Tunisian Shi’ah scholar, Sayyid Muhammad al-Tijani:

Saudis founded ISIL and send fighters to Iraq and Syria

Rasa – Sayyid Muhammad al-Tijani said “[Saudi officials] say they are fighting ISIL but in fact, they are the ones who founded ISIL. The Saudis, along with Western countries, especially the United States, helped this organization.”

News ID: 1870

Date: 22 December 2014 - 19:54

RNA – In an exclusive interview with Rasa News Agency, Sayyid Muhammad al-Tijani al-Samawi, a renowned Tunisian Shi’ah Muslim scholar, academic and theologian, explained that Takfiri movements will fall into ruin and will collapse because all the Arab and Islamic people around the world reject these extremist groups. They do not know about Islam, and its forgiveness, tolerance, love and brotherhood.

Sayyid Tijani pointed to the Quranic verse wherein God says: “...Help one another in goodness and piety, and do not help one another in sin and aggression; and be careful of (your duty to) God; surely God is severe in requiting (evil),” [5:2] and explained: “Those [Takfiris] who came with unrighteousness and transgression and killed innocent Muslims, especially the innocent civilians who were not involved in acts of war, massacred them like they were sheep and ate their hearts and their livers.”

He explained that injustice is doomed to extinction and decay just as the Quran states: “The truth has come and the falsehood has vanished; surely falsehood is a vanishing (thing).” [17:81]

The writer of “Then I Was Guided” pointed to the role of scholars in the fight against Takfiri thought and stressed that scholars condemn these Takfiris’ actions because they are un-Islamic. The Quran states: “And most surely we or you are on a right way or in manifest error.” [34:24]

Sayyid Tijani explained that dialogue does not mean that we should call other people “infidels,” but to come and give evidence and proofs for your viewpoint. Since the Takfiris do not have the evidence, they kill innocent people.

The convert to Shi’ah Islam said that Takfiri groups are working to distort the image of Islam and emphasized they are agents of the West and the United States. Because Islam has started spreading in the world like wildfire, they are afraid and seek to extinguish Islam. The Quran states: “They desire to put out the light of God with their mouths but God will perfect His light, though the unbelievers may be averse.” [61:8]

Regarding Saudi Arabia’s claims that it is fighting terrorism, and it wants to eliminate it, Sayyid Tijani stressed that the hypocrites say they are fighting ISIL on television, but behind the scenes, they fund terrorism and send fighters to Syria and Iraq to kill innocent people and this has become clear to all. “They say they are fighting ISIL but in fact, they are the ones who founded ISIL. The Saudis, along  with Western countries, especially the United States, helped this organization,” he stated.

Regarding Saudi rapprochement with the Zionist entity, Sayyid Tijani stated that Benyamin Netanyahu went to Barack Obama and told him “help us strike Iran, we cannot attack it alone.” It is important for the Saudis that the Islamic Republic of Iran is attacked, so the Saudi ambassador came and said “you’re not on your own, we are with you we give you everything you need – money and other aid.”

On the Israeli measures to Judaize Jerusalem and the continuing attacks on the Palestinian people, Sayyid Tijani stressed that there is a difference between the Arab peoples and the Arab regimes, most of whom have signed agreements with Israel. Some countries are open with their relations with the Zionist state and others have signed agreements under the table but the only country that raised the slogan of the fight against Israel is the Islamic Republic of Iran.

At the beginning of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini expelled the Israelis and gave the Israeli embassy to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). It was the first time in history, that an organization which was not an independent state or a member of the United Nations was given an embassy. “There is a [large] difference between people who sympathize with Palestine and consider that Palestine is an Islamic land and the governments who are working hard to extinguish the revolution in Palestine, so in Palestine we only find a few who resist Israel who are supported by Iran with money and weapons,” he explained.

In conclusion Sayyid Tijani said, “We thank the Islamic Republic of Iran because they are pioneers in all which is good, such as the establishment of the International Congress on Extremist and Takfiri Movements from the View of Islamic Scholars and condemning the [Danish-published] caricatures degrading the Prophet Muhammad.

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