.:. پايگاه اطلاع رساني شخصي آيت الله قائم مقامي .:.

A statement by Mr. Ayatollah Hosseini Ghaemmaghami (Chairman of Institute for Rational-Islamic law-finding and peace theology (IFRIR) and chairman of "Islamic-European Union of Shia scholars and theologians" (IEUS)

An old scenario is being reissued: it generates hatred, disseminates defamation, provokes emotional outbursts and triggers anger.

In times, when our global community needs more than ever a life of understanding and peace, and there are already enough occasions to produce aggression and hostility by intellectual arson, no man can deny that the repetition of such scenarios, whose bitter results we repeatedly have seen, mean a great betrayal of humanity and world peace. Who could believe the initiators and actors of this scenario had no deliberate intentions to hurt feelings, to generate hate and cause aggression?

One can without any doubt criticize beliefs and convictions of people. No one is exempt from criticism. But feelings and beliefs of people, without regard of their origins, are part of human being and belong to human nature. We can criticize human beliefs and convictions relentlessly, and make their accuracy radically questioned and even denied. But we can not defame and hurt the feelings and emotions that result from these beliefs. One such step is the undermining of human dignity and freedom of religion and conscience.

Human rights principles and the laws based on it, include sufficient capacity to protect human dignity and the freedom of religion and conscience in democratic societies. The question is, why these capacities still do not prevent the recurrence of such incidents, which consistently leave irreparable damage? Why are the defamed and injured people, who see their dignity and freedom of conscience endangered, not given the assurance, that the law protects their interests and human rights? Only then extremists and supporters of aggression and violence could be prevented from finding new reasons for their actions.

I would like to remind my Muslim brothers and sisters to an important point:

Of course everyone is allowed to protest against defamation and slander. This is even a human and religious obligation. But this right may not be exercised by means of injustice, and religious duty can not be mixed with sin. Violence, insulting and endangering people, as well as the use of illegal means to protect your own rights, are themselves illegal and illegitimate. Such illegal actions contradict the style of a prophet, whose primer concern is the realization of grace and love among men.

The Prophet of Islam was often attacked and vilified by his opponents, directly and in the worst kind. Although in Medina he disposed about power and influence, he answered these hostilities only with tolerance and human grace, which embarrassed his enemies.

Quran teaches us unequivocally, that we may never reach the good with the help of bad deeds. "Evil” can not be eliminated with a little "evil". Only with the repetition of good deeds, evil will be defeated.

Violence or threat to human beings and objects are without doubt contrary to the quranic and prophetic teachings, and belong without exception to the religious prohibitions. The disregard of this prohibition is many times as worse and hurt the soul of the Prophet, when such actions are carried out in the name of Islam and Quran.

Every act of violence and hate generating action can only serve the scenario of the generators of hatred, makes them come closer to their inhuman goal, to the expansion of hate and violence.

Extremist positions (regardless of their initial situation) may superficially oppose to each other; in fact, each position acts its part in promoting the project of violence. Violence is a project in terms of affirmation of aggression and hostility between people; violence accelerates the rejection of peace, reason and moderation.

Finally, I hope that intellectuals, democrats and the elite of all religious communities, as well as all thinking and peace loving people, engage themselves for education and promotion of human rights also concerning the sphere of religion and freedom of conscience; and that lawyers and politicians intensify their efforts to realize these freedoms in society in word and deed. This allows to draw a clearer line between freedom of expression and criticism on one hand and individual human rights on the other hand, to prevent that freedom is abused to violate the dignity of persons.

With these efforts is to ensure that we never again witness acts, which promote violence and threaten world peace.

Ayatollah Seyed Abbas Hosseini Ghaemmaghami

17.09.2012