RNA – In a meeting with representatives of the Society of Jihadi Companions in Khuzestan Province, Hujjat al-Islam Sayyed Mohsen Shafiei, the head of the representative office of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution [Ayatollah Khamenei] in the Universities of Khuzestan province, pointed out the importance and role of the clergy in the social arena and said, “Healthcare workers and firefighters wear special clothing so that you don’t have to look for them in times of danger and through their special clothing, seminarians demonstrate that they are part of the individual and social needs of the people and when the clergy are not working in social events, it’s an issue which is surprising and questionable.”
He considered the clerical uniform as the clothing of service and said, “Imam Khomeyni removed the clergy from their traditional framework and defined new frontiers of social responsibility for them. Even today, the clergy must look for new ways to prove themselves to society. There won’t always be floods, earthquakes and droughts for the people are aware of the presence and activity of the clergy in the social arena, but the clergy must be part of the main body of society.”
Stating that seminary institutions must not insist on promoting only their activities and those of the clergy, Hujjat al-Islam Shafiei added, “Seminary media organizations must not only maneuver the presence of the clergy in the social sphere but also the society and the people must feel and understand the presence of the clergy in the society. Medical personnel and patients, as well as soldiers of the Holy Defence [Iran-Iraq War] era, can express the presence of seminarians in sensitive scenes and social services.”
His Eminence said, “The issue of insisting on the shrouding, burial and ghusl (ablution) of the victims of the Coronavirus has been one of the acts of wisdom of the Supreme Leader and if he had not issued this fatwa, the victims of the Coronavirus would have been buried without ghusl and with tayammum [dry ablution] instead of ghusl.”
Hujjat al-Islam Shafiei stressed the need for the clergy to be present in the social sphere and said, “Today, the clergy has recognized their main duty, and as far as the clergy move away from the social sphere of the people, their role in society and society will diminish.”
Rasa News Agency
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