Holy Quran Encourages Peace
Speaking to IQNA, Sheikh Balal Saeed Sha'aban, secretary general of Lebanon's Islamic Tawhid Movement, referred to verse 9 of Surah al-Hujurat "And if two factions among the believers should fight, then make settlement between the two," and said the Holy Book encourages peace and reconciliation among Muslims.
"Differences among Muslims should not be allowed to turn into enmity and spitefulness," he reiterated.
"If Muslims turn to Quranic solutions and guidance and become true followers of the Holy Book, differences among them will never lead to conflicts."
He referred to extremist activities by some groups in the name of Islam and said extremism is unacceptable in Islam and the Holy Prophet of Islam (PBUH) warned against it.
Sheikh Sha'aban described moderation and sticking to the teachings of the Holy Quran and the Holy prophet (PBUH) as the right path.
He said Muslims should consider anyone who declares the Shahada ( I witness that there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah) as a fellow Muslim an leave it to God, the Almighty, to decide about his conduct.
"No one has the right to consider other (Muslims) as unbelievers," the Lebanese scholar stressed.
He was alluding to extremist Takfiri groups, like the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), who consider anyone opposing their radical ideology as infidels that should be killed.
ISIL is a terrorist group whose members have slaughtered thousands of people and captured large swaths of Syria and northern and western Iraq.
Sheikh Sha'aban condemned ISIL's atrocities in Iraq, including the killing of minorities, and said Islam calls for respecting the rights of followers of other religions.
He said creation of ISIL and provoking religious discord and wars in countries like Iraq, Syria and Lebanon are plots hatched by the world arrogance with the aim of weakening the Islamic Ummah and undermining Islamic resistance in the region,
He underscored the role of Muslim scholars in strengthening Islamic unity and said Shia and Sunni scholars should fulfill their responsibility of working for greater unity in the Muslim Ummah in order to confront enemy conspiracies.
http://iqna.ir/fa/News/1452648
