Iran General NewsIran Regime Is Not a Leader in the Muslim...

Iran Regime Is Not a Leader in the Muslim World and Will Not Be Until They Abandon Extremism

-

Iran Focus

London, 25 Sep – Following some absurd comments by the Supreme Leader of Iran about his and the Regime’s status in the Muslim world, one political scientist is telling the Regime to take their cues on peaceful co-existence from Saudi Arabia.

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, wrote an op-ed for Arab News in which he dismissed claims on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s website in which he is described as the “leader of the Islamic World”.

Rafizadeh highlights that a leader of the Islamic world should at least show some qualities of Islam, like uniting the Shiite and Sunni worlds and building bridges between the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds.

He said that nothing in the Iranian Regime suggests that religion has been used to unify but everything suggests that it has been corrupted to divide.

Rafizadeh wrote: “Pursuing their own ideological and revolutionary agenda, the Iranian leaders also attempt to undermine other Muslim governments or non-state actors that are viewed as competitors to Tehran’s religious rule. The ruling clerics of Iran base their policy on the old divide-and-rule strategy. In Iraq, they pursue a sectarian agenda favouring the Shiites over the Sunnis – causing the country to be inflicted with continuous civil war. In Syria, Iran pits the Shiite militias against the Sunni population. Tehran pursues the same policies of exploitation in other nations too; Yemen, Lebanon, Bahrain, to name a few.”

There are many Muslims working towards cooperation with each other and people of other faiths and people of no faith, like the Rapprochement Communiqué held in New York last week or the Makkah-based Muslim World League, in order to find common ground to help them solve problems.

Indeed, the Secretary-General of the Muslim World League, Dr. Mohammed bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa, called on Muslims and non-Muslims alike to stand against extremism and hatred.

He said: “What is important is our understanding of the need for co-existence and cooperation in the light of this understanding to serve not just mutual interests, but to also serve all humanity, to promote social peace and intellectual security and to defeat evil, while enshrining the concepts of righteousness, charity, all without religious, sectarian, ethnic, political, intellectual or other distinction…Differences are an essential component of life. There is no reason why the uniqueness of every man, woman, and child should pull societies apart.”

Rafizadeh wrote: “No statements such as Al-Issa’s have ever been heard from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who frequently bashes other nations.”

If the Iranian Regime really wants to be considered a force for good in the Muslim world, then Rafizadeh notes that the least they could do is pursue one of the Rapprochement Communiqué’s eight recommendations, like making a cohesive strategy to oppose extremist ideology and accomplish peaceful coexistence with other countries.

He wrote:”Since its establishment in 1979, the Islamic Republic has not conducted any efforts to unite the Shiites and Sunnis, or to create bridges between Muslims and non-Muslims. On the other hand, there are plenty of examples showcasing the Iranian regime pursuing a sectarian agenda, militarizing and dividing communities, and inflaming tensions between religious communities.”

Latest news

 Statistics show that New Year accidents’ deaths in Iran reached 585

Ahmad Shirani, the head of the Information and Traffic Control Center of the Iranian regime’s police, announced that the...

Land Subsidence in Critical Conditions in Isfahan

Mehdi Toghyani, a member of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament), pointed to the occurrence of land subsidence in various...

Iran’s Actual Inflation Rate Higher Than Official Stats

The state-run Donya-e-eqtesad newspaper, in a report analyzing the "general sentiment" regarding inflation in 2023, has stated that households...

Iranian Workers’ Monthly $136 Wages Can’t Cover $500 Expenses

The lives of a significant portion of the Iranian population are marked by uncertainty, largely because the Iranian economy...

Iranian Nurses Earn Twice Their Wages in Ride-Hailing Services

Reza Aryanpour, a member of the regime’s Majlis (parliament) Health and Treatment Commission, highlighted the growing trend of nurses...

Iran: Unprecedented Record of 152 Million Liters of Gasoline Consumption Per Day

On March 19, Iran set a new historical record in gasoline consumption with 152 million liters consumed in one...

Must read

Five more people executed in northern Iran

Iran Focus: Tehran, Oct. 20 – Four men were...

Iran opens naval base near routes for Gulf oil

New York Times: Iran announced Tuesday that it had opened...

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you