Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi meets with Iranian chargé d'affaires in UK

Rasa - Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi, has met with the chargé d’affaires of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Kingdom meeting, Mohammad-Hasan Habibollahzadeh where they discussed issues regarding the treatment of non-Muslims living in Muslim countries and Muslims living in non-Muslim countries.

News ID: 913

Date: 16 June 2014 - 19:43

Rasa News Agency reports - Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem-Shirazi, has met with the chargé d’affaires of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Kingdom meeting, Mohammad-Hasan Habibollahzadeh.

His Eminence told Mr Habibollahzadeh that in Islamic jurisprudence, non-Muslims are divided into several categories and each one has its own specific rules:

One of these groups is called “musta’min,” a non-Muslim who has permission from the Islamic religious authorities to enter Muslim lands, either temporarily or permanently, and is legally protected by the Muslim authority. An example of a musta’min is someone who is given a travel visa to enter a Muslim country and stays there for a specified period of time.

Regarding this point, Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi criticized the Saudi Arabian security forces for their harassment of foreign Shi’ah pilgrims saying these pilgrims are considered guests and should be treated with kindness. According to Islamic law, pilgrims are guests in an Islamic land and since they have been given official permission by the authorities to enter the country, they must not be harassed.

Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi pointed to the foreign embassies located in Islamic countries and explained that their employees are under the protection of the Islamic government and as long as they are in the country, they should not be harassed.

His Eminence explained that this issue in mentioned in the Quran. The Quran does not allow Muslims in authority to violate the rights of this group of non-Muslims, but rather to treat them with kindness and to show your favours upon them. In verse 8 of the chapter al-Mumtahinah (The Examined One), God has said:

God does not forbid you respecting those who have not made war against you on account of (your) religion, and have not driven you forth from your homes, that you show them kindness and deal with them justly; surely God loves the doers of justice [60:8].

Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi also explained how our relationship should be with non-Islamic countries to Mr Habibzadeh: “Our relationship should based on mutual respect and consciousness and we should not jeopardize our relations with them easily. Cutting relations with these countries can sometimes be damaging to Iranians and to Muslims or can put Muslims living in non-Muslim countries into trouble.”

Mr Habibollahzadeh had explained that there are a large number of Iranians living in the United Kingdom and so the consulate should offer consular services by reopening its consulate there.

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