Let this Eid unite us!

Let this Eid unite us! We all should rise above our difference and stand united. That is the greatest gift which Eid has to offer Javeed Ali All gratitude to Allah Almighty for bestowing on us the blessings of Ramadan. Let’s hope and pray that we continue our good deeds and religious obligations with the same zeal and zest as we performed in the holy month of Ramadan. I am writing this piece with the hope that this message goes to all the Muslim scholars and clerics of the world who have been enjoined a sensitive and responsible job of leading and preaching the Muslim Ummah. I am not a religious scholar or a political activist. You are more aware about the religion and world happenings than me. I am writing this message with an urge to request you to use your deep and profound knowledge for the unity of Muslim Ummah. We are living in times where your mere ‘slip of tongue’ reaches even to the person sitting millions of miles away. So your set of words can make or mar the Muslim Ummah. You have your constituency and share of followers. They listen to your lectures and sermons with the belief that you are guiding them on the right path. So their bright future prospects lies on your guardianship if it is in line with the teachings of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and Holy Qur’an. It’s crystal clear that you have a huge responsibility on your shoulders to take the Muslim Ummah on the path of righteousness and salvation. You should aware the people the importance of unity in Islam and teach lessons of moral ethics. The pulpit should not be used to issue Fatwas (religious decree) of hatred and disbelief against the fellow Muslims. We should firmly believe that unity of Muslim Ummah is for the good of Islam and anyone who works against unity is damaging the principles of Islam. There are hundreds of reasons and traditions which call for unity instead of splitting the Muslim Ummah. Some clerics just for monetary benefits and fame pit people against each other by their hate and provocative speeches. We should not allow these people to sit on the sacred place of Islam which is to give life to humanity instead of death and destruction. Holy Qur’an – the final revelation to mankind – has quite emphatically and unambiguously stressed the importance of unity and peaceful co-existence. “And hold fast by the covenant of Allah all together and be not divided” (Surah Aal-e-Imran, Verse No. 103). When the Holy Qur’an lays such strong emphasis on unity, how can those creating discord and spreading venom claim to be the true followers of Islam! We are trapped in a distressing situation now. Very frequently we see clerics challenging each other for a Munazira (open debate) on trivial issues through social media. Our enemies are making plots against Islam and Islamic traditions and we are wasting time on cursing each other. The fault within us is that we listen more to that cleric who divides us than the one who unites us. Today, the enemies of Islam and humanity are hell-bent on dividing Muslims on sectarian lines. They use social media to spread hate among various sects, which eventually becomes the cause of conflict and estrangement between the various communities. America, Israel, Britain and their allies have made a staggering investment in the sectarianism/takfirism project to divide people and to malign the image of Islam, which is the fastest growing religion in the West. To foil their nefarious designs, it is of utmost importance to forge unity and stand in solidarity with each other. The best moment to get Muslims united is during the time of Islamic events or festivals. For instance, during the time of Hajj pilgrimage as people from all over the world converge at one place. They can converse with each other and can urge their respective leaders to get united under one platform. Likewise, the festival of Eid can also be utilised for the same purpose. Imam Khomeini (R.A.), the leader of the Islamic revolution in Iran, was a strong advocate of Islamic unity and brotherhood. “We Muslims are busy bickering over whether to fold our hands in prayer or not, while the enemy is devising plans to chop them off,” he once said. He always urged Muslims to unite against the enemies of Islam. The week of unity (Hafta-e-Wahdat), which is observed in the month of Rabiul Awwal to mark the birth anniversary of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), was an idea originally proposed by him to bring Muslims closer. Ayatollah Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, has quite admirably followed on the footsteps of his mentor. “Those who provoke Sunni Muslims against the Shias and Shia Muslims against the Sunnis support neither Shia nor the Sunni. They are opposed to Islam and work for the enemies of Islam.” he reiterated it number of times. Ayatollah Sistani has also been a strong votary of Muslim brotherhood. Sunnis, he has repeatedly said, are “not our brothers, but our souls”. Before Christopher Columbus discovered America and Europeans embraced civilization, Muslims had already made huge advances in various fields. The decline started when Muslims became prey to the vicious plots of enemies and got divided into sects and groups. Let’s wish and pray that our religious scholars and clerics will make solemn pledge on this Eid to unite Muslim Ummah and will pray Eid prayers together standing shoulder to shoulder with each school of thought. This noble gesture will bring the happiness of Allah Almighty and Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and will help us to unite the splintered Muslim Ummah. May this Eid bring peace and unity among all of us. Aameen.

