DOHA: Noted Qatar-based Islamic scholar and Chairman of International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), Dr Yousuf Al Qaradawi, yesterday said he was less optimistic about chances of a peaceful coexistence between Sunnis and Shias in Iraq and elsewhere in the Islamic world.
Addressing a press conference in connection with the 10th anniversary of IUMS, Dr Al Qaradawi called on Sunni and Shia leaders to stop inflammatory speeches and comments against each other.
“For many years I have been calling to bring Sunnis and Shias together. I attended many conferences in this regard. I went to Tehran and met Ali Khamenei (Supreme Leader of Iran). Later, I discovered that they were not serious. Their aim was to convert people from Sunnism to Shiism,” he said.
Dr Al Qaradawi said in earlier Islamic history, there were good models of coexistence between Sunnis and Shias.
On Iraq, he said, “People should differentiate between ISIS and other groups fighting against the Al Maliki regime. Sunnis are oppressed all over the world, especially in Iraq, after Al Maliki came to power.”
Al Qaradawi appealed to people all over the Islamic world, especially Qataris, to support IUMS.
IUMS’ next general assembly meeting will be held in Turkey on August 20-22, he said.
“We started with 300 scholars. About 1,000 scholars are expected to attend the meeting. Most of them are poor who need financial support,” said the scholar. IUMS also needs support to establish schools and universities.
Dr Ali Ali Quradaghi, IUMS General Secretary, also addressed the press conference.
The Peninsula
