🇮🇶 | Statement of Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Muhammad Taqi al-Modarresi (H); Karbala, Iraq:

1. “The close cooperation and fraternal solidarity witnessed in relations between the Iraqi and Iranian peoples over the past two decades were clearly manifested during critical hours and difficult circumstances, reaching in many instances the level of cooperation between people of one homeland.”

2. “Some decisions and practices adopted by the Iraqi government are away from the popular and religious authority orientation, including restricting the movement of visitors to Imam Hussein (A) and the rest of the holy shrines in Iraq, and closing the airspace or crossings to those coming for pilgrimage, in response to sanctions imposed on a neighboring country and a Muslim people.”

3. “Those coming to Iraq through Iran are not all Iranians; among them are also visitors from different nationalities and countries, united by one religious objective: visiting the holy shrines and performing a religious act of devotion. Therefore, dealing with the movement of these visitors should proceed from the nature of their religious purpose, not from political disputes and positions between states.”

4. “From this perspective, the matter is similar to the movement of Muslims to perform the obligation of Hajj. Even during times of conflicts and political disputes between states and governments, it was not acceptable for such disputes to become a means of preventing pilgrims from reaching the Sacred House of God, or preventing aircraft, buses, and means of transportation carrying them from passing through in order to perform their rituals.”

5. “Involving religious rituals and the movement of visitors in political conflicts, and preventing or restricting people from reaching the holy sites, should not become a tool of pressure between states, because this affects people’s right to practice their religious rituals and may, in practice, turn into a confrontation with religion and its rituals.”

6. “What is required from the Iraqi authorities, instead of restricting the movement of visitors, is to work to facilitate their entry through various air and land crossings, and to develop airports, roads, border crossings, and infrastructure in a manner commensurate with the tens of millions of visitors and travelers who come to Iraq and its holy shrines every year.”

7. “The enemies of the Ummah are constantly seeking ways to create division among the peoples of the region and sever the bridges of communication, cooperation, and solidarity between them. We must not respond to pressures and dictates that serve this direction, because of the opportunities they provide for domination over the lands of Muslims and the weakening of their peoples.”

8. “There is a need to preserve the bonds of brotherhood among the Muslim peoples and not allow temporary political disputes and interests to sever the means of communication between them or prevent believers from performing their religious rituals and visiting their holy sites.”

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