RNA – Hujjat al-Islam Mahdi Farmanian, the principal of the Faculty of Islamic Sects at Qom’s University of Religions and Denomination, has spoken at an academic seminar “Culture of Jihad" held at Qom’s Dar al-Shifa Seminary. His Eminence spoke on the issue of “Recognizing the Foundations of Salafi and Takfiri Jihad.”
He stated that the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood are a Salafi group and its members see themselves as enjoining a mission of jihad. For this reason, there is a conflict between the Egyptian government and the Muslim Brotherhood and the Egyptian government has thrown many of the groups members into prison.
Hujjat al-Islam Farmanian stated that that the enemy tries to show the world that jihad means to kill others, including other Muslims with whom they disagree with. He stressed that Muslims need to stand against these false claims and noted that the plots of the enemies have greatly expanded. Their plots are an attempt to weaken Islamic countries and to destroy the culture of jihad among Muslims.
“The enemies have described a wrong definition of jihad and due to these wrong definitions, many have been led toward a misunderstanding of Islam,” he added.
He explained that the enemies have tried to compare, without any reason, that true Islam of the Prophet Muhammad (S) is the same as the false Islam of the Takfiris of the current era. Salafis and Takfiris are groups which derive their teachings from Wahhabism which they have spread around the world.
Hujjat al-Islam Farmanian added that the propagation of these false definitions of jihad is the approach of the enemies to prevent an “Islamic awakening” and until now, their actions in this field have led to the rise of the Takfiri terrorist group, DAESH (ISIL). “The enemies have limited the [Takfiris’] [so-called] jihad to a specific area so that they can provoke the deviant groups towards terrorist actions against pure Muhammadan Islam,” he explained.
Referring to the disunity in many Islamic countries, Hujjat al-Islam Farmanian explained that this disunity is due to the deviant Takfiri groups actions which have been supported by the arrogant powers who have sought to alter the conditions of the Islamic world – including their attacks on Iraq and Syria.
He emphasized that Salafis and Takfiris are among the most extremist groups derived from the deviant teachings of the Najdi scholar Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhab. This dangerous group has between 5 and 10 adherents in the Islamic world and many of them are active in Nigeria, Libya, the United Kingdom and Syria.
However, in contrast to Takfiris, the Shi’ah have always sought to guide those who have gone astray and do not seek to kill those who disagree with them. “In the present era, we are in need of clerics and preachers who can spread the knowledge of the Ahlul-Bayt (A) throughout the world.”
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