The Deputy for Scientific and Cultural Affairs of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly said, “The most important point of the statement of the second phase of the revolution is the new Islamic civilization. The new civilization is not only achieved by the Shiites, but to achieve this goal, all the elites of other religions and denominations must cooperate and participate.”
Coinciding with the 43rd anniversary of the glorious victory of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, the conference “The Dignity of Religions and denominations in the Islamic Republic of Iran, with a look at the Statement of the Second Phase of the Revolution” was held on Thursday morning, February 10, 2022, in Imam Musa Sadr Hall of the University of Religions and Denominations.
As the last speaker of this conference, referring to the freedom of the Sunnis in Iran, the Deputy for Scientific and Cultural Affairs of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly said, “Different Islamic denominations live in Iran. Today, Sunnis in Iran have about 15,000 mosques, 500 seminaries, 100 religious institutes and 20 religious publications.”
“Therefore, Sunnis have a good status and position in Iran. The mosque and seminary are the most important places for propagating the religion, and these facilities and services have been given to the Sunnis,” stated Hojat al-Islam Dr. Mahdi Farmanian.
“Religions and denominations have a good place in the Iranian constitution, and the best approvals have been made about interaction between religions and denominations. But there is little proximity between Shiites and Sunnis. We must raise the spirit of proximity among the general public,” he added.
“There should be four units of familiarity with Shiite religions in Sunni schools, and four units of familiarity with Sunni denominations in Shiite schools. We need to know each other. The Supreme National Security Council must approve that the officials and anyone who wants to serve in a region be trained and know the religions and ethnicities of the provinces so that they do not act against the approvals of the country,” added the Deputy for Research Affairs of the University of Religions and Denominations.
“When a person is appointed to a position in the Islamic Republic of Iran, he represents the system, not the Shiite preacher. It should be noted that there are all kinds of religions and denominations in the country, and everyone should be looked at equally. Also, other officials of the system should not interfere in the religion of the people,” Farmanian said, referring to the officials’ duties in the Islamic system.
“The most important point of the statement of the second phase of the revolution is the new Islamic civilization. The new civilization is not only achieved by the Shiites, but to achieve this goal, all the elites of other religions and denominations must cooperate and participate. Therefore, the Leader of the Revolution said that unity and proximity is a strategy and not a tactic, and we must all follow these principles. Enemies seek to create conflict and religious sensitivities. Therefore, the enemies should not be given excuses,” he mentioned.
The Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) that was established by a group of Shiite elites under the supervision of the great Islamic authority of the Shiites in 1990 to identify, organize, educate and support the followers of Ahl al-Bayt.