A report on Commission for Communications and Networking of the Asia-Oceania region in the 7th General Assembly of AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly

News News of the Seventh Summit of the General Assembly

Friday, 02 September 2022

On the second day of the 7^th General Assembly of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, the session of the Commission for Communications and Networking of the Asia-Oceania region was held in Iran International Conference Center in Tehran with the presence of Shiite thinkers and ulama.

On Friday, September 2, 2022, on the second day of the 7th General Assembly of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, the session of the Commission for Communications and Networking of the Asia-Oceania region was held in hall number two of Iran International Conference Center in Tehran with the presence of Shiite thinkers and ulama.

At the beginning of this session, Hojat al-Islam Sayed Abul Hassan Nawab, the Chairman of the Commission for Communication and Networking and a member of the Supreme Council of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly stated, “Although the Shiites make up four percent of the world’s population, they do not have a position they deserve.”

“Shiites should define long-term goals for themselves. We, Shiites should take four percent or even more of the world’s world facilities and shine in the fields of knowledge, politics, economy and international awards like Nobel. Shiites should try to win the Nobel Prize in order to establish the position of Shiites in the world,” he continued.

Regarding Iran’s achievements, a member of the Supreme Council of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly said, “Iran is the 14^th country in the world in scientific statistics and the 16^th in terms of area. Iran is one of the top 10 countries in the world in medicine.”

In the need to strengthen the position of Shiites in the world, he said, “The Shiites of the world must strive to reach the position they deserve. Jews, although scattered, but because of their cohesion, dominate many fields around the world.”

Furter in the session, Haj Hussain Al-Dirani Abu Ali, the head of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) Assembly in Sydney, Australia, while pointing out the role of Ashura in the unity of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) followers, emphasized the unity among Muslims.

The prerequisite for jihad of enlightenment is to build trust

Then, on the situation of Shiites in Afghanistan, Sayeda Halimah Hosseini from this country said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran is a power to support the Shiites. However, we are still in the minority in our country.”

“We need coherent centers for jihad of enlightenment. Before the jihad of enlightenment, in turn, the trust is needed. Also, we should go towards the localization of Shiite media outlets,” she added.

Feke news and sedition is the biggest challenge against Shiites in Indonesia

Sayed Zaher Yahya Varsalan, Secretary-General of AhlulBayt Organization of Indonesia (ABI), on the intellectual background of his organization stated, “In 2010, the Indonesia agreed with the establishment of an organization to preserve the country’s Shia community.”

“Indonesian Shiites have their own culture and want to preserve their identity. Of course, they know that no one will roll out a red carpet for them. Friends believe that they will definitely face challenges and threats for their activities,” he added.

Regarding the threats against the Indonesian Shiite community, Yahya said, “The main challenge and threat that Indonesian Shiites face is fake news, deception, sedition and slander against Shiites. It has reached a point where, for example, many people in Indonesia ask whether Shiites in Indonesia are loyal to their country or not?!”

“Unfortunately, we see that there are enemies who are actively producing lies, but the Shiites have not yet succeeded in confronting them all,” he continued.

“Many questions are asked about Shiite teachings. Because people get their information from any unreliable sources and different media outlets, the situation of Shiites is not good in Indonesia. Some friends even play in the enemy’s playground,” Yahya added.

“Indonesian ulama are trying to start the jihad of enlightenment. But unfortunately, explanations and communication are not effective and do not solve anything,” he continued.

Pakistani Shiites need a link for unity

Further in the session, Fatima Motahari from Pakistan, while being pleased with the holding of the General Assembly of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly stated, “Lady Zainab (a.s.) is the best role model for the women of the Islamic world in soft war. If it wasn’t for Lady Zainab (a.s.), Karbala would remain in Karbala. She introduced herself in Karbala both by his words and by his status.”

Regarding the situation of Shiites in Pakistan, she said, “There are 22 million Shiites in Pakistan is people, among whom many are cultural activists. But each of these activists works independently and there is no link. Shiites groups in Pakistan are not united. It will be very helpful it the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly unite them.

The AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly should make Shiite islands an archipelago

In the continuation of the session, Hojat al-Islam Sheikh Qadir Akaras, the head of the Union of Turkish Ulama (Ehlader), on the situation of Shiites in this country said, “Despite the different tendencies among Turkish Shiites, there is a good unity among them. We have local Assemblies with 50 preachers and all of them operate under the supervision of the Union of Turkish Ulama.”

