Cairo, Iumsonline.net – February
15, 2007
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The two Sheikhs agreed upon
legitimacy of resistance and prohibition of the
sectarian fighting |
His eminence Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, head
of the International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS), and
his eminence Sheikh Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, chairman of
the Expediency Discernment Council in Iran call upon Muslims
to seek unity and abandon disunity and fighting. The two
prominent Sheikhs asserted the prohibition of fighting
between Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq. Sheikh Al-Qaradawi
stressed that Islam is above doctrine, and any country
should be above sects. In addition, he refused classifying
Muslims on the basis of race or sect to "Safawiyyin and
Arabs". "If we reach out to Christians and hold onto
inter-faith dialogues, why on earth don't we do the same to
unite Muslims?" stated Sheikh Al-Qaradawi.
On his part, Sheikh Rafsanjani cautioned
Shiites in Iraq against exploiting the situation there due
to the exchange of status of "the ruler and the ruled" of
Sunnis and Shiites following the overthrow of Saddam's
government, by taking revenge. He asserted that if Muslims
were united, there would have been no occupation.
These statements came during a special
interview broadcasted on Al-Jazeera satellite channel in
cooperation with the IUMS. The chief editor of Al-Jazeera
channel, Ahmad Al-Sheikh, directed the interview, which
covered four main points: the position toward the
Companions [of the Prophet], the controversy of the
preaching of one of the two sects in a country where the
other sect prevails, the rights of the minorities of both
sects and what is happening in Iraq in terms of the civil
strife that were described by Sheikh Al-Qaradawi as "having
a sectarian facet".
Not a Debate
Ahmed Al-Sheikh assured that the program was
not a debate but more like a meeting to allow both sides to
say what they have to say to the nation, following an
agreement signed by a delegation of the IUMS with Shiite
scholars during its visit to Tehran two weeks ago.
Throughout the interview, Rafsanjani seemed
very reserved and very concerned about what he called the
purpose of the meeting, which was the establishment of a
rapprochement, while Al-Qaradawi called for honesty and for
facing the problem openly.
Sheikh Al-Qaradawi, who was talking from
Doha, raised many points during the interview, especially
the issue of "insulting the Companions". "I cannot shake
hands with a Shiite if I say 'may Allah be pleased with Abu
Bakr, `Umar and `A'ishah' while he says 'may Allah curse
them,'" he stated. In addition, he indicated that some books
of Shiite authorities insult the Companions; thus, he urged
Rafsanjani and the Shiite scholars to issue a clear Fatwa to
prohibit and forbid people from insulting the Companions.
Rafsanjani's response included an implicit
refusal that the Shiites saddle the responsibility for this
issue alone, "I see that Sunnis and Shiites together should
issue the Fatwa, which prohibits insulting the Companions."
Also, implying that Shiites refuse to insult the
Companions, he added, "It is not proper to interpret some
statements of some Shiite authorities and use them as a
common basis for all Shiites. In Iran, we start our sermons
praising the Prophet and his Companions."
Fighting in Iraq
The situation in Iraq was a hot issue during
the interview; as Al-Qaradawi indicated that the killings in
Iraq is happening on the basis of identity to coercively
displace the Sunnis and usurp their mosques. He asserted
that Iran has the keys to stop the sectarian violence in
Iraq. "All admit that Iran can do a lot in Iraq; as it has
the keys there ... It can do much to solve this dilemma."
He asked again about the reasons for the
Shiite authorities not issuing a clear and explicit Fatwa to
prohibit the sectarian killings and make resistance of the
occupation obligatory, saying, "If the Iranian authorities
issued a clear Fatwa prohibiting the sectarian killings, the
problem would be solved ... Why didn't they issue a Fatwa
clearly making resistance obligatory?"
As usual, Rafsanjani's response was that of
a veteran statesman; he said, "I advise Dr. Al-Qaradawi to
read the daily news and the statements of the Iranian
authorities to know that the matter is different (than he
thinks) in Iran ... Many authorities condemned and rejected
what is happening in Iraq. We should indicate that those who
started the sectarian violence in Iraq are those who killed
the Iraqi Shiite, Muhammad Baqer Al-Hakim in the early
stages of the American occupation of Iraq, after his return
from Iran to Iraq."
As for the issue of the Fatwa, Rafsanjani
said, "It seems that I have to repeat that we have
prohibited this; all scholars and authorities in Iran
consider these crimes as unlawful and major sins … We have
supported resisting the occupiers and repeated this fact
many times."
