On the occasion of the birthdays of the Holy Prophet Mohammed (SAW) and the Imam Jafar Sadeq (AS) the 14th International Conference on Islamic Unity was held at the Islamic Summit Conference Centre, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, last month. The conference formed part of activities planned in connection with "Islamic Unity Week" declared by the late Ayatollah Khomeini in 1987 to bridge the differences between Sunni and Shi'ite practices such as the week long disparity in the birth date of the Holy Prophet of Islam (SAW).
Some 65 Sunni and Shi'ite intellectuals, u!ama, diplomats and journalists from all parts of the Muslim World deliberated on the Conference's theme "The role of Ahlul Bayt (Descendants of the Holy Prophet) in Islam and the Muslim Ummah."
More than 160 papers were submitted to the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of thought out of which the conference secretariat short listed 50 for delivery.
Among them was my paper, "Ahlul Bayt and the Companions of the Holy Prophet." Some of the papers discussed were Ahlul Bayt in the Holy Quran, Traditions, Jurisprudence, ljtehad and the affection and condition of the Ahlul Bayt among the Islamic sects. The Ahlul Bayt is a common feature of all Islamic sects and since there are superficial differences and ambiguities among Muslims, my paper focused on the profile of the Holy Prophet, the Ahlul Bayt, the Companions of the Beloved Prophet and Khulafa'ur Rashid'un (the Rightly Guided Caliphs) and linking the Caliphate of Imam Ali (AS) to Human Rights and Good Governance
The underlying conviction of the conference was that unity remains the only option to repel any acts of aggression provided that it is accomplished under the banner of 'Tawhid'. The delegates began their conference by meeting with his Eminence, Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei, the Spiritual Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran who addressed and inspired them with ideas and motivation to recapture the spirit and glory of Islam. Present at the meeting were President Mohammed Khatami, Hojatul Islam Hashemi Rafsanjani, Chairman of the Expediency Council, Ayatollah Mohammed Va'ez-zadeh Khorasani, Secretary General of the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought, Ministers of State and Ambassadors of Islamic countries accredited to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The theme of the conference was reiterated, reviewed and re-emphasised as a response to Allah's words in the Holy Quran "Say, O! Prophet: I ask of you (Muslims) no compensation except that you show affection and love to my "next-of-kin." Conference underscored the point that being sympathetic to the Prophet's progeny is crucial for Muslim unity as Allah has endeared Himself to His Prophet, his family and "awliya". Affinity to the Prophet's household is upheld by the Quran and Sunnah and this should permeate behaviour.
The conference dwelt at length on the Prophet's Hadith in "Sahi Muslim" and other ahadith literature known as "Hadith al-Thagalin" whose upshoot is that the Prophet's immaculate family was and or is central to the Ummah's redemption (from wayward and mundane deviations.
The resolution of the conference called on all Muslims to take a close look at the Fiqh of the Ahlul Bayt as was done by such imminent scholars as Sheikh Mahmoud Shaltut, the rector of Al-Azhar University in Egypt. His Fiqh has proved to be a rich source of knowledge, guidance and resilience. Participants called for the establishment of a documentation centre and library on Ahlul Bayt as they played a pivotal role in the Hijra and consolidating Islamic presence and progress and reiterated the importance of reviving and identifying the Prophet's pedigree and keeping track of his descendants as has been the case throughout Islamic history.
In its deliberations on Islamic Unity, conference took note of the western penetration and invasion of Islam at the cultural and educational levels, an intrusion that threatens the integrity and unity of the ummah's heritage and civilisation and recommended the establishment of parallel media, cultural and scientific institutions to deter, counteract and repel western cultural infiltration.
Participants expressed their solidarity with the Palestinian people in their unequal warfare with Israel and called on Muslim peoples, nations and governments to support the Palestinians politically and economically among other means since the Intifada is the legitimate expression of Palestinians and Muslims to liberate their occupied lands and Masiid-al-Agsa. Everything should be done to stop the inhumane massacre and wholesale slaughter of Palestinians by the zionist state of Israel with the carte-blanche support of the United States of America.
Conference expressed its satisfaction with the general rapprochement among Muslims and called for further measures of understanding and consolidation via objective and constructive dialogue and cautioned against presenting controversial and divisive issues at the wrong time and place.
Supplications and sympathetic supplementations rounded the sessions. The conference thanked the Muslim people and leadership of the Islamic republic of Iran especially the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought for having hosted, convened and provided full hospitality for the meeting that discussed the status of Ahlul Bayt. Above and beyond the multiplicity of colour race and creed of all invited guests were two blacks (yours truly from Ghana and Sheikh Adam Bakari from Tanzania) was this staid grandeur and the overwhelming warmth and hospitality with which we were received at places visited. Guests were Verv Important People (VIPs) who rode in special tourist buses with police motorcade in and outside Tehran, a sprawling city of 14 million residents. Tehran is evergreen with cypress trees, environmentally friendly with high rise condominiums, boulevards, flyovers and four lane carriageways merging into three and twos towards its outskirts.
Guests were privileged to observe the massive turnout for elections in which the incumbent, Mohammed Khatami won a landslide victory. We attended the politico-religious Friday Congregational Prayer at Tehran University and were driven inside Sa'ad Abad, the defunct and deceased Shah's palace comprising 18 bullet proof castles dotted on some 510 hectares of wood and parkland. Famous for its high marbled walls covered in French silk, leather ceilings, velvet curtains and crystalline chandeliers, well watered estate and small airport. There are other facilities like bowling, tennis courts and several swimming pools. The palaces contrasted sharply with Imam Khomeni's residence that we saw at Jamaran suburb on Bahonar Avenue.
At the time of our tour, the Shah's depressed daughter (Princess Leila of Persia who took drugs and suffered from anorexia and had a great yearning to return to her homeland) was found dead in the Leonard Hotel near the Marble Arch in London. Her father had been driven into exile in 1979 and lived only for another year. Shah Mohammed Pahlevi Reza was said to have taken with him 500 million pounds and possibly as much as one billion pounds (according to the British Daily Mail) to enable the imperial family live in style and comfort for the rest of their lives in Washington, Cairo, New York, Paris and other capitals. A cousin conned them out of their fortune before disappearing back to Iran.
Guests also visited Iran Khodro Industrial Group, one of the largest vehicle manufacturing plants in the Middle East that employs a highly motivated workforce of 12,000. This plant manufactures PAYKAN (Iran's national saloon car as well as its Pick-up 1. Peugeot (models Persia 405 and 1600 RD) and inter-city buses backed with spare parts produced by a subsidiary company (SAPCO), controls 62 per cent of the market share of the automobile industry in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The factory intends introducing robots into its production line as part of an expansion programme next year,
Guests laid a wreath at the Mausoleum (Holy Shrine) of lmam Khomenei at Behesti Zahra (martyrs cemetery) and spend an evening at Imam Sadeq's University for ceremonies commemorating his birthday. We also travelled to the Holy City of Qom to see its famous Howzeh (Islamic Theological School). Other places of interest were the Holy Shrine of Fatimah Masaumah, (the daughter of Imam Sadeq), the Imam Khomenei Education and Research Institute and the World Centre of Islamic Sciences for non-Persian students. The Centre with superior academic facilities, administrative and welfare services including halls of residence for married students and their spouses offers five year bachelor degree courses, three year Master's and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D).
"To travel is to see and seeing is believing." The opportunity to travel to Tehran for the second time since 1984 for nearly two weeks was an exciting way to spend part of my annual vacation leave.