ABWA Official Website – On Thursday evening, December 28, 2023, members of the Supreme Council of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly met with Hojat al-Islam Ahmad Maravi, Custodian of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (a.s.).
This meeting, which was held in the Velayat Hall of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (a.s.), was attended by a group of members of the Supreme Council of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, along with some deputies and directors of the Assembly.
At the beginning of this meeting, Ayatollah Reza Ramezani, Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly gave a speech about the mission of the Assembly, as well as the holding of the 193rd Conference of the Supreme Council of the Assembly.
Pointing to the empowerment of Shiites and AhlulBayt (a.s.) followers as the most important mission of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, Ayatollah Ramazani said, “The Comprehensive Conference of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly is held annually, and in addition, during the year, the elected conference convenes as necessary. In the conference that will be held on December 28 and 29, 2023 in Mashhad, in addition to specialized discussions about duties and missions, as well as presenting reports on the performance of various departments and sections of the Assembly, each member of the Supreme Council, who is from different countries such as Iraq, Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Kuwait and some other countries, comment on the situation of Shiites in different regions of the world.”
“Respected members of the Supreme Council of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly believe that the Assembly should reach the position of scientific and spiritual reference. So that Muslims and non-Muslims can refer to the departments of the Assembly to get to know and benefit from the AhlulBayt (a.s.) teachings,” added the Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.
Referring to the performance of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly during the past year, Ayatollah Ramazani said, “In line with the missions of the Assembly, in addition to various activities and actions in different departments, 2000 books in 58 languages have been translated and published by the Assembly. WikiShia as a virtual encyclopedia and the AhlulBayt (a.s.) News Agency - ABNA - which publishes the news of Shiites and Shiite centers around the world and the AhlulBayt (a.s.) teachings in 27 languages are among the activities of the Assembly.”
Emphasizing the strategies of the members of the Supreme Council in strengthening the programs and actions of the Assembly, Ayatollah Ramazani added, “This is a golden opportunity and at no time like today there have been the conditions for expansion, growth, and promotion of AhlulBayt (a.s.) school been available. The outstanding action of the World Assembly is to implement the discourse of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) and the discourse of the Islamic Revolution under the discourse of rationality, spirituality, and justice.”
Pointing out the recent developments in the region and the world, the Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly stated, “After the Islamic Revolution of Iran, attention to the AhlulBayt (a.s.) school has grown and increased significantly, and certainly, after the Revolution, the people of the world have become more inclined towards Islam. But the recent events in Palestine and Gaza also proved the truth of Islam to the world more than before.”
“Today, to analyze Gaza and Palestine, we must divide the developments into two parts before the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation, and after it. All the crimes that have been committed in Palestine by the Zionist regime during these years are placed on one side, and the crimes of the last few months are on the other side. In addition, the recent events in Gaza exposed the hypocritical face of some countries claiming the defense of human rights,” continued a member of the Supreme Council of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.
“By the God and thanks to the leadership and wise guidance of Grand Ayatollah Imam Khamenei, the performance of the resistance front, and figures such as Sayed Hassan Nasrallah and other honorable ones in this front, we are witnessing the movement and growth of Shia in the world. In particular, we see that the tendency of non-Muslims towards Islam and the AhlulBayt (a.s.) school has increased after the events in Gaza,” Ayatollah Ramazani stated.
“In the meetings of the Supreme Council of the Assembly, also opinions are raised regarding the strengthening of the cultural front, and opinions are exchanged to guide the Shiites from an intellectual and content point of view,” further said the Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.
“By expanding and promoting the school and teachings of AhlulBayt (a.s.), we will be the conqueror of the field, and the more the activities in this regard are deepened, the more acceptance it will be met with,” he said at the end of his speech.
The next speaker of this meeting was Ayatollah Mohammad Hassan Akhtari, the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly. After pointing out the holding of the conference near the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (a.s.) and the specialized topics raised in the conference, he said, “The AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly and the Custodian Office of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (a.s.) must do serious and fruitful cooperation and synergies in the field of research and related studies.”
Further in the meeting, Hojat al-Islam Sayed Ammar al-Hakim expressed his satisfaction at attending the conference of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly and meeting with the Custodian of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (a.s.), pointed out the capacities of Iraq and said, “Considering the existence of holy shrines of Imams (a.s.) and Najaf seminary, Iraq has played a special role in the formation of Shiite identity in different eras. Iran and Iraq can play a complementary role in the field of culture and promotion of Shiite culture in the world; as in recent weeks and months, Iraq has come to the fore and the Iraqi resistance groups have had outstanding activity regarding Gaza and the oppression of the Zionist regime on the oppressed people of Palestine.”
In this meeting, Hojat al-Islam Maravi, while welcoming the members of the Supreme Council of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, its deputies, and officials, Custodian of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (a.s.) said, “I feel blessed and happy to be in your company, who are proud to be related to AhlulBayt (a.s.). The World Assembly is beloved because it relates to the AhlulBayt (a.s.) school, and we consider it our duty to serve this beloved organization and move to improve and expand it as much as we can.”
Referring to a hadith of Imam Reza (a.s.) about reviving the orders of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) and publishing the teachings and virtues of their words, he said, “This hadith can be considered as the philosophy of the establishment of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.”
Hojat al-Islam Maravi considered the establishment of two prestigious organizations of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly and the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought, as the initiative and tact of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in the international dimension. “With the initiative of proximity, Grand Ayatollah Imam Khamenei instilled the message that there is no ethnic and religious boundary in Islam. Rather, it is disbelief that causes distance, and any boundary that is created by something other than disbelief is created by the enemy. The philosophy of establishing the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly is also creating intellectual and cultural support to create proximity among Muslims. That is, with the Quranic teachings of the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) and AhlulBayt (a.s.), we can help bring the Islamic world closer together as the hadith of Imam Reza (a.s.) also conveys the same message.”
“AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly and the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought complement each other,” the Custodian of the Sacred Shrine of Imam Reza (a.s.) said, “In the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (a.s.), we are at the service of these two organizations to benefit from their capacities to facilitate the pilgrimage of non-Iranian pilgrims.”
“During none of the past governments, much attention has been paid to the issue of pilgrimage, and this important issue has been sidelined. In this regard, in the meeting I had with Dr. Amir Abdullahian, the Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs, I proposed to create a structure in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for pilgrimage, which was welcomed and implemented, and for this, I express my gratitude,” Hojat al-Islam Maravi said.
“In the past, there may have been some shortcomings regarding paying attention to the pilgrimage and conveying the issue to the authorities. But now the situation regarding pilgrimage and the Holy Shrine is different, and we feel that the President, who once served as the custodian of this Shrine, and the Judiciary, feel their duty in this regard, and if they can do something, they will not hesitate,” he added.
“Facilitating and removing obstacles for the pilgrimage of Shiites by the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly can be one of the tasks of the Assembly, as the cultural advisors and ambassadors can also be very diligent in this regard,” added Hojat al-Islam Maravi.
At the end of his speech, referring to the presence of figures such as Hojat al-Islam Sayed Ammar al-Hakim, Hojat al-Islam Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, and other prominent figures from other countries in this meeting, the Custodian of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (a.s.) said, “I consider it a success and an opportunity to meet you.”
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