Editorial

Theologian Sayed Sadegh Shirazi meets with a Belgian journalist

Theologian SayedSadegh Shirazi meets with a Belgian journalist:

Armed insurgency was discouraged, and prohibited in Islamic governance, which indeed marks as peak of Islam’s expansion. 

On Tuesday, December 20th 2016, a Christian journalist from Belgium was warmly welcomed by the Grand Shia Theologian, Ayatollah Shirazi at his central office in city of Qum, Iran.Initially, the Grand Jurist allowed all the contents discussed in this meeting to be recorded and published in any format, only on the condition of receiving a copy of the final version before it being published.

Then, the Grand Jurist Ayatollah Shirazi said: “I would like to shed light on a few subjects:

v  1400 years ago, when the world suffered from dictatorship and tyranny, the Muslim world was led by a great personality, Imam Ali, the son of Abu Talib. This great man ruled over the largest country of his time, stretching from the Middle East to the shores of Europe and the heart of Africa. Under the governance of Imam Ali, there were no cases of political imprisonment or execution and all parties were free to perform their rallies against the government. The only red line set by Imam Ali, as the leader of the Islamic government, was the armed resurgence, which caused serious threat to the public security. However, Imam Ali never picked up arms against his opposition for their verbal abuse or accusations.

v  In our free world today, symbolizing the European countries and the US, the public are also allowed to hold rallies and demonstrations but still they need to have a protest permit by the government. It means that the slogans, the venues, and the route information of the rallies should be checked with the government, otherwise the rallies would be disbanded. However, Imam Ali, peace be upon him, never obliged the public to obtain permits for protests and he didn’t stop any nonviolent protest rallies during his tenure.

Then, the Belgian journalist added: “It is important to know that many rallies and demonstrations are banned by the governments in western countries.”
The Grand Jurist also said: “Imam Ali, peace be upon him, always listened to the words of his opposition and talked to them. This historical fact is even recorded by many Christian historians and writers, such as Mr. George Jordac, who has raised this point in his famous book, “Imam Ali, the Voice of Human’s Justice.”

v  In the tenure of Imam Ali as the Islamic leader, there were no young boys and girls, who couldn’t start a family due to poverty.

v  In the reign of Imam Ali, people did not struggle with the issue of housing as nobody had to live in rental houses. Only the tourists, who traveled to different cities used to rent places for their impermanent residence.

v  Imam Ali did not sell even an inch of land to the people, because he practiced the Islamic principle of free land in his government. People were free to use anyland that was not previously owned, and either farm, build a house, or start a business. Imam Ali only pointed some governmental officials to oversee the procedures and stop any probable transgression.

v  The principle of free land relies on the saying of the holy Prophet of Islam, peace be upon him, who said: “The land belongs to God and one who cultivates it (makes it work.)” Based on this principle, Imam Ali let people own as much land as they need to do farming, build houses, or start businesses.

v  In his entire leadership, Imam Ali, peace be upon him, never oppressed any individual. Therefore, there were no people to spend the night in fears of Ali, the son of Abu Talib. However, it was a customary thing for the unjust rulers to plant fear into the hearts of the populace.

v  Then, the Grand Jurist Ayatollah Shirazi asked this question from his guest:
“Can one find any similar example to the government of Imam Ali in our developed and civilized world?”
The Belgium journalist responded: “Honestly no. In Europe, the governments mostly pursue socialist or secular policies. Practically, they put pressure on their opposition, although they don’t use imprisonment or other suppressive measures to quiet them down.”
He also added: “There are many Jews living in the city of Antwerp in Belgium. A group of these Jews are pro-Zionism while the other group is against it. Whenever the second group tries to fundraise to help the Palestinians, those pro-Zionist Jews put pressure on the government to stop them. Finally, the police stop all of their fundraising and charitable activities. This is only one of the red lines in western countries.”

This journalist also continued: “The bulk of wealth in western countries rests in the hands of only ten percent of the population, mostly the Zionist Jews, and if anyone stands up to them, they will be accused of anti-Semitism. Such people will face numerous problems for living, although they won’t be detained.”

Then, the Grand Ayatollah Shirazi stated: “I humbly ask you to dedicate your service to the entire humanity, especially the oppressed people. I ask you to invite all countries to surpass one another in practicing the policies and methods of Imam Ali, peace be upon him so that in the future, the only red line by governments would be the armed insurgence against the people.”
This Belgium journalist also added: “Unfortunately, I should say that there are many red lines in the western media and I don’t have enough freedoms to convey my thoughts and opinions. For instance, when I wanted to write an article about the war in Syria, I was told that there are red lines in the issue of Syria and I can’t express my opinions if they overstep these red lines. The people in the western countries have been for long brainwashed by the mainstream media, which introduce Iran and Syria as the axis of evil.
I have seen this policy in BBC and AFP. Whenever these news agencies cover the story of Syria, they try to introduce the Syrian army as the army of Bashar Al-Assad.”