“In Turkey, channels 14 and 12 are for Shiites, whose owners are Azeri. Alawites of Turkey also have several TV channels, institutions and publications and have translated more than 1000 works so far,” he added.

“We speak the same language with the Shiites of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Russia, and we had good communication before Covid-19. However, we did not use the capacities properly. It will be very good if the Assembly unites us. We are like islands that it would be good if the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly turns it into a united archipelago,” he suggested in the end.

The 70-year experience of Islamic education in Iran should be used

Then, Dr. Mojtaba Noruzi from Noor Mobin Institute, on the basic requirements of networking stated, “Creating sustainable networks requires norms, interest, and affection between members. Common scientific foundations are also needed in this regard.”

“Building a school is a sustainable way to create a network. Activities should be done at three levels of macro scale, content production and school building. Building schools can revolutionize the direction and social movement of a society,” he added.

“In Iran, there is a 70-year experience of Islamic education, which has become Iran’s effective accumulated experience, and this experience should be used,” Noruzi said.

“Islam of Mecca” and “Virtues of our Words” approaches have been successful in promoting Shia in Japan

Further in this session, while commemorating the late Mrs. Kuniko Yamamura (Saba Babai) and the late Muhammad Al-Qaim Sawada, it was announced the Shiites population in Japan is about 150 thousand people. Also, to promote Shia in East Asia and communities that are not familiar with Islam, it was emphasized to use a method called “Buddhists following AhlulBayt”.

Also, Kazem Abe and Mrs. Nonoyama, who have converted to Islam and AhlulBayt (a.s.) school, described the “Islam of Mecca” and “Virtues of our Words” approaches as very effective.

Explaining the “Islam of Mecca” approach in Japan, Abe said, “Japanese people have had no information about Islam. Therefore, Islam and Shia there is like the first encounter of Islam for people of Mecca. Therefore, we offered them the fundamental principles.”

Also, explaining the “Virtues of our Words” approach, Nonoyama stated, “In this approach, for example, we translate hadiths of Imam Reza (a.s.) into Japanese. So that in a group of women, we discuss any hadith that we think is according to the taste and desire of the group, and in this way the love towards AhlulBayt (a.s.) increases.”

There are 60 thousand Shiites in Bangladesh

Then, Hojat al-Islam Sayed Ebrahim Khalil Razavi, the head of AhlulBayt (a.s.) Foundation of Bangladesh said, “There are 60 thousand Shiites in Bangladesh. It is necessary for Islamic Republic of Iran to have a managerial effort to defend the school of AhlulBayt (a.s.) in other parts of the world.”

Creating networks of Shiites should be localized

On the situation of Shiites in China, Hojat al-Islam Mohammad Reza Saleh, the former representative of Al-Mustafa (p.b.u.h) International University in this country, stated, “The Muslim population of China is 70 million people, most of whom are Hanafi. In Xinjiang, less than 10,000 Twelver Shiites live. There are also 40,000 Tajik Ismaili Shiites.”

Regarding the necessity of creating a network of Shiites, he said, “We should not, and cannot, provide the same networking strategy for the entire world. Although there are common principles in networking, creating a network anywhere should be localized according to the local conditions.”

“In creating a network, we must have goal setting. For example, we should have a long-term goal setting, for example five years, and a short-term goal setting. Also, our objective should be accessible and meet the needs,” he added.

“In any country, its laws must be respected. We cannot be indifferent to the laws of other countries. We need plan. Also, security principles must be observed. The creation of the network should be overt or covert according to the conditions,” he continued.

In explaining the weaknesses of networking, Saleh stated, “We have some weaknesses. Sometimes we are not into jihadi (here it means voluntary) activities. Each of us should be like a Soleimani martyr, but on the cultural front. We lack motivation. Finally, the creation of the network should have several linguistic models and should be multilingual.”

There is a need for the Shiites of every country to have a representative in the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly

At the end of this session, Hojat al-Islam Mirza Gholam Abbas, head of Myanmar’s Cleric Community, in a short speech explained about the situation of Shiites in the country, and said, “These Shiites mostly come from India and Pakistan. They are about 5 thousand people and mostly traditionalists.”

“With the centrality of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, the Shiites of the world should think together. It would be good if there is a representative from each country in the Assembly who provide a report on the situation and events of his region for other representatives once every three months,” he stated in the end.

7th General Assembly AhlulBayt (a_s_) World Assembly Asia Communications and Networking Oceania