Hawzah News Agency- Hojatoleslam Ali Abbasi addressed a pointed message to Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed El-Tayeb, questioning the council's silence on the Zionist-US assault while condemning Iran's legitimate defensive actions.
The text of Abbasi's message to the Sheikh of Al-Azhar is as follows:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed El-Tayeb
Grand Imam and Sheikh of Al-Azhar University
I wish to express my astonishment and regret regarding the statement issued by the Al-Azhar Fatwa Council in recent days, amid the treacherous aggression carried out by the United States and its despicable regional partner, the Zionist regime.
This statement, while emphasizing the necessity of preserving the sanctity of Muslim blood and adhering to international law, condemned any military action taken by the Islamic Republic of Iran against US and Zionist positions in regional countries, describing such operations as contributing to regional instability.
I would like to bring several points to your attention:
1. Your Eminence is well aware that the United States and Israel, in the midst of negotiations and with the explicit intent of collapsing and partitioning Islamic Iran, launched an attack on the sanctity of Islamic Iran during the holy month of Ramadan. In that attack, they martyred the great Imam, Leader, and scholar of the Islamic Revolution, along with a number of military commanders and a group of the oppressed people of Islamic Iran.
In your view, and in the view of the Al-Azhar Fatwa Council, what option did the Iranian nation and its military forces have in such a situation other than resistance? Why did you and your council not deem it appropriate to condemn this blatant aggression against the sanctity of an Islamic country—carried out by the Zionist Jews? Is this not the saying of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny): "Whoever hears a Muslim calling out to fellow Muslims for help and does not respond is not a Muslim"? In the desperate circumstances of the Muslim people of Iran, what justification is there for such silence?
2. In the Al-Azhar Fatwa Council's statement, Iran's strikes on US bases in regional countries were condemned.
This is astonishing! The United States, using facilities stationed in regional countries, attacked an Islamic nation. In response, our military forces launched retaliatory strikes on those very bases from which American aircraft had operated.
Yet, astonishingly, the Al-Azhar Fatwa Council disregarded the aggressor's attack while condemning our legitimate and internationally recognized right to self-defense and the punishment of the aggressor. Has not Almighty God stated in the Holy Qur'an: "So whoever has assaulted you, then assault him in the same manner that he has assaulted you" (Qur'an 2:194)?
Do you not think that your audience, confronted with such a double standard and a failure to adhere to the clear command of the Qur'an, will face serious questions?
3. It was stated in this statement that Iran's strikes on US bases in regional countries were condemned.
Dr. El-Tayeb! Why does your university's Fatwa Council not issue any admonition to these neighboring countries, cautioning them against placing the sanctity of an Islamic country at the disposal of the American belligerent disbelievers? Has not Almighty God stated in the Holy Qur'an: "O you who have faith! Do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are allies of one another. Whoever among you allies with them is indeed one of them" (Qur'an 5:51)? And in another noble verse: "Let not the faithful take the faithless for allies in place of the faithful. Whoever does that has no connection with Allah whatsoever" (Qur'an 3:28)? Is the act of placing the land and sky of an Islamic country at the disposal of a belligerent disbeliever not a clear violation of these divine and Qur'anic commands?
4. Esteemed Head of Al-Azhar! Let us reflect for a moment on the future of the Islamic world and the Muslim Ummah. Is Israel and America the enemy of Iran alone? Is it not true that the crime of Islamic Iran lies in its practical defense of the oppressed people of noble Gaza?
Take my brotherly warning seriously: silence in the face of the current catastrophe will inflict grave damage upon the future of the Islamic Ummah.
Dr. El-Tayeb! Let us join hands, gather beneath the banner of the Qur'an, and—guided by Qur'anic justice—speak and act against the vile ideology of Zionism. Regardless of the necessity of answering on the Day of Judgment for our words and our silence today, future generations will judge the statements and actions we take now.
Peace be upon those who follow guidance.
Ali Abbasi
President of Al-Mustafa International University
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