By Ibrahim Usman with Agency Reports
As the western plots to widen the rift among Muslims by intimidating other Muslim sects from Shiites, a top Sunni mufti and head of Sunni scholars in France Sheikh Sankoh Muhammadi has embraced Shia Islam after a visit to the holy city of Karbala in Iraq.
Top French Sunni mufti embraces Shia Islam
A top Sunni mufti and head of Sunni scholars in France Sheikh Sankoh Muhammadi has embraced Shia Islam after a visit to the holy city of Karbala in Iraq.
It is very unfortunate that I discovered Shia Islam only at the age of 68, Sheikh Sankoh said in a meeting with Shia scholar Sheikh Walid al-Baaj in Iraq.
He referred to Karbala and Imam Hussain (PBUH) (the third Shia Imam) as great discoveries saying that he had found the reality of Shia Islam and shall propagate it, Shiitenews reported.
Discovering Shia Islam has liberated my brain and senses, making me a free human being, Sheikh Sankoh said, adding that it was his duty to introduce it to those who have not seen its true reality.
The mufti also said he had found the true Islam by visiting the holy shrines of the Ahlul-Bayt (PBUH), the family of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), in Karbala.
The Ahlul-Bayt (PBUH) of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) have been concealed from the eyes of Muslims and I came to discover who they really were when I visited Karbala, Sheikh Sankoh said.
He also asked that Iraq’s senior Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani be informed of his embracing Shia Islam and plans to show its true reality to the world.
Originally from Cameroon, Sheikh Sankoh has been living in France for 43 years. He is the prayer leader and head of the Fatwa Center in France and is known for the high number of mosques he has built in the European country.
Iranian Judiciary Chief: West Seeking to Promote Shi’itophobia to Stir Differences among Muslims
Iranian Judiciary Chief Sadeq Amoli Larijani warned against the western plots to widen the rift among Muslims by intimidating other Muslim sects from Shiites.
"Spreading fear from the Shiite Muslims is a plot by the West to sow the seeds of discord among Muslims," Amoli Larijani said, addressing a meeting of senior judicial officials in Tehran on Wednesday.
He pointed to the West’s Islamophobia scenario in the world, and said, "The Takfiri outlook and thought has been created by the West to ruin the real image of Islam, which is a steady and logical image, through practice of violent acts."
Amoli Larijani called on Muslim scholars, including Shiites and Sunnis, to try to show the real image of Islam, and said, "The Muslim scholars should announce to the world that the performance and thoughts of the Takfiri streams are an insult to Islam and these violent acts are not related to Islam at all."
Underlining Iran’s emphasis on unity among Muslims, he reminded that Shiite Muslim countries, including Iran, support Hamas to the same extent that they support Hezbollah.
On Tuesday, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei described the ISIL terrorist group as just a branch of the Takfiri stream which has troubled the region, and said ISIL is serving the US and Israel’s interests.
Addressing the political and religious figures participating in the ‘International Congress on Takfiri Streams in the Eyes of the Islamic Ulema’ in Tehran on Tuesday, Ayatollah Khamenei described the Takfiri stream as a problem imposed by the arrogant powers on the region in line with the US and Israel’s interests, and said the Takfiri stream should be considered as a phenomenon beyond the ISIL as the terrorist group is only a branch of the Takfiri stream.
"The Takfiri stream and the governments which support it completely move in line with the goals of the arrogant powers, meaning the US, the hegemonic European governments and the Zionist regime, and are practically at their service under an Islamic disguise," he added.
Ayatollah Khamenei said diverting the Islamic Awakening is one of the goals pursued by the arrogant powers by supporting the Takfiri streams, and said, "The forefront of Muslims’ struggle in the region was focused on the occupied Palestine but the Takfiri stream changed this frontline and moved it into the streets and cities of Iraq, Syria, Pakistan and Libya and this is one of the Takfiri stream’s crimes which cannot be forgotten."
He underlined that another instance for showing that the Takfiri stream is serving the US, Britain and the Zionist regime is that its supporters don’t even show a minimum opposition to the Zionist regime and even collaborate
Top Shia cleric shot dead by unknown gunmen in Pakistan
A prominent Shia cleric has been shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan’s capital city of Islamabad.
According to the Pakistani police, Allama Muhammad Nawaz Irfani, a leader of the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) religious and political party, lost his life after unknown assailants opened fire on his car in one of the districts of Islamabad on Wednesday.
Irfani was credited with organizing Pakistan’s local tribes against Taliban militants.
Following the incident, the MWM gave the Pakistani government a 12-hour ultimatum to identify and detain those behind the deadly attack.
Moreover, Pakistan’s Shia Ulema Council condemned Irfani’s murder, and lashed out at the government for failing to protect civilians and giving terrorists a free hand to massacre Shia leaders.
No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the attack, but such assaults are often attributed to pro-Taliban terrorists.
Earlier this month, another Shia cleric, Allama Nisar Abbas, was gunned down by terrorists in the Pakistani city of Peshawar.
Pro-Taliban groups have launched a violent campaign against Shia Muslims and appear to have widened their terror campaign in major Pakistani cities.
According to local sources, militants affiliated to Taliban and al-Qaeda terrorist groups have killed thousands of Shia Muslims in the country.
The killing of Shias in Pakistan has sparked international outrage, with rights groups and regional countries expressing concern over the ongoing carnage. Still, those behind the violence are rarely caught or punished.
Shia Muslims in Pakistan say the government must take decisive action against the forces involved in the targeted killings. They also accuse Islamabad of failing to provide security for the Muslim community.
with the regime in fighting the Muslims.
ISIL terrorists ruin Shia shrines, Sunni mosques in Iraq
ISIL Takfiri terrorists have demolished several mosques and shrines belonging to Shia and Sunni Muslims in the Iraqi province of Salahuddin.
ISIL Takfiri terrorists have demolished several mosques and shrines belonging to Shia and Sunni Muslims in the Iraqi province of Salahuddin.
A video footage, which was released on Tuesday, shows ISIL militants bulldozing and blowing up several Sunni and Shia holy sites in Iraq’s Salahuddin province.
Meanwhile, ISIL terrorists also blew up the historical St. George’s church in the city of Mosul.
The terrorist group “has once again turned to bombing churches and mosques after it lost popularity and many of its members to the airstrikes that have targeted strongholds in different areas of the city," said Saad Mamuzin, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) 14th Branch in Mosul, on Tuesday.
In recent days, the Iraqi army has managed to make numerous gains in the fight against the ISIL militants, pledging to continue the battle against the extremist group.
The Takfiri militants have been carrying out horrific acts of violence, including public decapitations and crucifixions, against all Syrian and Iraqi communities such as Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians and Izadi Kurds.
The West and its regional allies, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, are giving financial and military support to the militants.