In the end, the theologian Ayatollah Shirazi stated: “We all should try as hard as we can to save the humanity from the problems it struggles with. Thank you.”

Editorial

Waves of violence pose serious threats to human security

Shirazi Foundationdenounces the use of violence and assassination in any shape or form, as it is religiously forbidden by Islam.

Quran prohibits such violence in a direct and clear verse:

In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful
“If anyone kills a person, it would be as if he killed the whole mankind; and whomever saved a life, it is as if they have saved the entire mankind.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Holy Quran, 5-32

Today, human security faces serious challenges such as Terrorism, Manslaughter, Women and children’s rights have been violated, incorrect and unIslumic rulings have been imposed on minorities, and followers of the Muslim Faith. Leaving no region or continent immune from its threats and terrors.
During the recentyears, the International Community has witnessed thousands of innocent people, including women, men and even children have fallen victim to the unspeakable acts of terror in the US, the European countries, Africa, Asia, to the Middle East, From the North to the South, and from East to the West.

These acts of have planted  seeds of anxiety, suspicion and fear among people and have impaired the security and stability of societies, leading some people to poverty, the displacement of millions, increased doubts about the real Islamic Values and many more negative impacts.

     The developing countries struggle with increasing impacts of terrorism as well as freedom and security within these developing countries.
The current waves of violence, either in the form of an opinion or the acts of terrorism are all nourished by unislamic extremis ideologies that have found the chance to grow in the absence of enough determination by the international organizations who failed to limit the scourge of violence of these terrorizing groups in the Middle East overflowing to Europe, Asia and elsewhere.

His Excellency Ayatollah Shirazi emphasis on importance of peace in pursuant of prosperity as it is the only avenue to ensure an inclusive mechanism to include everyone’s rights regardless of skin color, or belief.

The Pioneer of Islamic Nonviolence advocacy, Ayatollah Mohammad shirazi mentions more than hundred types of Freedom suggested by Islamic Law, but what we see today in some nations are further limitations of human rights and targeting of educated professionals, and hardworking citizens.

Our Organization condemns all forms of violence, extremism, and killings taking place around the world, and reemphasize the danger that such extremis behaviors threaten the entire humanity,

Only together we can eradicate poverty, hate, discrimination and violence.

Editorial

Economic Justice

Economic justice means bringing classes closer together rather than striking total equality amongst them. This cannot be achieved through the automatic distribution of wealth, as some people imagine, for such is a backward and primitive method. Justice can be achieved, however, through equal opportunities provided to all people In his book “Economics” (Case no. 9), Shirazi says,  “it is necessary to guarantee all people equality in economic matters, for all people are the offspring of one father and one mother…” *

We first take a glance at business ownership and how it helps those who are from impoverished environments. We will view equal opportunity from the aspect of financial inclusion and the evolution of education and opportunity.

There is a robust opinion that exists amongst many experts that owning a business can help reduce the racial and ethnic wealth gap by allowing individuals to fulfill their potential to create wealth-generating opportunities for themselves and others. Equitable opportunities for entrepreneurship may also increase jobs and economic development in areas where people who are less fortunate with lower incomes disproportionately reside, which in turn improves the health and socioeconomic status of vulnerable households and communities as well as the economic performance of regional economies.

Every expert who has personally pledged to advocate for social justice and equal rights while concerning themselves with the importance of safeguarding equal opportunity as a way of helping to ensure that we all  have a fair chance  to succeed should take a very close look at economic justice. Despite amazing human advancements, one question still exists among the working class. is there equal opportunity for all despite, race,religion, sex, ethnicity, caste, or involuntary personal attributes such as disability, or age.

Some experts say that more diversity in the workforce exist now more than it has ever been in the past. Some may differ in this  opinion but the question still remains has the  playing field balanced out in terms of equal opportunities?. For example, in today’s global economy a quality education has become more of a prerequisite for success than a pathway to opportunity. Women and girls of color have advanced considerably, in the educational realm, while opportunity gaps remain between them and their peers that belong to a diverse ethnic background .

Furthermore, many around the globe suffer due to the unfair practices of limitation in terms of  opportunity. When opportunities are made available to every citizen by those who rule, societies grow to their full potential. These societies bring forth some of the brightest minds,  future thinkers, professors, inventors, environmental engineers, lawyers, doctors and so much more. For this reason, alone we should take a deeper look into the publications of H.E. Shirazi, and find practical resolutions to economic justice.

Resources:

*Aspects of the Political pg.44, M. Shirazi, al-Fiqh series, volumes 107-108, “Economics”

 Gathered by:           

                                  Research Department of Shirazi Foundation

                                                                       Washington D.C