Iraq’s Ayatollah Sistani Underlines Mutual Respect among Followers of Faiths
The senior cleric made the remark in a meeting on Wednesday with a delegation from United Nations headed by Miguel Angel Moratinos, the United Nations’ under secretary general and High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations.
According to a statement from Ayatollah Sistani’s office, during the meeting he underscored the importance of coordinated efforts to promote the culture of peaceful coexistence, rejection of violence and hate, and upholding of values of solidarity based on attention to the rights and mutual respect among followers of different faiths, Al-Sumaria News reported.
Ayatollah Sistani also said tragedies that many nations and ethnic and social groups are suffering from in many parts of the world and are rooted in oppression and lack of social justice play a major role in the emergence of some extremist groups that use blind violence against defenseless civilians.
The statement added that the senior cleric reiterated the necessity for addressing the root causes of these phenomena and taking serious action to ensure justice and peace in societies.
It went on to say that Ayatollah Sistani also appreciated the United Nations’ efforts in this regard.
The UN mission in Iraq and the Alliance of Civilizations also released a joint statement on the visit on Wednesday, which reads:
“Recalling the meeting between His Holiness Pope Francis and His Eminence (Ayatollah Sistani) on 6 March 2021, the High Representative and His Eminence exchanged views on the importance of inter and intra-religious dialogue, which lie at the core of the UNAOC mandate.
Mr Moratinos presented Mr Sistani with a UN ‘plan of action’ that was devised in 2019 to reduce violent extremism and protect places of worship from extremist attacks.
The UN Plan of Action to Safeguard Religious Sites was presented to the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, Dr Ahmed Al Tayeb, and Pope Francis in the Vatican, upon its release in 2019.
The Plan of Action is a global call to rally around the most basic tenets of humanity, compassion and tolerance.
Mr Moratinos said the report was written ‘in the aftermath of the Christchurch attacks in New Zealand’.
‘In Iraq also, worshippers and holy sites have suffered tremendously,’ he added.”
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