President, Parliament Speaker will deliver speeches at opening, closing of the 7th General Assembly

News News of the Seventh Summit of the General Assembly

Tuesday, 30 August 2022

The head of the department for international affairs of the AhlulBayt World Assembly (a.s.) stated, “For more than a year, all sections of the Assembly have been planning the content of the 7^th General Assembly.”

The 7^th General Assembly of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly will be held from September 1 to 3, 2022, with the presence of Iranian and non-Iranian guests in the Iran International Conference Center in Tehran.

On the eve of the Seventh Summit of the General Assembly of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, ABNA reporter interviewed Hojat al-Islam Moinian, the head of the department for international affairs of the AhlulBayt World Assembly (a.s.).

In this interview, Hojat al-Islam Mohammad Ali Moinian explained about the philosophy and objectives of establishing the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, the role and activities of the General Assembly in the structure of the of AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, the purpose, importance and necessity of holding the 7^th General Assembly, the reason for the delay in holding the 7^th General Assembly and the differences of the 7^th General Assembly with the previous Assemblies.

The interview is as follows:

ABNA reporter: What was the philosophy and objectives of establishing the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly?

Moinian: After the victory of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, establishing the Velayat Faqih in the government, implementing the orders of Islam and Shiism in the administrative body of the country, the Shiites of the world turned their attention to the Islamic Republic of Iran. With that great transformation and Revolution, the late Imam Khomeini (r.a.) proved that Islam can be the basis of governance and manage the society in the best way.

This expectation of the Shia figures and elders, whose hope was in the Islamic Republic of Iran was taken into consideration. Also, to meet this need and pay attention to other needs, it was necessary for the Islamic Republic to have a special planning.

In 1990, at the request of a group of Shite figures from different countries, the proposal to establish the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly as a united system and independent organization was presented to plan and manage the issues of the followers of AhlulBayt (a.s.) in different countries, with the centrality of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The proposal was approved by the Supreme Leader of the Revolution, and in that year the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly was established.

The most important objectives of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly are revival and expansion of culture and teachings of pure Islam, protecting and defending the sanctity of the Quran, the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) and his infallible AhlulBayt (a.s.), creating and strengthening unity among the followers of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) in different countries under the leadership of the Supreme Leader, to consolidate the unity of the Islamic Ummah in order to rationally confront the plots of arrogance and terrorism, defending the Muslim community and the followers of AhlulBayt (a.s.) in the face of the threats. Another goal of the Assembly is to help grow and improve the cultural, propagational, social and economic status of the followers of AhlulBayt (a.s.). This should happen and the growth and promotion of the Shia community in the world should be seen.

ABNA reporter: What are the roles and activities of the General Assembly in the structure of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly?

Moinian: The General Assembly is one of the pillars of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly. Four pillars have been considered for the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly according to its statute, the main pillar of which is the supreme Shiite Marjaiat, and currently the Supreme Leader is in that position.

The second pillar is the General Assembly, which consists of figures who are official members of the Assembly and are influential in their countries and have institutions and associations in the field of religion, propagation and education. These figures are in charge of the management of Shia communities in their countries.

The General Assembly has about 700 members. According to the statute of the Assembly, these members gather every four years and discuss the latest issues, problems and needs of the Shiites of the world. At the end of this quadrennial conference with specialized discussions in special commissions, some approvals will be placed on the agenda of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly as action plans for the next four years. The secretariat of the Assembly in Tehran is in charge of providing the conditions for the realization and implementation of the mentioned approvals.

The third pillar of the Assembly is the Supreme Council, which consists of more prominent figures of the General Assembly, and its task is to make macro policies and determine the main strategies of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.

The Secretary-General is the fourth pillar of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, who has a certain legal status. From the Supreme Council members, a person is elected as the Secretary-General who is in charge of managing and implementing the approvals and programs.

The conference of the General Assembly of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly is a main meeting and its output and approvals are the agenda of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly in the next four years so that the activities ne managed accordingly.

ABNA reporter: Please explain the purpose, importance and necessity of the 7^th General Assembly.

Moinian: According to its statute, the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly should hold the General Assembly conference every four years and invite active and related figures to benefit from their opinions and suggestions appropriately.

It is clear that the importance and necessity of this conference is to implement the text of the statute. Without using the capacity of local members, it is not feasible to make accurate, clear and practical decisions. It is necessary to use the face-to-face meeting of the members and directly benefit from their opinions. If it wasn’t in this way, our view would only be domestic and Iranian, and we wouldn’t be able to adopt a comprehensive program suitable for Shiites around the world.

