Cleric Underlines Peaceful Coexistence among Islamic Schools of Thought
Redna – Speaking to IQNA on the occasion of the Islamic Unity Week, Seyed Muhammad Ali Bahrololum said Muslims in different parts of the world, especially in Muslim and Arab countries in the Middle East have been on a path of weakness and lack of progress due to their failure to use the main sources of religion and also conflicts and differences among Muslim countries.
He said both internal and external factors played a role in this weakness.
The dominance of colonial powers over Muslim countries is among the external factors while the internal factors include scientific weakness of Islamic communities as well as existence of rulers in Muslim states that are anti-development, anti-science and against resorting to true Islam, he stated.
The cleric added that these and other reasons have undermined the social, fundamental, ideological and scientific capabilities of Muslim countries.
Bahrololum said Islam is a religion that invites people to work for growth and development but Muslim world governments have unfortunately failed to enhance such values in Muslim societies over the past centuries.
Discord in the Muslim Ummah is another factor that has caused backwardness in Muslim societies in recent centuries, he stated
He stressed the need for proximity of Islamic schools of thought and said in order for that to happen, the schools of thought should strengthen knowledge about one another.
Some 100 years ago, he said, many scholars of Sunni Islam and other sects had little knowledge about Shia Islam’s foundations and principles and therefore Shia scholars and figures like Ayatollah Boroujerdi and Ayatollah Hakim published a vast number of works to fill the gap.
The Iraqi cleric added that today peaceful coexistence among Islamic schools of thought is needed and in order for that to happen, there should be acceptance as well as dialogue.
Coexistence means accepting one another, opening channels for dialogue, and respecting others’ views and thoughts, he went on to say.
The 17th day of Rabi al-Awwal, which falls on October 13 this year, is believed by Shia Muslims to mark the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), while Sunni Muslims regard the 12th day of the month (Sunday, October 9) as the birthday of the last prophet.
The interval between the two dates is celebrated every year as the Islamic Unity Week.
Late Founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran Imam Khomeini (RA) declared the occasion as the Islamic Unity Week back in the 1980s.