Ex-senior diplomat proposes three steps to settle Mideast crises

Ex-senior diplomat proposes three steps to settle Mideast crises Mousavian says Iran feels threatened by export of Wahhabism Hossein Mousavian, former Iranian diplomat and a current Princeton University researcher, has elaborated on root causes of crises and instability in the Middle East. Addressing a recent conference on challenges of security arrangements in the Middle East in Beirut, Mousavian proposed three “major diplomatic innovations” to alleviate regional crises and foster long-lasting regional cooperation and peace. The two-day conference, which brought together about 200 experts on political and security affairs, was arranged by former Lebanese President Amin Gemayel. Following is the full text of Mousavian’s speech in the conference: Much of West Asia today is in a state of chaos and conflict. Large parts of Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Afghanistan are devastated. The on-going wars in Yemen, Libya and Syria have taken huge humanitarian tolls. Political solutions to the current crises are still uncertain, even though there is no military solution for any conflict. Many terrorist groups are still active throughout the region and pose a major threat to all regional and global powers. Instability in the Middle East continues to decisively impact international peace and security. The region is in the midst of two interconnected conflicts: one between regional powers, and the other between global powers. The chief outside players are the United States and Russia. Moscow’s intervention in Syria together with Iranian support has changed the balance of power in the conflict. Meanwhile, disputes between regional powers have reached an unprecedented level of hostility, as seen in Saudi, Emirati, and Israeli rhetoric, actions, and alliances against Iran. The roots of instability and conflict in the Middle East today go back decades. There have been three major sources contributing to regional instability. The first is the full and unconditional support the United States and other world powers have provided to corrupt dictators such as the Shah of Iran or Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, and numerous other dictators in the Arab and Muslim world. These dictators have presided over conditions of poverty, unemployment, bad governance, and political suffocation—which all contribute to extremism and terrorism. Mousavian says regional states have two options: Cooperation or the status quo of confrontation The second root cause is because Washington has given carte blanc support to Israel as it has conquered, occupied, and annexed Arab land in violation of international law. The third cause of regional instability are the wars that have engulfed the region. In this regard, the first mistake of the United States, its Arab allies and other major global powers was supporting Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during the Iraq’s invasion of Iran—including the use of chemical weapons that killed tens of thousands of Iranians. Their support of attacking Iran backfired with Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait. The second major mistake of the United States and its allies were the post-September 11th invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, which unleashed chaos and violence in large parts of the region. The U.S. invasion of Iraq led to the rise of ISIS and other brutal terrorist groups that the United Nations has said are top threats to global security. In Afghanistan, after 17 years of U.S. occupation, the Taliban remain in control of vast parts of the country.

