Iran urges international action to protect holy sites

Iran’s Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani has called on global parliamentary unions to condemn the desecration of a revered Shia Muslim figure’s shrine in Syria and take practical measures to prevent the recurrence of such sacrilegious acts.

According to reports by online media last Thursday, militants in Syria raided the mausoleum of Hujr ibn Adi in the Damascus suburb of Adra, and transferred his remains to an unknown location.

Larijani called on parliamentary unions across the world to denounce the “inhumane move” and pool their resources to restore the Muslim site.

Highlighting the holiness of sacred sites in divine religions, particularly in Islam, as well as underlining the need for respecting sanctities, the top Iranian lawmaker warned that such moves could “foment religious conflicts among the followers of divine religions.”

“The international community is expected to condemn such measures and take the necessary initiatives to safeguard holy shrines and revered sites, and international bodies [are] also [expected to] fulfill their obligations,” he said.

Larijani made the requests in separate messages to President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Abdelwahed Radi, its Secretary General Anders Johnsson, President of Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States (PUOICM) Ahmed Ibrahim al-Taher, its Secretary General Mahmud Erol Kilic and President of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) Mohammed Jihad al-Laham.

Hujr, a close companion of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and a loyal supporter of the first Shia Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (PBUH), led the army of Muslims to victory in several crucial battles.

He and his sons were killed upon the order of the Umayyad Caliph Muawiyah in the year 660 CE.