Ayatollah Tabasi:‎

Ministry of Foreign Affairs ‎must use the necessary leverage to free Shaykh Zakzaky ‎from the ‎clutches of injustice

The member of the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom ‎said that the Iranian Ministry of ‎Foreign Affairs must use its leverage to free Shaykh Zakzaky and added, “Islamic ‎governments are responsible for Shaykh Zakzaky.”‎

News ID: 446022

Date: 19 July 2019 - 21:18

RNA – In an interview with Rasa News Agency, Ayatollah Najmoddin Tabasi, a member of ‎the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom, said that Shaykh Ibrahim Zakzaky is one of the ‎most influential Shi’ah scholars in the world and added, “He is very popular among the ‎Muslims in Nigeria, in particular Shi’ahs and the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt, and even among ‎the followers of other religions.”‎
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The teacher in the Islamic Seminary of Qom described Shaykh Zakzaky as a popular person ‎who was loved by the people and said, “The valuable services of Shaykh Zakzaky to the ‎Muslims of Africa and Nigeria aren’t hidden for anyone and if the Nigerian government was ‎wise and independent and not under the influence of the dollars of the medieval Arabs and ‎the Wahhabis of the House Saud, they would honour such a personality.”‎
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Stating that the Nigerian government must thank God that a prominent and noble person ‎such as Shaykh Zakzaky is present in their country, he said, “Unfortunately, some of the ‎obstinate governments take orders from abroad and their eyes of greed look toward the ‎dollars of the barbaric Saudi rulers and disregard the wishes of their people.”‎
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Pointing out that Shaykh Zakzaky is a popular personality, Ayatollah Tabasi ‎expressed, “We ‎are confident that the atrocities committed by the Nigerian government against Shaykh ‎Zakzaky aren’t considered as acceptable by the people and the Nigerian government must ‎respect the demands of the people and Muslims of the country and bow down to their ‎demands.”‎
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The member of the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom stated that the Nigerian ‎government must release Shaykh Zakzaky and apologize to him and added, “Freeing this ‎educated scholar is the minimal act that the Nigerian government can do. The spiritual ‎damage done to this great scholar isn’t compensable. The Nigerian government has ‎oppressed this great man for several years and has imprisoned him.”‎

He stressed that the Nigerian government is a faceless and mercenary government of foreign ‎governments and emphasized, “If the Nigerian government has influence and power, it must ‎stop the underground and the bloodthirsty organizations like Boko Haram, who are not ‎merciful to anyone. The programs, such as mourning ceremonies and the International al-‎Quds Day rallies, that the Shi’ahs of Nigeria held under the leadership of Shaykh Zakzaky ‎aren’t dangerous to anyone and there is no reason to impose pressure on Muslims.”‎
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Emphasizing that today, Islamic governments and Muslim communities are responsible for ‎Shaykh Zakzaky, Ayatollah Tabasi ‎said, “Governments that consider themselves as defending ‎the rights of Muslims must take positions in favour of this great man and support him.”‎
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His Eminence said, “Some Arab rulers take positions as soon as Saudi interests are in ‎jeopardy, or when Ansarullah defends their homeland [Yemen] by launching missiles at some ‎areas of Saudi Arabia, they immediately blame them but they didn’t even accuse the Zionists ‎for their crimes committed in Yemen over the past four years.”‎

He ‎stated that we complain about organizations that regard themselves as Islamic and which ‎don’t do anything to protect the oppressed Shi’ahs of Nigeria and their leader and stressed, ‎‎“Today, Islamic organizations ‎must demonstrate their own will and self-determination.”‎
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Ayatollah Tabasi ‎added that the Islamic Republic, as it did in the past, must declare a ‎position in support of the oppressed, said, “We expect the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ‎to take ‎a position in support of Shaykh Zakzaky and the oppressed Shi’ahs of Nigeria and use the ‎necessary leverage to save them.”‎

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