Hawzah News Agency- The open letter, addressed to MWL Secretary-General Sheikh Dr. Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, was issued on Monday amid escalating tensions following the Ramadan War. The letter calls for an immediate revision of what the scholars term "inaccurate and unfair" positions that risk fracturing Islamic unity at a critical historical juncture.
A Fractured Ummah in the Face of the "American-Zionist Axis"
The Sunni clerics of Iran expressed deep dismay over the MWL's recent condemnations, framing the current geopolitical reality as an existential battle between Islam and the forces of "global arrogance."
"We watched with sorrow the issuance of statements that lacked the necessary precision and fairness," the letter reads. "The real battle our Ummah faces is the battle of Islam against the forces of disbelief and arrogance, led by the American-Zionist axis. It is astonishing to see statements that criticize legitimate defensive reactions while turning a blind eye to the great crimes committed against Muslims—including the assassination of religious and scientific figures and the targeting of safe schools and homes that led to the martyrdom of innocents."
The Crucial Question: Legitimate Defense vs. Foreign Aggression
The Iranian Sunni leadership invoked both Islamic jurisprudence and international law to underscore Iran's inherent right to self-defense. The letter pointedly questions the logic of censuring a nation for responding to attacks launched from foreign bases on Muslim soil.
"We affirm the legal and religious right to self-defense; a right upheld by Islam, all divine laws, and international norms," the scholars wrote. "How can the one exercising this right be reprimanded while the primary aggressor and the military bases from which the attacks originated are ignored?"
The letter lays out three critical clarifications:
- Precision Strikes: The scholars emphasized that Iranian counter-strikes were exclusively aimed at military installations used by the enemy to assault Islamic territory, noting that purely civilian infrastructure was never targeted.
- The Burden of Hosting Bases: The clerics lamented the presence of foreign military bases on Islamic lands used to attack a neighboring Muslim country, stating that such a reality places the host nations in a "difficult position" before their brethren.
- Internal Discord Serves the Enemy: The letter warns that any internal strife within the Islamic front only strengthens the adversaries of the Ummah.
A Direct Challenge to the Muslim World League
The letter stops short of mere criticism, issuing a direct appeal and a rhetorical challenge to the MWL leadership. The scholars asked: "If military bases in Islamic lands were used to bomb your country, what would be the religious stance the Ummah must take?"
The Sunni scholars of Iran called on the MWL to fulfill its "religious and historical responsibility" by standing with the oppressed rather than acting as a "sword against them." They urged the League to revise its recent statements to foster unity rather than division, to explicitly affirm the right of Islamic nations to defend their sovereignty, and to encourage host nations of foreign military bases to prevent their territories from being launchpads for aggression against neighboring Muslim states.
The letter concludes by reaffirming that Saudi Arabia and Iran serve as the "two wings of the Islamic world," and that the cohesion of the Muslim Ummah remains its most formidable shield against external challenges.
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