RNA – Abu Muslim Khawlani, an official of the Indonesian Ministry for Religious Affairs, attended a meeting with Hujjat al-Islam Najmoddin Tabasi, a member of the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom.
During the meeting, the Indonesian official asserted, “As an Indonesian I’m really proud to see that despite the harsh sanctions imposed on Iran for 37 years, Iranians are the only Muslim nation that are standing on their own feet.”
He further added, “We really hope that Indonesia could also see such development, we also hope that unity among Shi’ah and Sunni Muslims strengthens so that different ethnicities and religions would live in peaceful harmony.”
“Discord between Shi’ah and Sunni Muslims only serves the purposes of Islam’s enemies,” he added.
Khawlani went on to point out Wahhabis’ attempts to distort religious books in Indonesia, “Recently Wahhabis have been trying to revise as many as 32 main sources of Indonesia’s Sunni seminary schools in order to eliminate and replace the parts which do not serve their benefits.”
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Indonesian religious expert stated that Wahhabis’ attempts are not always in accordance with their pre-determined objectives adding, “Recently, as many as 9,000 educated Indonesians have embarked on a comprehensive research on Wahhabism and its doctrine, as a result of their study, they eventually converted to Shi’ism. Now we’re witnessing a peaceful coexistence between Shi’ah and Sunni Muslims in that very region.”
In conclusion, Khawlani that the purpose of his trip to Iran was to become familiar with Iran’s regulations regarding religious tolerance toward Sunni Muslims as well as other religious minorities.
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