The rising ‘Empire’: global, genuinely Persian

By Mehdi Sepahvand

The American fear of a rising Persian Empire resurfaced one more last week as former secretary of state Henry Kissinger warned President Donald Trump that a power vacuum after the demolition of ISIS will definitely put Iran in a one-on-one situation to score a new Persian Empire. I have already argued how Kissinger is partaking a folly that was established in previous years, and, nonetheless, how Iran transforms regional crisis into something of use to it much differently than for it to qualify as an empire proper. Here I intend to take my argument a step further by establishing how the rising Iran is turning into a pivotal point of difference between the Old and New worlds, therefore showing how this fear of a rising empire surfaces. “Persian empires were always known entities—feared, envied, hated, admired, but never a strangers or unknown. These same Persians and Persophilia becomes a peculiar attraction to Europeans… during the Renaissance and Enlightenment modernity. There is not a single period from antiquity to modernity in which Europeans have not known or referenced Persians and invariably marked their Persophilia,” observes Hamid Dabashi, an Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University in New York City, in his latest book “Iran: the Rebirth of a Nation”. Building on the back of a revolution now 40 years old, as well as the trauma of a national purgatory the aftermath of a democratic participation in presidential elections eight years ago, the Iranian nation is today both and none of these experiences at the same time, seeking a better self-in-the-world who revises itself according to latest developments day in day out. Asking any Iranian how they relate to these two seminal national experiences (and lesser ones scattered in time), you would find in their answer a surprisingly objective outlook that means to rectify and improve upon the self. This comes with a genuinely self-confident nature that is to be found in the history of Europe, with their experiences of the Renaissance, Enlightenment, the two world wars, etc., who seek a rebirth of the self right from the ashes of yesterday, much different from the, let’s say, American experience to leave everything behind and look for a new world order after rid of all those unwanted, bothersome people. The difference between Iran and Europe on one hand and America on the other may therefore be summarized as where they seek change. America is all about a new world order through an apocalyptic event that either wipes them out or installs them above everyone else, whereas the other two are about a new self. The formation of the European Union can provide the best example to this in the case of Europe. This kinship between the two old peoples found a however comic manifestation last week on the Iranian parliament floor where some dozen lawmakers started capturing soon-to-go-viral selfie pictures with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini while she was more or less unaware of or unprepared for the pictures. Mogherini was not the only high-ranking invitees there, President Hassan Rouhani’s inauguration, yet the way she arouse the desire of togetherness, however in a bizarre way to the point of being rejected by the entire political and social spectrum in the country, was quite noteworthy. Today, as the United States is spreading the fear that a new Persian Empire is rising, latest in a series that has included hate-mongering dramatizations such as through Hollywood in the movie “300”, Europe is generally seeing a promised land of peace in Iran within a restive Middle East. Trump’s vows to “tear” the nuclear deal have not yet moved back far in time to be forgotten. On the other side of the Atlantic, however, Europeans are pushing giant economic deals with Iran, alongside recognizing the country’s role in a to-be peaceful Middle East after the ISIS crisis. Looking at it from another angle, Iran is playing it smarter even than Russia, which is on guard against both Europe and the U.S. Iran is growingly turning into a point of difference between the Old and New worlds, breaking the “West and the rest” binary. While the EU remains faithful to its Persophilia to the benefit of its own - to reduce the flow of war refugees from Syria and elsewhere in the region, find a good market of 90 million population and a trade hub for a bigger 400-million population, and so on - the pragmatist Washington, having cut their umbilical cord with their mother long ago, seek the destruction of a burgeoning nation by whatever it takes, be it by allying with Saudis to balance Iran in Syria, the same Saudis whose son set the American “nation” “under attack” at the turn of the century, or by catastrophizing developments in Syria into imagined precursors to a rising Persian Empire a la mode “300”, forgetting (or wanting others to forget) in the meantime, that this has not been established when power vacuum ensued U.S. retreat in Afghanistan or Iraq in recent past. As Washington thinkers are engaged in replacing Persophilia with Irano-phobia, assuring the world of a rising Xerxes that will shed blood to high heavens, the world are giving themselves the chance to consider a growing-up Zarathustra figure to descend the Damavand and speak of what the world has long lost and dearly cherishes, a self-in-the-world that ceases to be so taken by a black-and-white image of things and instead tries to embrace new horizons and make new bonds by reviewing and reorienting itself.

'West humiliated by Islamic Awakening'-Leader

In the Name of Allah, the All-Beneficent, the All-Merciful

What has happened up to this day is very great. The West ruled the Islamic Ummah for two hundred years by relying on their scientific advances; they conquered the Islamic countries; some directly and some indirectly with the help of local dictators. The UK, France, and ultimately, the United States - which is the Great Satan - gained domination over the Islamic Ummah. They did everything they could to humiliate the Islamic Ummah; they planted the cancerous tumor of Zionism in the heart of the Middle East."

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei


Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei

I welcome you all, [our] dear guests, dear youth, the conveyors of great tidings for the future of the Islamic Ummah. Every one of you conveys a great tiding. When the youth are awake in a country, the hope for general awakenings increases in that country. Today, our youth are awake all through the Islamic world. There are so many traps on their way, but the devout and determined Muslim youth have saved themselves from such pitfalls. You see what has happened in Tunisia, in Egypt, in Libya, in Yemen and in Bahrain; what movement has begun in other Muslim countries. These are all good tidings.

What I tell you, the dear youth and my own children, is that you should know that the history of the world [and] the history of humanity has reached a major historical turn. This is the dawn of a new era across the entire world. The big and clear sign of this era is attention to the Almighty and asking for help from His inexhaustible source of power and reliance on divine revelations. Humanity has gone beyond materialistic schools of thought and ideologies. Today, neither Marxism is appealing, nor is the Western liberal democracy; you see what is going on in the birthplace of the Western liberal democracy, in the US and Europe; they have owned to their failure; nor nationalist secular figures are attractive. Today, the highest attraction among the Muslim Ummah belongs to Islam, to the Holy Quran, to divine religions as the Almighty has promised that divine religion and revelations and the endeared Islam can guide humanity to prosperity. This is a very auspicious, important and meaningful phenomenon.



Today, in Muslim countries, people have risen up against dependent dictators; this is a prelude to an uprising against global dictatorship and international dictatorship, which is dictatorship of the corrupt and ominous network of Zionist and arrogant powers. Today, international tyranny and international dictatorship has been embodied by dictatorship of the US, the allies of the US and the satanic and dangerous Zionist network. Today, they are imposing their dictatorship on the whole world through different methods and various means. What you did in Egypt, [you] did in Tunisia, [you] did in Libya, and are doing in Yemen and are doing in Bahrain, its motives are powerfully present in other countries; it is part of the struggle against this dangerous and harmful dictatorship which has been exerting pressure on humanity for two centuries. The historical turn I mentioned, is a change from domination of such dictatorship to the emancipation of nations and the rule of spiritual and divine values; this is sure to happen; do not doubt it.

