Ayatollah Ka’bi calls on Indonesia to defend oppressed Shi’ahs against Takfiris

Rasa – The member of the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom urged the Indonesian government to defend the oppressed Shi’ahs of the Sunni-majority country against Takfiris and to allow them to participate in their religious programs and ceremonies.

News ID: 424850

Date: 07 November 2016 - 16:00

RNA – In a meeting with the visiting delegation of elites and experts from Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs, Ayatollah Abbas Ka’bi, criticized the unseasonable strictness of the Indonesian government against Muslims, especially the followers of the school of the Ahlul-Bayt, in the world’s largest Muslim country and the prevention of the country’s tiny Shi’ah minority from holding mourning ceremonies for Imam Husayn.

The member of the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom urged Indonesian authorities to take the necessary measures so that Shi’ahs can perform their religious rituals and participate in their ceremonies.

Ayatollah Ka’bi emphasized that the commemoration of Ashura is not against any Islamic denomination and added that in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians also participate in the mourning ceremonies on Ashura.

He said that the commemoration of Ashura has become a national ceremony in Iran because it is in remembrance of the son of daughter of the Prophet Muhammad and said, “The message of Ashura is its stance against oppression and criminality. Ashura is a phenomenon and movement which stands against crimes against human rights and is in defense of justice.”

The renowned teacher in the Islamic Seminary of Qom stated that the protection of religious ceremonies, especially ceremonies marking the martyrdom of the “Master of the Martyrs,” in Indonesia is something that is expected and anticipated.

Ayatollah Ka’bi said that in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, the sources of emulation, the Association of Seminary Teachers of Qom and other scholars have declared the insulting of Islamic and Sunni sanctities as forbidden and unlawful.

His Eminence said that it is expected that the Indonesian authorities will defend the oppressed Shi’ahs of the southeast Asian island country against the attacks by Takfiris and extremists and allow them to perform their religious ceremonies.

There are about one million Shi’ahs in Indonesia out of the 203 million Muslims in the country of 260 million people and this small community has faced attacks by a growing number of extremists and Saudi-funded Salafists in the country who see Shi’ism as blasphemy.

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