In his sermon marking Eid al-Adha at Qom’s Jamkaran Mosque, Ayatollah Ali-Reza Arafi stressed upon the importance of correct recognition the era of the occultation of Imam al-Mahdi and said, “The House of Saud follows an Islam which is dependent on the imperialist powers and is hand in hand with the Zionist regime and the West.”
The head of the Islamic Seminaries of Iran said that the Islamic Republic of Iran has isolated itself from the path of the criminal Saudi ruling family and seeks to show the true face of Islam to the world.
He added that we must re-examine the message of the late Imam Khomeini after the 1987 Hajj massacre and Ayatollah Khamenei’s message after the 2015 Mina stampede. “The Hajj pilgrimage is a political and spiritual journey but the Al Saud seek to turn this religious obligation into an insignificant tourist trip,” he added.
Ayatollah Arafi said that “court clerics” associated with the Al Saud are trying to maintain an Islamic appearance and take political content and knowledge from the Hajj and convert this divine pilgrimage into a resort.
He said that the Saudis intend to empty the pilgrimage of the spirit of wilayah (guardianship) and the disavowal of polytheism and added that the ruthless rulers of Saudi Arabia have issued a message to the world which contains the same goals as the Takfiri and terrorists.
The dean of al-Mustafa International University said that this royal family has distorted the teachings of Islam and has engaged in atrocities and oppression across the world. “The evil and accursed House of Saud even blocked the way for the pilgrims to the Sacred Mosque and made the safe sanctuary of God unsafe,” he said.
Ayatollah Arafi said the hearts of Iranian Muslims have made a covenant with God and will remain on this covenant and will not replace this covenant with the deviated Saudi rulers.
Qom’s Friday prayer leader referring to the crimes of the Al Saud in the region and said that Bahrain has been inflicted with great oppression over the past few years and Ayatollah Isa Qasim, a great warrior and leader of Bahrain’s Shi’a majority, has been denied citizenship and the Al Khalifah regime intends to prosecute him.
Ayatollah Arafi stressed that all Muslims around the world condemn this outrageous move by the Al Khalifah regime and declare their support for Ayatollah Qasim.