This is the divine promise [that] "God will verily help those who help Him." The Almighty emphasizes that if you help him, He will help you. This may seem to be a remote possibility in an ordinary approach and in terms of materialistic calculations; however, many things looked improbable, but they actually happened. Did you think one year or [even] two or three months ago that the tyrant of Egypt would be so humiliated and destroyed? If somebody had told you then that the dependent, corrupt regime of Mubarak would fall, you might have doubted it; but it did happen. If somebody claimed two years ago that such strange events would take place in North Africa, most of you would have disbelieved. If somebody had said that in a country like Lebanon, a group of faithful youth would defeat the Zionist regime and the well-equipped Zionist army, nobody would have believed them; but [all of] these [things] did happen. If somebody had said that the Islamic Republic would be able to resist 32 years against all this adversity from the East and the West, and would become progressively stronger and advanced, nobody would believed them; but it did happen. "Allah has promised you many gains that you shall acquire, and He has given you these beforehand; and He has restrained the hands of men from you; that it may be a Sign for the Believers, and that He may guide you to a Straight Path." Such triumphs are divine signs; these are signs of the mighty power of Truth that the Almighty is showing us. When people enter the arena, when we enter what we have into the arena, the victory will surely come from God. The Almighty will show us the path. "And those who strive in Our (cause), We will certainly guide them to our Paths." God both guides, and helps and makes people achieve lofty goals provided that we are present in the arena.

What has happened up to this day is very great. The West ruled the Islamic Ummah for two hundred years by relying on their scientific advances; they conquered the Islamic countries; some directly and some indirectly with the help of local dictators. The UK, France, and ultimately, the United States - which is the Great Satan - gained domination over the Islamic Ummah. They did everything they could to humiliate the Islamic Ummah; they planted the cancerous tumor of Zionism in the heart of the Middle East - this sensitive region - and offered it all-out support and were sure that their goals and policies would be realized in this very important part of the world. However, faith-based aspirations, Islamic aspirations, [and] people's presence have disturbed all these evil dreams; [they] have impeded all these goals.

Today, the global arrogance feels grounded in the face of the Islamic Awakening. You are triumphant; you are victorious; the future belongs to you. What has been done [thus far] has been a great job; but this is not the end of it all - this is important - this is just the beginning; it has [just] started. Muslim nations should continue their struggle so that they would be able to eliminate enemies in different arenas.

[Our] struggle is a struggle of aspirations, determinations and wills. Any side, whose determination is more powerful, will prevail. That side, whose heart leans towards the Almighty, will be victorious. "If Allah helps you, none can overcome you." If you earn the help of God, nobody will prevail over you; you will proceed. We want Muslim nations which make up the great Islamic Ummah to be free, independent, dignified, but not humiliated; we want them to organize their lives in accordance with progressive and lofty rules of Islam; and Islam can [help them]. They held us back in scientific terms for many long years; they trampled on our culture [and] did away with our independence. Today, we have woken up. We will conquer scientific arenas one after the other.

When the Islamic Republic was established 30 years ago, the enemies said the Islamic Revolution had won, but it would not be able to manage the fields of life one after another and would [eventually] retreat. Today, our youth, thanks to Islam, have been able to accomplish great tasks in the field of science, which they themselves had never imagined in the past. Today, thanks to their reliance on God, Iranian youths have gained great scientific achievements: they enrich uranium, produce and grow stem cells, and take great steps in biotechnology, conquer the space; [they do] all of this by reliance on God and with the slogan of “God is Great.”


We [should] not underestimate out capabilities. Among the biggest scourges that the Western culture has inflicted upon Muslim countries were two false and deviatory illusions: one [was] the inculcation of the inability of the Muslim nations; making them believe that “you are not capable of anything, neither in the field of politics, not in the field of economy, nor in the field of science.” They said “you are weak.” We [in] Muslim countries have retained the wrong opinion for tens of long years and lagged behind. The second suggestion and second belief they injected in us was the infinity and invincibility of the might of our enemies. So they made us believe that the US could not be defeated, the West could not be driven back; [that] we had to bear and forebear in confrontation with them.

Today, it has become clear to the Muslim nations that both of these beliefs are absolutely wrong. Muslim nations can move ahead; they can revive the majesty and magnificence of Muslims, who were once at the peak of glory and summits of scientific, political and social splendor and the enemy would have to retreat in various fields.

