when he brokered a deal with the
extremist group Jundallah to release the Iranian soldiers they had kidnapped in
May. Moreover, in October, he sent a message to the Saudi king imploring him to
abolish the death sentence against Sheikh Nimr, a Shiite cleric.
Cairo hosted
"Al-Azhar's International Counterterrorism Conference" Dec. 3-4, which was
inaugurated by Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb. In the
conference's final statement participants stressed the "importance of
reforming the religious rhetoric, developing educational curricula, correcting
some Islamic concepts such as the jihad, the Islamic Caliphate and the Islamic
State that are being distorted by armed extremist groups."
In a
statement issued on Nov. 12, Hashemi Rafsanjani, chairman of the Expediency Discernment
Council of the System, criticized the cursing of the Sahaba (the companions of the prophet) and the
celebration of Omar bin al-Khattab’s death, a ritual among some Shiite
extremists. He said that these practices have led to the emergence of al-Qaeda
and IS.
These developments
are proof that there is a will to enact reforms within the religious system,
whether Sunni or Shiite. However, these reforms came a little too late in light
of the sweeping political, social and economic crises in the region since the
establishment of the modern state, following the fall of the Ottoman Empire.
This is not to mention the impact of irresponsible actions of Western states and
their allies in the region on the emergence and development of extremism. The
most obvious example is the emergence of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and its growth
in light of the joint support on the part of the United States and Saudi Arabia
before the organization turned against its former supporters.
Source: Al Monitor
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento