“Shias & Sunnis”
“In Our Day & Age, It Is More Important To Stress Points of Agreement Rather
Than Points of Disagreement, Because What Unites Muslims Is Much Greater Than
What Disunites Them. With the Enemies of Islam Trying Hard to Sow the Seeds of
Discord Among Us, We Should Try Our Best to Render Their Attempts Futile.”-
(Arab News)
‘Shia-Sunni Verbal Attacks Must Stop’
Published: Sunday, 21 January, 2007, 10:41 AM Doha Time
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=128683&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16
THE verbal attacks exchanged by Sunni and Shia leaders through school books,
satellite channels, websites and publications should be totally prohibited by
scholars, speakers at the first session of the Doha Conference for Dialogue of
Islamic Schools of Thought, concurred yesterday.
General secretary of the Kuwait-based Al-Wasatiya Centre, Dr Issam al-Bashir,
said Muslims should stop blaming others for their problems. "The Islamic nation
is currently experiencing a state of weakness which makes it more vulnerable to
the schemes of others. We have to address our own problems rather than fully
blaming others," he said.
Al-Bashir said Muslims should start "editing" the mutual insults present in
the textbooks and publications of both sides. "It is pointless to speak about
fostering dialogue while our academic curriculum and media are rife with mutual
insults," he said, while observing that such insults would generate grudges
that would be inherited by the next generation.
Al-Bashir urged Iran to rise to the occasion and play a fair role among the
different sects in Iraq. "We have supported Iran in its struggle for nuclear
technology and sided with the Hezbollah (Shia) in its war against Israel," he
said.
He also called upon scholars from both Sunni and Shia sects to condemn the
ongoing infighting as well as ban the preaching of different schools of
thought. "If we did not agree on such issues now, our meeting will be a waste
of time," he added.
Ayatollah Mohamed Ali al-Taskhiri, the secretary general of the Iran-based
World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thoughts, dismissed the notion
that Iran was trying to strengthen its position in the Islamic world by
promoting the Shia doctrines. "If Iran has been doing that, why the millions of
Sunnis in Iran have not become Shias?" he asked.
He criticised the ongoing attempts by the US defence secretary to mobilise
Arab countries against Iran saying that such attempts were based on the
fabrication of an ‘imaginary enemy’. "The US is exploiting the differences
between Sunnis and Shias to turn the Arab countries against Iran," he said.
Ayatollah al-Taskhiri urged Muslims to make their mutual relationships more
rational. "Shias should stop hurling insults at the companions of Prophet
Muhammad and his wives while Sunnis should stop calling Shias infidels," he
said.
On the growing sectarian strife in Iraq, he rejected the allegations holding
Iran responsible for the violence in that country, saying Iran supported any
effort by Islamic countries to address this issue.
"It is untrue that the majority of the victims of such strife is Sunnis," he
said. "What is important is to take urgent steps to end the sectarian violence,
which if not checked, could trigger an endless war."
AB
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"For to us
will be their return; then it will be for us to call them to account." (Holy
Quran 88:25-26)
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