Int’l Congress to Honor Influential Muslim Figures, Including Nasrallah

IQNA – Religious leaders in Iran have announced the launch of an international congress aimed at honoring three prominent Islamic figures whose legacy has shaped religious, cultural, and political thought across the Muslim world.

Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, Director of Iran’s Islamic Seminaries, announced the upcoming International Congress of the Trustees of the Messengers (Kongere-ye Amana-ye-Rosol) at a press conference held in Qom on July 26.

The event will commemorate three key figures: the late Martyr Seyed Hassan Nasrallah, Grand Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi Golpayegani, and Ayatollah Shahrestani.

“The congress seeks to introduce scholars who have left a significant impact on the region’s social, political, and cultural landscape,” Arafi said. He emphasized that the academic focus of the congress would revolve around the seminaries of Qom and Najaf, “two historical centers of Shia thought.”

Ayatollah Arafi said the two seminaries have played pivotal roles in shaping modern Islamic discourse. “Great figures have emerged from Qom and Najaf, whose influence has reached all corners of the Muslim world,” he noted.

The congress will spotlight Martyr Seyed Hassan Nasrallah. Nasrallah, who studied in both Qom and Najaf and was deeply influenced by Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr, is celebrated for his strategic vision and leadership in resistance movements. “His sharp political insight changed the regional equation and made him a central figure in the Islamic world,” Arafi said.

Nasrallah, the iconic leader of the Lebanese resistance, was assassinated in Israel’s strikes on southern Beirut on September 27, 2024, following the regime’s week-long bombing campaign that hit many areas from the country’s south to the capital.

The congress will also pay tribute to Grand Ayatollah Safi Golpayegani, described by Arafi as a “towering figure in theology, jurisprudence, and Mahdism,” whose writings addressed contemporary religious questions and will be reissued and translated into multiple languages.

Ayatollah Shahrestani, the third figure to be honored, is lesser known but had a major historical impact. According to the event’s secretary, Hojjatoleslam Reza Eskandari, Shahrestani actively resisted British colonialism a century ago alongside Iraqi scholars, took up arms, and was later appointed Iraq’s Minister of Education.

“He published Islamic journals, founded scientific societies across Bahrain, India, and Yemen, and led the Iraqi Supreme Court for 13 years,” Eskandari said. Despite being blind for three decades, Shahrestani authored 390 works, many still unpublished, with plans underway to print them in a 30-volume series stored in Kazemain.

Eskandari added that a call for academic papers has now been issued. The congress will feature scientific meetings in Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon, while 25 Islamic institutions across the three countries will support the initiative, with Qom leading the coordination.

Memorial ceremonies are scheduled for 2026, 2027, and 2028 for Nasrallah, Golpayegani, and Shahrestani respectively, with exact dates to be announced soon.

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