This age is the century of Islam. This age is the century of spirituality. Islam gifts nations with both rationality and spirituality; an Islam of rationality, an Islam of contemplation and thought, an Islam of spirituality, an Islam of reliance on God, an Islam of Jihad, an Islam of efforts, an Islam of action; these are all Godly and Islamic teachings for us.

What is significant today is that the enemy, faced with the blow it has more or less suffered in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and other countries in the region, is busy plotting and conspiring. [One] should be aware of the enemy schemes. [One] should be careful so that they would not steal people's revolutions from them, [or] deviate courses. Use others' experience. The enemy does a lot to deviate revolutions, to neutralize movements, to foil endeavors [that are made] and the blood that had been shed; one should be careful, one should be alert. You youths are the engines of these movements; be alert, be aware.

We have had great experiences in the past 32 years. It is 32 years since we have been combating the enemies, we have been resisting, and gained victory over our enemies. There has been no single scheme that the West and the US have refrained from. They have not done everything, because they could not. They did all they afforded and at all points they were smacked in the mouth and defeated. It will be the same afterwards. After this, too, they will fail in all schemes against the Islamic Republic; this is a divine promise to us and we have no doubt.

We do not doubt the trueness of divine promises. We do not suspect God. God blames those who doubt Him; and “He may punish the Hypocrites, men and women, and the Polytheists men and women, who imagine an evil opinion of Allah. On them is a round of Evil: the Wrath of Allah is on them: He has cursed them and got Hell ready for them: and evil is it for a destination.” The promise of God is a true promise. We have entered the field, inside the battlefield -- the Iranian nation has brought all its facilities onto the stage; thus, divine victory is definite. In all other countries it is the same. But we should be alert. We all should be alert. We all should be careful about the enemies' deceits. The enemy tries to neutralize movements, and sow discord.

Today, the Islamic movement in the Muslim world does not know Shia or Sunni; does not distinguish between Shafi'ite or Hanafite or Jafari or Maliki or Hanbali or Zaidi; does not know Arab or Persian or other nationalities; in this great field, all are present. We should try so the enemy may not divide us. We should all feel like brothers, and specify the goal. The goal is Islam; the goal is a Qur'anic and Islamic government. Of course there are commonalities among Muslim countries; there are differences, too. There is no single pattern for all Muslim countries. In different countries, geographical conditions, historical conditions, social conditions are different; but there are common principles: we are all the enemies of the arrogant powers; we all oppose the evil domination and rule of the West, [and] we all oppose the existence of the cancerous tumor of Israel.

Wherever there is a feeling that what is being done benefits Israel, benefits the United States, it is where we have to be alert; we [should] know that this move is an outsider's move; a stranger's move; it is not a friendly move. Wherever a move is an Islamic and anti-Zionist and anti-arrogance and anti-oppression and anti-corruption one, it is where the move is the right move; it is where all friends are; we are Shias, we are Sunnis, we are from this or that country. It makes no difference; we should all think alike.

Today, this is a basic and tangible example; all the media organizations in the world are trying to isolate the people of Bahrain and the movement in Bahrain. What is their claim about this? It is the issue of Shia and Sunni [faiths]. They want to create divisions, want to create distinction and demarcation. There are no differences among those Muslims and believers who follow this or that Islamic faith. The common among them all is Islam. The common point is the Muslim Ummah. The common point is solidarity among the Muslim Ummah. The key to the continuation and victory of the movement is reliance on God, confidence in God, trust in God and maintaining unity and integrity.

My dear ones, my children, be aware lest the enemy might not hinder your movement. God tells His prophet on two occasions: “Therefore stand firm (in the straight Path) as thou art commanded,” stand firm. Standing firm means resisting, carrying on, pursuing a path, refusing to stop, it is the key.

We should move ahead. This movement is a successful movement because it has bright horizons. The horizon is bright. The future is a very bright future. A day will come when the Muslim Ummah, with the power and might of God, will rise to utmost majesty and independence. Muslim nations [should] while retaining their specifications and distinctions, stand under the single banner of the invitation to God and Islam; should be all together. It is then that the Muslim Ummah will find its glory.

We in our countries have underground resources, strategic regions, plentiful natural facilities, remarkable figures, talented and advanced human resources; we should make efforts. God will bless these efforts, God willing.

I [should] tell you youths that the future belongs to you. With the power of the Almighty God and with His permission, you youths will see that day and God willing, you will be able to leave your achievement to posterity.

May God's mercy, compassion and blessings be upon you!