Fatwa of Ali Khamenei against insulting revered Sunni figures

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Sayyid Ali Khamenei

A Fatwa prohibiting the insulting of the most religious figures of Sunni Islam was published by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei,[1] on 30 September 2010. The fatwa was issued following the insulting of Aisha by Yasser Al-Habib.[1] This fatwa received various reactions from Shia and Sunni Muslims,[1][2] and from Arabic[3][4][5][6][7] and Western media.[1][8]

The fatwa is binding only upon those performing taqlid to Ayatollah Khamenei. Twelver Shias following numerous other maraji that maybe disagree with the ruling, are not obliged to respect it and may even act against it.[9] Mohammad-Taqi Bahjat, Ali al-Sistani[citation needed], Naser Makarem Shirazi, Abdul-Karim Mousavi Ardebili, Mousa Shubairi Zanjani have similar opinion to Khamenei in this issue.[10][better source needed]

Background[edit]

In August 2010, Al-Habib, a London-based Kuwaiti cleric, celebrated the anniversary of the death of Aisha in Hussainiya and said celebrating her death is necessary for Islamic victory.[11][12] The report of the celebration was published on his website and aired on Fadak Satellite Channel.[12][13] The online publication of Al-Habib's speech about Aisha, especially a video posted on YouTube, provoked anger among Sunni Muslims, who view Aisha as one of the most revered religious figures, and led to protests and reactions in the Muslim countries.[12][14] On 20 September 2010, the Kuwaiti government held a meeting and accused Al-Habib of insulting religious symbols and attempting to excite sedition in Kuwait, and cancelled his citizenship.[1][15] In Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, a number of Shia clerics condemned his actions and they considered it as his abandonment from Shia beliefs.[16]

Fatwa[edit]

Several Saudi Arabian Shia clerics asked Khamenei to express his view on the incident[1][17][14] to stem sectarian tensions in the Persian Gulf region.[1][17] Khamenei said:

Disrespecting the pure wives of the Muhammad prophet should be avoided. The Prophet's wives are all respectable; anyone who insults any of them has insulted the Prophet Muhammad. I resolutely declare this offensive. The commander of the Faithful, Ali treated her eminence Aisha in such a respectful manner. He treated a woman, who had come to fight against him, with the utmost respect because she was the Prophet Muhammad's wife; otherwise the Commander of the Faithful would not stand on a ceremony with anyone: hence, no such disrespect should ever occur.[1][18][19][20]

Reaction[edit]

News agency Reuters described the fatwa issued by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as receiving "widespread praise".[1]

Domestic[edit]

Iranian parliamentarian Ali Motahari said Khamenei's stress on Islamic unity in the fatwa indicates his accurate assessment of the situation.[21] According to Sunni clerics of Golestan Province, Khamenei showed his knowledge and prevented the sedition of enemies.[22]

Foreign[edit]

This fatwa received various reactions in Arabic media, including daily newspapers Al-Anba and AlRay AlAam in Kuwait, As-Safir in Lebanon, Al Watan and Okaz in Saudi Arabia, Al-Hayat in London, the daily newspaper Al-Shorouk and radio and television broadcasters in Egypt, and some Arabic satellite television channels. Al Jazeera reviewed the fatwa and its effect on the Islamic unity, repeating it in several news broadcasts.[1][23][19][17][14] Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the most prominent Sunni scholar in Cairo, praised the fatwa in an interview on Al Jazeera.[1] He said the fatwa had been published at the right time and could help to control sectarian tensions.[24][25] Hassan Nasrallah, secretary-general of Hezbollah of Lebanon, said during a meeting with the leader of the Nahdlatul Ulama in Indonesia Said Aqil Siradj, said the fatwa disappointed those who tried to harm Islamic unity.[26] Many authorities supported the fatwa, including the secretary general of the Lebanese Ummah Movement, Abdul Nasser Al-Jabri; the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, Hammam Saeed;[27][28] Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umri;[29] Sheikh Maher Mezher, the head of the Sunni society to support the resistance in Lebanon;[30] secretary general of the Jordanian Islamic Action Front (IAF), Hamza Mansour;[31] and the Lebanese Islamic Action Front.[32][33]

