Iran flayed for reviving pagan rituals, bid to divide Muslims

Shiite Muslim pilgrims gather in front of the shrine of Imam Hussein on Arafah day on Monday in Karbala, Iraq. Masses of Iranian Shiite faithful have converged on Karbala for an alternative pilgrimage following a disagreement with Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities have said the disagreement was caused by Iran's attempt to dictate on how the Haj would be managed. (AFP photo / Haidar Hamdani)

JEDDAH: Academics have condemned Iranian attempts to split the Islamic nation by issuing provocative statements, disobeying the consensus of Muslims by sending people to Karbala and Najaf to revive pagan rituals.
Professor Ghazi bin Al-Mutairi from Madinah’s Islamic University said that such acts have fanned sectarianism, a ploy to change the features of Shariah.
When the faithful are focusing on their spiritual journey to please God Almighty, Iran is trying to start a sectarian war by sending its pilgrims to Karbala and Najaf, as if competing for the greatest and the holiest places. That leads to a setback, defeat, backwardness, enmity and hatred, he said.
Al-Mutairi quoted from “The Complete History” by Ali ibn Al-Athir that the crusaders were invited to invade the Levant by the Fatimids. He explained: “We find that history is being repeated — the capital Baghdad has fallen to Safavids who are still killing the great sons of the Levant.”
He added that these events cannot be separated from the clear alliances, but thankfully Saudi Arabia is a strong state with faith and ideology and that it is standing against the Safavid designs, political or military in Yemen, Syria and Iraq, and against any ideological project that seeks to split the nation and break its unity.
Ahmed Ali Ajiba, secretary-general of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, said the Haj pilgrimage is one of the pillars of Islam, and its place and time are specified. He pointed out that these things are postulated and well known throughout Islam, and shall not be violated in any way.