Hawzah News Agency- Senior cleric Grand Ayatollah Hussein Nouri Hamedani had a meeting with Ayatollah Arafi, the head of Iran’s Islamic seminaries in Qom on Wednesday, June 22.
During the meeting Ayatollah Alireza Arafi presented a report on the achievements of his recent trip to Europe and his meeting with Pope Francis in the Vatican; Grand Ayatollah Noori praised the productive meetings and programs of the seminary delegation to five European countries and said, “it is necessary to appoint a joint committee by the Islamic seminary and the Vatican to follow up on the results of the recent trip.”
Grand Ayatollah Noori Hamedani went on to describe the current world as a turbulent world in which the enemies are united to cause division among the Muslim community, adding, "A large part of the adversaries are united against the Islamic Republic and in such circumstances the only solution for The Islamic World is adhere to their faith and the genuine transcendent Islamic beliefs.”
The Shia source of emulation pointed to the issue of Mahdism and its spread, as well as Mahdism in the international arena and emphasized, “it is necessary to study and review the apocalyptic news and to train specialized people in seminaries to deal with Mahdism and apocalypse; Because today more than ever we need to be fully prepared for the arrival of Imam Mahdi (PBUH).”
Emphasizing the importance of developing international activities, Grand Ayatollah Noori stated, "It is the responsibility of the seminary and the Islamic world to promote the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt (PBUT) to the world. The seminary should boost its international relations and interact with more academic centers in Islamic countries including the Al-Azhar University in Egypt.”
At the beginning of the meeting, Head of Iran’s Seminary Ayatollah Alireza Arafi presented a report on his recent trip to several European countries, including a meeting with Pope Francis and his talks between Islam and Christian Catholic Church, appreciating the guidelines of the supreme Shia scholars, and praised the support of Ayatollah Nouri Hamedani in this trip and added, “ in the meeting with Pope Francis, the scientific and epistemological capacities of the Islamic seminary were introduced to him, which was warmly, and respectfully welcomed by the Pope, and he also conveyed his mutual message of greetings to the supreme authorities and sources of emulations in Iran.”