Iranian religious leader applauds Pope Francis for his stance on Islam and IS

One of the top religious leaders in Iran has told Pope Francis that he is delighted that the head of the "Catholic world" has been quick to separate the activity of terrorists and those who support terror groups like Islamic State (IS), from practising Muslims.

Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi of Qom also stressed that it is necessary for religious leaders to adopt clear stances when it comes to accusing religions of violence.

Francis made the comments about the separation of IS from Islam on the aircraft home from World Youth Day in Poland at the end of July. He was replying to a request for comment from the Vatican press corps about the death of Fr Jacques Hamel who was killed by jihadists during morning Mass at a church near the city of Rouen on 26 July.

“I do not believe it is right to identify Islam with violence,” Pope Francis told journalists on the papal flight back to Rome. “This is not right and it is not true. I don’t like to speak about Islamic violence,” the Pope said, taking into account that one sees violence every day in the newspapers, even at the hands of baptised Catholics. “There are violent Catholics!” he said. “If I speak of Islamic violence, I must speak of Catholic violence.”

“Terrorism is everywhere. You think of tribal terrorism of some African countries,” he said. “Terrorism grows when there are no other options and when the centre of the global economy is a the god of money and not the person – men and women – this is already the first terrorism!”

Shirazi agreed with Pope Francis saying, “such barbaric acts have nothing to do with divinely-sent religions and their various schools of thought.” “Rather, they originate from the inferior materialistic objectives of some corrupt superpowers who seek nothing but to obtain more illegitimate wealth,” he said. Shirazi prayed for the success of the Pope “in spreading kindness, peace and spirituality in the world”.

Earlier this month, the Grand Ayatollah told a meeting between the two religions that: "Inter-religious cooperation can solve wars, disputes, ethical evils and political and economic problems. We are happy that [the] Vatican has set up a ministry to deal with the issues of peace and justice."

Shirazi also warned the Pope that Christianity and Islam are facing three common challenges which both religions need to tackle simultaneously: blasphemy, extremism and ethical evils.

The Grand Ayatollah is one of a group of senior Shia and Sunni Muslim clerics who have begun an open dialogue with the Vatican and each other. Earlier this year the Grand Ayatollah welcomed the comments of Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayib, the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, in Egypt and considered to be the leading Sunni cleric over a harsher stance on Islam. Earlier this year Al-Tayib issued a fatwa prohibiting the violence against humanity perpetrated by the Islamic extremist groups.    (The Tablet)

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Debate about the role of Muslims in fighting Islamist terrorism: IS is not just a Muslim problem