Extremist Groups Tarnish True Image of Islam: Rafsanjani


Extremist Groups Tarnish True Image of Islam: Rafsanjani

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Chairman of Iran’s Expediency Council expressed concern over the growth of extremist groups in Muslim countries of the region, saying their inhumane actions damage the brilliant image of Islam.

Zealot and hardline groups that carry out unwise and inhumane actions in the name of religion can only damage the "rightousness" of Islam, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said in a gathering of present and past Sunni parliamentarians in Tehran on Sunday evening.

He also touched on the issue of religious discrimination, saying it is of no benefit to Islam and Muslims.

Rafsanjani described unity as the best approach to fend off the enemies’ ploys, noting that the foes are afraid of “rapport between Shiite and Sunni Muslims.”

In relevant remarks in April 2013, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei warned against enemy plots to turn Islamic Awakening movements into sectarian and ethnic conflicts.

“Western and Zionist intelligence services are seriously and relentlessly pursuing this plot with the help of petrodollars and traitorous politicians from the East of Asia to the North of Africa and particularly in the Arab region,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in an opening speech at the “Scholars and Islamic Awakening Conference” in Tehran at the time.

Also in August, Commander of Iran's Basij (volunteer) Force Brigadier General Mohamad Reza Naqdi cautioned that the US, Britain and the Zionist regime of Israel are trying to ignite sectarian conflict among Muslims.

“The Zionist are trying to stage a sectarian war among Muslims with the help and the support of the US and Britain in a bid to delay their destruction,” Naqdi said.

Senior Iranian officials and commanders have on many occasions urged unity among Muslims for confronting the West and Israel's plots to create sectarian differences among the Islamic community.

 

Most Visited in Politics
Top Politics stories
Top Stories