The Statement of the Supreme Council of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS) World Assembly Protesting the Passive Stand of Islamic Countries | ||||
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In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful The desecration of the sanctities of religions - Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), other divine prophets, the holy books, and religious leaders - has become a recurring practice in Europe. The hateful act of “Rasmus Paludan” and his like-minded people in Sweden and the Netherlands in burning the Holy Quran is a repetition of the stupid act he did in 2020 and caused unrest and damage to people and public property in that country. The rational expectation was that government officials and members of the Swedish parliament, at least for the sake of maintaining the security of their country and respecting the feelings of thousands of fellow Muslims, would prevent the repetition of Paludan’s act but it seems just as religion and spirituality have disappeared from the life of officials of European countries, reason and understanding, too, no longer have a place among them! The Swedish authorities - like other European authorities - justify this abhorrent act under the disguise of freedom of expression, but do not make any real effort to prevent the abuse the freedom for spreading Islamophobia, racism, and discrimination. As the chairman of the Supreme Council of the Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly - a global organization in which hundreds of elites from all over the world are members - I want to make some point, not to Sweden and Holland and other European countries, but to the real and legal personalities of the Islamic world: The continuation of sacrilegious acts by the Westerners against the sacred religious values of the Muslim people is a direct result of the “passiveness of the Islamic Ummah”. The Muslims of the world, with a population of nearly two billion people, are a great power that, in case of determination and unity, can easily thwart such conspirators in European countries. Every time anti-human elements desecrate religious sanctities and Western countries, under the false pretext of supporting freedom, allow them to spread hatred, we witness widespread condemnations and demonstrations in the Islamic world. But these actions do not go beyond this stage and are forgotten after a few days! And this encourages those who engage in desecrating acts. The Islamic Ummah must take a common stand and adopt “real deterrent measures” against countries that support Islamophobia. In this context, each stratum of Islamic society has a duty to fulfill. It is the duty of the “governments of Islamic countries” to take special measures befitting the Muslim Ummah and Islamic governments by exerting political and economic pressure on the countries that provide the basis for such atrocities. For instance, “summoning ambassadors”, “reducing the level of relations” and “banning trade with them” could be some important deterrents against Western countries. It is the duty of the Parliaments of Islamic countries to hold special sessions to come up with solutions and adopt measures to prevent such sacrilegious acts and in this way pave the path for their governments to act accordingly. It is the responsibility of scholars, thinkers, writers, cultural institutions, and media of Islamic countries to explain the facts to the political and economic elites as well as the masses of the people. On the one hand, they must convince the authorities of their countries to take decisive action against those Westerners who desecrate religious sanctities and, on the other hand, they should encourage people and business activists to be sensitive, and not indifferent, to this kind of offensive actions and boycott Western cultural and economic goods. The duty of Muslim lawyers, professors, and academics is to show the legal ways to deal with these actions. In this context, by relying on the rights of the followers of divine religions and respecting people’s faith on the basis of international and human rights charters, it would be possible to sue those who commit these criminal and illegal actions in Sweden and the Netherlands. It is also the responsibility of the mass and private sectors of Islamic countries to protect the sanctity of the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) and the Book of God by exerting pressure on their governments to take practical and decisive action. Last but not the least, the continuation of the existing trend and being content with issuing statements of condemnation and short-lived demonstrations will not be of practical results to stop such insults and God forbid, will make us an example of this verse of the Holy Quran that: “And the Apostle will say, ‘O my Lord! Indeed, my people consigned this Quran to oblivion.” Mohammad Hassan Akhtari Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly and Managing Director of the Ashura International Foundation. | ||||
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