The Sectarian Preaching
When the interviewer raised the issue of
sectarian preaching, Rafsanjani said, "The best way to
present a good line of thought or action is through good
deeds. If it is meant to stop doing good deeds, it is not
true. I think that preaching is the right of all; but, when
it comes to raising the defects of others, we do not think
so."
It seemed that Al-Qaradawi was not convinced
by Rafsanjani's response, which did not handle the issue
directly; thus, he said, "What is meant here is not
concerned with doing good deeds, but changing the doctrine
of people and proselytizing. We, the Sunnis, do not do that;
I am in contact with many Sunni societies and associations
in the Islamic world, and as far as I know, they have no
activities in this field."
The head of the IUMS further said that
Shiites must stop proselytizing Sunnis in Sunni-dominant
countries. "If you go to a Sunni Muslim country and tried to
promulgate your doctrine, you might win a handful but will
surely instigate an entire population against you and sow
dissention between Muslims," he asserted.
When handling the issue of accusing the
other sect of disbelief, Al-Qaradawi called upon Sunnis and
Shiites to stop this act, saying, "Some accuse Shiites of
disbelief and some others accuse Sunnis of disbelief … We do
not want to follow the extremists. We reject accusing others
of disbelief. I can say that the Sunnis do not blame today's
Shiites for the mistakes of some of their ancestors."
Furthermore, he asserted that the Sunni Fatwas that accuse
the Shiites of disbelief are very little and reminded them
of the attitude of the majority of the Sunnis who supported
Hezbollah during the Israeli aggression against Lebanon in
the summer of 2006.
Rafsanjani saddled the Sunnis with the
responsibility for the deteriorative situation in Iraq and
addressed Sheikh Al-Qaradawi saying, "You know where those
who go to Iraq to blow Shiite shrines up are coming from."
"I do not know where they are coming from. I have no
intelligence bodies," Al-Qaradawi answered smilingly.
The Issue of At-Taqiyyah
When the interviewer raised the issue of
At-Taqiyyah (which means concealing beliefs for fear of a
destructive harm and associating with the disagreeing enemy
peacefully while hiding hostility towards it; Sunnis are
afraid of this Shiite belief), Rafsanjani defended it
strongly, stating two points. The first point was religious;
as he said, "This issue stems from the Qur'an, which urges
us not to put all that we have in front of others. The
nation's enemies are those who try to raise such issues."
Sheikh Al-Qaradawi reminded him that this issue is mentioned
in the Ever-Glorious Qur'an, but it was used with the
non-Muslims and for a particular situation. The second point
which Rafsanjani used was political; as he mentioned that
some countries deliberately conceal some of their secrets to
preserve their interests.
Al-Qaradawi then addressed the issue of the
minorities, whereby he mentioned that there are 15 million
Sunnis in Iran who did not have one minister. Rafsanjani
responded by saying he had figures and a clear response
which he did not want to mention to avoid turning the
interview in the direction that is wanted by the Americans
and to thwart the plans of the enemies.
Time did not permit to discuss the eight
points, which were agreed upon during the meeting between
the delegation of the IUMS and the Iranian Shiite
authorities in Tehran. However, Al-Qaradawi mentioned one of
these points: differences should not be exposed to the
public, but they should be discussed among the scholars of
the two sects to avoid confusion and sedition.
At the end of the interview, Al-Qaradawi
stressed the need to adopt practical steps to achieve
sectarian rapprochement. "We want to see the results of this
interview. Muslims all over the world are waiting for this
interview to lead to an improvement, especially in Iraq.
They are waiting for the militia to stop, the return of the
displaced Sunnis and their mosques, and an end to the Shiite
proselytizing in Sunni countries … Islam is above doctrine,
and any country should be above sects."
Scholar and Politician
Commenting on the interview, the Islamic
thinker Fahmi Huweidi, member of the Board of Trustees of
the IUMS, stated that Sheikh Al-Qaradawi adopted the way of
frankness and openness that reflects the image of the
zealous scholar who tries to heal the wounds of his nation.
On the other hand, most of the responses and comments of
Rafsanjani, ex-president of Iran, have implicit or
diplomatic attitudes, reflecting the image of the politician
or the veteran statesman.
Al-Jazeera satellite channel broadcasted
this special interview in cooperation with the IUMS, which
announced previously, through the words of its secretary
general, Dr. Muhammad Salim Al-`Awwa, "We hope that this
meeting will begin to solve the current crisis between
Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq."
Also, Dr. Al-`Awwa declared that this
meeting is the first of several constructive steps, which
the delegation of the IUMS had agreed upon with Iranian
officials, to extinguish the fire of sedition and to
strengthen the bonds of Islamic fraternity between Sunnis
and Shiites.