On the other hand, the meeting of Shia figures strengthens the friendship between them. These figures from different countries establish wide and profound communication with each other by exchanging experiences and activities they have in their institutions and associations.

The members of the General Assembly of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly will visit the Supreme Leader and he, as a person who plays an essential role in the society of followers of AhlulBayt (a.s.) and Shiites, will raise important and key points. His words have lessons for members and personalities to seriously perform their activities. The points that the Supreme Leader clarified with his complete informational authority about the events of the region, are definitely effective, and are a beacon for the future of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.

ABNA reporter: What are your department’s activities for this year’s Assembly?

Moinian: The content planned for the 7^th Assembly is comprehensive. For more than a year, all sections of the Assembly have been planning the content of the 7^th General Assembly.

For the 7^th General Assembly of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, four commissions have been considered: Commission of the Economy of the Followers of the AhlulBayt (a.s.), Commission of the Local Assemblies Following the AhlulBayt (a.s.) and Missionaries, Commission of the Communication and Networking, and Commission of the Media and Cyberspace. The first thing that the International Committee of the Secretariat of the 7^th Assembly, as the front line of communication with members, figures, centers and institutions, did was to obtain the main axes under each commission according to the conditions of the day, time and place of each figure in each region.

Using the experiences that were available in the database of the International Affairs Department and the records of the past summits, after categorizing, the set of these axes and topics were summarized along with the proposed strategies and solutions. About 30 specialized and detailed meetings were held on commissions’ contents. Eventually, these content topics were given to the Scientific-Cultural Committee, and they also by holding specialized meetings finalized the practical content for the commissions. This experience was unprecedented in the previous Assemblies that in an auspicious event, in a joint and interactive way the content of the commissions be created and prepared.

Other activity that the International Committee specifically follows is preparing a report on the situation of Shiites, which was carried out with the efforts of our colleagues in the Department for the International Affairs, and using past experiences, the database, the capacity of other similar organizations, interviews and consultation meetings with educated and experienced people. Therefore, comprehensive information on the situation of Shiites in about 150 countries has been prepared in a detailed and analytical manner, which will be presented at the conference.

It has always been the practice to present the performance of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly to the members of the Assembly during the period from the end of each General Assembly to the next. Therefore, the seven-year performance report of the Assembly was prepared by the Department of International Affairs.

Another issue that the committee for international affairs professionally follows up, is the “introduction of the guests, and it is being compiled and prepared in a short booklet. The biographies and basic information of the guests we serve at the General Assembly are mentioned in this booklet and will certainly be useful for different departments.

The Department for International Affairs has a booth at the exhibition which is held on the sideline of the conference. The capacity of members and guests from different countries is supposed to be used in this exhibition. Also, conditions are provided for the guests to present their latest works and reports.

ABNA reporter: Please explain the process of holding and the programs of the 7^th Assembly.

Moinian: The welcoming ceremony for the guests participating in the 7th meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 31, during which they will visit AhlulBayt (a.s.) International University and then visit the shrine of Imam Khomeini (r.a.).

The opening ceremony of the 7^th General Assembly will be held on Thursday at 8:30 AM in the presence of Hojat al-Islam Dr. Ebrahim Raisi, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Ayatollah Reza Ramazani, Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly in the Iran International Conference Center.

The session of the Commission of the Local Assemblies Following the AhlulBayt (a.s.) and Missionaries, the session of the review of regional developments with the speech of Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, the session of the Commission of the Economy of the Followers of the AhlulBayt (a.s.), the session of the Commission of the Communication and Networking, the session of the Commission of the Media and Cyberspace, the session on family and women, and a meeting with academics will be held On Thursday and Friday.

The participants in the 7^th General Assembly of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly will visit the Supreme Leader. The closing ceremony of the 7^th General Assembly will be held on Saturday evening with the presence of Dr. Qalibaf, Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly.

On Sunday, September 4, 2022, the guests will go for the pilgrimage of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (a.s.) and visit the centers of Astan Quds Razavi.

ABNA reporter: After the programs are over and the guests return to their countries, will the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly communicate with them?

Moinian: Yes, the Assembly is definitely a great opportunity. Some of the guests participating in this year’s General Assembly are new and have not attended previous Assemblies. The experts of the Department for the International Affairs are always in deep interaction and communication with guests on various occasions. The AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly will do its best to help the members in the path of their struggle in propagating and explaining the AhlulBayt (a.s.) school. Communication with members will continue and increase. In fact, the outcome of the General Assembly will be summarized in communications.