Hawzah News Agency- (Qom, Iran) Speaking at the opening ceremony for the second international Conference on Islam and Humanitarian Law held in the Iranian city of Qom on Wednesday, Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, Head of the Iranian Seminaries, stated, “The city of Qom is considered as of the greatest scientific hubs in the Islamic world. This city is a pioneer in spreading the ideology of peaceful coexistence and avoiding the violation of human rights.”

 He added, “Considering Ahl al-Bayt’s (as) jurisprudence, one realizes the fact that our holy infallibles draw restrictive measures and set strict guidelines regarding laws of war; according to Islamic jurisprudence, the only rewarding and justified basis to engage in warfare or defending your land is the one intended to save humans’ lives and it must come from pure humanitarian intentions.”

 Head of the Islamic Seminaries further reiterated that religious extremists violate Islamic jurisprudential principles and said, “ISIS’s actions originate from two sources, one is the ignorance that exists within the Islamic world and the other is the interference of the World’s imperialist powers such as the U.S.”

 “The United States has been involved in more than 100 wars and coups in different parts of the world, that’s why they cannot claim to be holding the banner of human rights; The Zionist Regime is also being backed by its foreign allies in the Middle East and their illegitimate occupation of Palestinian territories can in turn cause all sorts of violence in the region.”

“The issue of Israel must be resolved by holding elections and it’s certainly legitimate on the part of Palestinians to defend their occupied country,” Ayatollah Arafi said.

The Qom Friday Prayer leader went on, “In order to guide mankind towards peace and happiness, we must agree upon the basis of human rights as well as the laws of war.”

Ayatollah Arafi concluded that dialogue of the Islamic Revolution is based on legitimate resistance and said, “In such dialogue, oppression and violation of Islamic human rights are not accepted and such acts are strongly forbidden.”

End.