Shi'ite, Sunni clerics meet in Iran to discuss IS threat
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 24 November 2014 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Shi'ite, Sunni clerics meet in Iran to discuss IS threat, 24 November 2014, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/548ea91c15.html [accessed 22 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
November 24, 2014
Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi, appealed on November 23 for consensus among Islam's two main branches – urging all Muslim clerics to work together to discredit groups espousing extremism.
Shi'ite and Sunni clerics from 80 countries have gathered in Iran's holy city of Qom discuss how to combat Islamic State (IS) militants.
The conference organizer, Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi, appealed on November 23 for consensus among Islam's two main branches – urging all Muslim clerics to work together to discredit groups espousing extremism.
Shirazi, a prominent Shi'ite cleric who has a large following in Iran and abroad, said that "military attacks against this deviant group [IS] are necessary but insufficient."
He said that "the roots of their violent ideology must be dried up" by Muslim scholars who "preach the true, moderate face of Islam and expose the ugly face of IS ideology."
Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, also a Shi'a, said IS militants were the biggest threat to Islam.
Other clerics repeated widely circulated conspiracy theories that the United States and Israel created the IS group to sow discord in the Muslim world.
Based on reporting by AP and IRNA
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
