Palestine, The Main Concern of World Justice Seekers: South African Cleric
On the sidelines of the 36th International Conference of Islamic Unity in Tehran last week, Sheikh Shuaib Booley, the chairperson of The Islamic Council of Ahl al-Bayt (AS) in South Africa, spoke to IQNA about the Islamic unity as well as regional topics.
"The Islamic Council of Ahl al-Bayt (AS)" was established in South Africa three years ago," he said. "The reason for the formation of this council was that the Shias of this country were very scattered and had differences with each other," he added.
He went on to say "Three years ago, Ayatollah Khamenei announced that South African Shias should be united. Thus some Conferences were held and deep and hot discussions took place there, and finally we held elections, and this is how the Islamic Council of Ahl al-Bayt (AS) was established."
Regarding the coexistence between Islamic schools and the followers of other religions of this country he said, "We have problems among the Islamic religions, for example, with the Wahhabis. But we have very good relations with many Sunni organizations. We have problems with Takfiris who are a small minority. But it is not a problem that cannot be overcomed. In general, we have good relations with non-Muslims, especially Christians and followers of native religions of this country."
He emphasized that conferences such as "Islamic Unity Conference" are very important. "During the outbreak of Corona, we had online conferences and discussed various issues. This year we were invited and are in person at the conference. I think these conferences are very important because unfortunately Muslims are very scattered. It is because of the division and these internal differences that we have not been able to liberate Palestine so far."
"Palestine is the most important issue that not only Muslims face, but anyone who seeks justice is concerned about this issue. This conference helps a lot to bring people's hearts together. Not only do hearts come together, but minds also talk about the issues we face," Booley added.
"In my opinion, the greatest enemy among the Ummah is ignorance, and I hope this conference will raise awareness and we expect that when the participants return to their countries, they will tell their communities how important unity is," he added.
