Sayyed Ali Fadlallah: Sunni-Shi’a dissension in Middle East avoids progress

In a meeting with Germany’s ambassador to Lebanon, the Friday prayer leader of Beirut stated that religious and ethnic differences avoids any progress and a solution to the crises facing the Middle East.

In a statement to Hujjat al-Islam Fadlallah’s office, Martin Huth, the German Ambassador to Lebanon expressed his pleasure in visiting His Eminence and praised the revered Shi’a source of emulation’s message of peace, tolerance and moderation.

Huth pointed out that the Middle East faces an atmosphere of turmoil and is in need of such a message again, reported Rasa.

The Lebanese scholar explained the seditious plans of the enemies in the Middle East, saying: “In the region we have not witnessed conflict between the followers of Shi’a and Sunni Islam on their own behalf, but rather these governments are the main causes of sectarian conflict among Muslims…. These external factors have exacerbated the crisis rather than solve it.”

Hujjat al-Islam Fadlallah added that due to internal conflicts in the region, there is only one solution and that is dialogue and negotiations without prejudice. “Such actions can reduce the level of violence in society and the negotiations must not be delayed,” he said.

Referring to the issue of displaced Syrians, His Eminence stressed the importance of the role played by Germany in the issues facing the region and praised that Germany’s acceptance of Syrian refugees fleeing their country due to the pressures of war and strife, saying: “This is a humanitarian act and this shows that the European country can help solve the problems of the region.”

He stressed that removing the framework of human behaviour from the field of government and international relations only further deepens the extent of the crisis and complicates problems. “The international community must strive to solve the problems in the region based on fair actions. Partisanism cannot solve these problems,” he said.

The Friday prayer leader of Beirut said that the differences between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims are a tool in the hands of the enemies of Islam and added that the “colonists” use religious slogans and the promotion of ethnic and religious conflicts in the region to create neglect and carelessness among Muslims in regard to their colonial projects.

Hujjat al-Islam Fadlallah said that the rule of one group or political party will never allow the country to progress. “The cornerstone of all progress in to create a culture of engagement and dialogue without prejudice,” he said.