• Statements
• 10 Rabiul-Thani 1436H

The representative of the leading Marja’iyah in Europe urges the scholars of the Muslim world and its intellectuals, thinkers and mentors to call for unity, affinity, and cooperation and to avoid hate and dispute.

Allama Sayyid Murtadha Al-Kashmiri addressed open letter to the scholars of the Muslim world and its intellectuals, thinkers and mentors urging them to advise Muslims and guide them to unite their word and rank, especially during such sensitive circumstanced when nations have joined together against Islam and Muslims; be it through their pens, words, media outlets and cartoons as well as other means of distortion. They are condemning Islam because of the actions of those who supposedly associate themselves with Islam but cannot differentiate between the fundamentals and the branches of the religion – thus giving the extremists in the west the pretext to attack mosques and Islamic establishments and distort the image of the prophet (peace be upon him and his household) through sarcasm and mockery. This is because some Muslims accuse the prophet (peace be upon him and his household) of matters contradictory to the status of prophethood. This led people to think that the prophet’s status, even though a prophet, is no different from that of an ordinary human being – whereas the status of all prophets are quite superior in essence and spirituality and therefore incomparable with the status of ordinary humans.

It is the duty of Muslim scholars in the world from all Islamic schools of thought to make a united stand, through their fatwas, statements and advice to all Muslims and call for an end to these acts perpetrated by extremists in the name of Islam and take a stand against these extremists and their acts in accordance with Islamic Shari’a; otherwise there will be no sanctity for Islam and Muslims neither in the east nor in the west. The precursors of the aforesaid have appeared in France and other places despite protests by the general Muslim population and their condemnation of such acts.

It is our duty as a Muslim nation to search for the reasons behind this extremism that is spreading among young people; such that some have joined ranks with these extremists. Perhaps the main contributing factor is unemployment and intellectual void among young people in many Muslim countries, coupled by the ‘takfiri’ and ‘sectarian’ fatwas issued by those who do not think about their detrimental consequences on people’s lives. They think if they blaspheme a particular sect they are doing a service to Islam and Muslims, without realizing that dissemination of such matters are like time-bombs that rip apart the unity of Muslims and instigate wars among them throughout the ages.

Not to mention the endeavours of some mentors in schools, universities, mosques, Islamic organizations and Friday prayer Imams to dig deep in books in search of myths and fake stories with no support or proof from the Qur’an and the prophetic tradition (Al Sunnah Al Nabawiyah). Or they embark on offending prominent Muslim personalities only to present material for future generations without educating or knowing that by this action they are disseminating poison and disease no less dangerous than aides or cancer. Spreading such thoughts will be passed from one young person to another and from generation to generation - leading to the establishment of a depraved entity in society that cannot be cured easily.

It would be more appropriate for them to disseminate the honourable character of the prophets and their ways and how they treated other people and the attributes of the prophet (peace be upon him and his household and noble companions) and show the lessons and useful examples from their history for the today’s generation and those in future so that virtue and affection, forgiveness and peace would reign among Muslims from all schools. A Muslim is not only he who fasts, prays and performs Haj, gives Zakat and recites the Qur’an. Rather it is he who other Muslims feel safe from his hand and tongue and it is he who epitomizes truth and trust, forgiveness and dignified manners through his actions which lead to unity, love and affection and tolerance among everyone in society. Such are the characters that we see in our divine scholars (Ullema) who spend their lives serving the community as observed by those near and far alike.

We ask Allah Almighty to help us do what is right for Islam and Muslims. Success is from Allah.