Abdel Moaty Bayoumi, professor of theology and philosophy at Cairo's Al-Azhar University, said the fatwa was incomplete because it focused only on Aisha.[34] Mohamed Megahed al-Zayat, vice-director of the National Center for Middle East Studies, criticized the Iranian media for not paying much attention to the fatwa. He said it targets Arabs and could not affect Sunni Arab people, pointing to the political background of the fatwa.[34]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Hammond, Andrew (13 October 2010). "Iran leader wins plaudits over sectarian strife fatwa". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  2. ^ Zain, Ali (15 June 2016). "Insulting Mother of the Faithful, Aisha, prohibited by Ayatollah Khamenei". Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  3. ^ "دور فتوى خامنئي في درء الفتنة الطائفية". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  4. ^ "الاستفتاء دفاعاً عن عائشة". Okaz. 6 October 2010. Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  5. ^ "فتوى الامام الخامنئي بتحريم الإساءة إلى رموز أهل السنة والسيدة عائشة تلاقی اهتماماً واسعاً في لبنان". Alahad.
  6. ^ ""فتوى لـ"خامنئي" تحرّم الإساءة لزوجات الرسول ورموز أهل السنة"". Al Arabiya. October 2010. Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  7. ^ "خامنئي يحرّم الإساءة للسيدة عائشة". aljazeera. Archived from the original on 2019-01-28. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  8. ^ Azizi, Arash. "Iran targets 'MI6 Shiites'". Archived from the original on 2017-11-07.
  9. ^ "Alqatrah - Sheikh al-Habib takes an oath to 'publicly' voice opposition to the enemies of Ahlul Bayt and warns al-Khamenei". Archived from the original on 2019-06-22. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
  10. ^ "نظر مراجع تقلید درباره توهین به مقدسات اهل سنت". خبرگزاری مهر | اخبار ایران و جهان | Mehr News Agency (in Persian). 2019-11-06. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  11. ^ "الكويت: الغاء جنسية رجل الدين الشيعي ياسر الحبيب 20 سبتمبر/ أيلول 2010". BBC News عربي. 20 September 2010. Archived from the original on 2018-06-23. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  12. ^ a b c "Yasser Al-Habib, the cleric who lives in London". Archived from the original on 2018-06-19. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  13. ^ "The falsified hadith Attributed to Shia, published on fadak, Ahl-e-Bait TV , Salaam TV channel". 12 September 2013. Archived from the original on 2018-06-20.
  14. ^ a b c "A fatwa that offset the sedition between Muslims". Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  15. ^ "الكويت: إسقاط جنسية الحبيب بعد "التطاول" على عائشة". Archived from the original on 2018-03-03. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  16. ^ "صورة ضوئية مما سبق نشره في اليوم مشايخ ومثقفو الشيعة بالأحساء والبحرين يشجبون احتفالات الشماتة بـ "أم المؤمنين "". 15 September 2010. Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  17. ^ a b c News Desk (8 July 2017). "Khamenei issued a fatwa prohibiting insulting Aisha, Prophet Muhammad's (SAW) wife". Free Press Kashmir. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  18. ^ "Ayatollah Khamenei's Fatwa about Insulting ʻAisha". Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  19. ^ a b "Ayatollah Khamenei's fatwa: Insulting the Mother of the Faithful Aisha is prohibited". Archived from the original on 2019-01-21. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  20. ^ ""Insulting Symbols of Sunni Brothers Forbidden": Imam Khamenei". Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  21. ^ "A practical action towards Islamic unity". 6 October 2010. Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  22. ^ "Shiites and Sunnis neutralize any conspiracy of the enemies of Islam,Supreme Leader is a sign of unity of the Islamic world". 12 October 2010. Archived from the original on 2018-06-20. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  23. ^ "دور فتوى خامنئي في درء الفتنة الطائفية". Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  24. ^ "Islamic unity in the view of the leader of the revolution and its global impacts". 10 August 2016. Archived from the original on 2018-06-20. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  25. ^ وطل, بص. "الأزهر يشيد بفتوى "خامنئي" تحريم سب الصحابة". Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  26. ^ "emphasis of Hassan Nasrallah on the need to preserve the unity of Muslims". 5 October 2010. Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  27. ^ "إخوان الأردن يرحبون بفتوى خامنئي". الجزیره. Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  28. ^ ""إخوان الأردن" يرحبون بفتوى خامنئي بتحريم الإساءة لأم المؤمنين ورموز السنة". Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  29. ^ "Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei's Fatwa against Insulting Of Companions of Prophet". Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  30. ^ "إشادات لبنانية بفتوى الإمام الخامنئي حول رموز السنّة وزوجات الرسول (ص)". 3 October 2010.
  31. ^ ""«العمل الاسلامي" يثمن فتوى خامنئي بتحريم النيل من "أم المؤمنين"". Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  32. ^ "Insulting Symbols of Sunni Brothers Forbidden, By Imam Khamenei". Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  33. ^ "Al-Azhar Chancellor, Religious Leaders Hail Ayatollah Khamenei's Fatwa". Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  34. ^ a b Osman, Ahmed Zaki (5 October 2010). "Experts: Iran fatwa on Prophet's wife will not bridge Sunni-Shia divide". Archived from the original on 2019-04-17. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
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