Scholar Blames Sacrilege of Islamic Sanctities on Muslim Ignorance

A prominent Iranian scholar strongly condemned the recent desecration of the shrine of a highly revered Shiite figure in Syria by Wahhabi extremists, and said the tragic event took place due to Muslims’ negligence.

“Today, if the Wahhabis boldly insult the shrine of the Prophet (Mohammad (PBUH))’s old friend, (it happens because) they have stolen our thoughts long time ago,” Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the Islamic World Peace Forum Touba Kermani said in Tehran on Wednesday.

Armed rebels affiliated to the Wahhabi extremists attacked the mausoleum of Hojr ibn Oday, one of the close companions of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), in the Damascus suburb of Adra last week and exhumed his grave, taking his remains to an unknown location. Yet, the Wahhabi extremist groups continued their desecration of Muslim sanctities and damaged Ja’far al-Tayyar, another close companion of the Prophet and the brother of Shiite Islam’s first Imam, and torched his grave in Karak province in Southern Jordan two days later.

“If we continue our negligence, they will embark on exhumation of the holy prophet’s shrine and this will not happen but through the enemy front’s approach and our negligence as Muslims,” she added.

The Nusra Front, affiliated to the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization, has taken up the responsibility for the desecration of Oday’s grave.

Hojr was a staunch supporter of the first Shiite Imam Ali (PBUH) and led the army of Muslims to victory in several crucial battles. He and his sons finally fell victim to their loyalty to Imam Ali (PBUH) and were murdered at the order of the Umayyad Caliph Muawiyah in the year 660 CE.

The sacrilege of Islamic sanctities has aroused intense feelings in Muslim lands, specially in Shiite communities.

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei strongly condemned the recent desecration of the Oday’s shrine, and called on all Muslims across the world to continue their protests against the sacrilege of Islamic sanctities.

Addressing a large number of Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday, the Supreme Leader praised the Sunni Muslims’ reaction to the Wahhabi extremists’ attack on the mausoleum of Hojr ibn Oday in the Damascus suburb of Adra, and said their protest displayed the high level of their vigilance and deep insight.

“Muslims’ reaction to this bitter accident and condemnation of this move should continue because if scientific figures, intellectuals and political elites of the Islamic Ummah don’t fulfill their duty, conspiracies will not stop at this limit,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

He said that Muslim intellectuals and scholars should prevent any further spread of such plots by means of political methods, religious fatwas (decrees), articles and other peaceful measures.

Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the clear footprints of enemies revealed in such sacrilegious moves, and blamed those who have kept silent on the development, saying, “International organizations and figures as well as those politicians who mourn for the destruction of an ancient artifact, have kept mum about this flagrant insult.”

In Yemen, leader of the Houthi Movement Seyed Abdelmalik Al-Houthi in a statement on Saturday condemned the desecration of Hojr’s shrine.

“This action which has been done in line with the Zionists’ criminal plots seeks to increase religious intolerances,” the leader of Yemen’s Houthi Movement said.

Al-Houthi described the desecration of Hojr as an immoral and inhumane action.

In Iran, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani in a message condemned the sacrilege of Islam’s religious sanctities.

In his message, the speaker condemned “the Syrian terrorists’ new crime of desecrating and exhuming the grave of Hojr ibn Oday”.

Larijani called on the UN and UNESCO to take the necessary action to prevent the destruction of Muslims’ religious and cultural sites.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian also strongly condemned the desecration of the shrine of a prominent Shiite figure in Syria by Wahhabi extremists.

Amir Abdollahian said that the perpetrators of such ugly acts are affiliated to the Zionist regime who have conducted similar attempts at holy Muslim sites in the occupied territories

The Iranian deputy foreign minister warned the masterminds of such inhumane acts that they will receive a response that will make them sorry for what they have done.

Also, large groups of Iranian seminary students and teachers staged protest gatherings in Tehran and Qom on Saturday to strongly condemn the Wahhabi extremists’ insult to Shiite Islam.

Seminary students and teachers convened at the shrine of Hazrat Abdolazim Hassani in Southern Tehran on Saturday reading a message of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, who condemned the sacrilegious act.
The protesters also chanted slogans against the perpetrators and their Wahhabi supporters. They also issued a statement condemning the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) for conducting such shameful acts.

In a similar move in Qom, the seminary students and teachers gathered in the city’s Feyzieh seminary school today and condemned desecration of Hojr ibn Oday.

They read the messages of Grand Ayatollahs Golpayegani and Makarem Shirazi who condemned the desecration of Hojr ibn Oday’s shrine.

Reports from Iraq also said that similar moves had been done by Shiite seminaries in the holy city of Najaf.

Late last week, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki also condemned the desecration of the grave of Hojr by foreign-backed terrorists.

In a statement issued by his office, Maliki described the attack as a “mean act” that targeted the unity among Muslims.