The commemoration ceremony of the late Grand Ayatollah Safi Golpayegani was held by the Council of Shiite Ulama of Afghanistan and the Management Council of Kabul and Hazarajat seminaries in Kabul.
Iran’s cultural attaché in Afghanistan, religious scholars, political figures, and various segments of the Afghan people attended the event.
Referring to the personality of late Grand Ayatollah Safi Golpaygani, Hojat al-Islam Sayed Hossein Alemi Balkhi, the chairman of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) lovers Assembly of Afghanistan, and the deputy of the Council of Shiite Ulama of the country, said, “Grand Ayatollah Safi Golpaygani was a member of the office of Grand Ayatollah Borujerdi, who, according to the order of this source of emulation, answered complex scientific and research questions. The Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) said ‘The scholars of my ummah are like the Israelites prophets and perhaps even better than them. Grand Ayatollah Safi Golpaygani was one of the examples of scholars who preached the divine mission.”
“Grand Ayatollah Safi Golpaygani was one of the pioneers of the Islamic Revolutionary Movement. He was a member of the Assembly of Leadership Experts and played an important role in drafting the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and after that, as a member of the Guardian Council, he protected the Islamic laws. This source of emulation had a special interest in Afghanistan and its affairs, and supported Afghan scholars and refugees, and closely followed the issues and events in Afghanistan,” he continued.
“The people of Afghanistan expect justice from the Islamic Emirate. The wealth and property of the Bayt al-mal must be distributed fairly among all citizens. Especially humanitarian aid in this cold winter should be distributed fairly in all parts of Afghanistan, especially the deprived areas. There are now many problems in Afghanistan, including inflation, unemployment and economic problems, which are bothering the people, and the cause of all this is economic sanctions,” added the head of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) Lovers Assembly of Afghanistan.
“The Shiite community of Afghanistan is ready to cooperate with the Islamic Emirate to solve the problems of Afghanistan. Provided that the ground for this work is facilitated by the Islamic Emirate and it renounces monopoly in order to provide the ground for public participation in solving the problems of Afghanistan. On December 27, 2022, a meeting was held with the presence of all the leaders of the Shiite community of Afghanistan. At this meeting, a single document was adopted to express the views and demands of this community, and it was decided to establish a joint commission to follow up on these issues. A committee was established and last Wednesday we had a meeting with an influential member of the cabinet of the Islamic Emirate and presented our views and studies in writing. Haqqani welcomed the plan and promised to hold a decision-making meeting with senior Islamic Emirate high ranking officials to coordinate,” stated Alami Balkhi, referring to the readiness of the Shiites of Afghanistan to cooperate with the Islamic Emirate.
“Some people are chanting unpleasant slogans and announcing the escalation of war and insecurity in the spring of next year. In our opinion, war and violence are not in the interest of the Afghan people and country. From the forty years of war, nothing but destruction, killing, emigration and homelessness were achieved. Enough war! The people of Afghanistan can no longer tolerate war, and warlords have no place among the people of this country. We ask the brothers who chant these slogans to think of peace, tranquility, brotherhood. War is not the solution. We must join hands and work for the peace and well-being of the people. Of course, this requires the Islamic Emirate to waive its monopoly in order to allow everyone to talk and participate in the current issues of Afghanistan,” he continued.
“The recent events in Afghanistan and the economic problems of the country have caused hundreds of thousands of Afghan citizens to emigrate this year and nearly one million people from Afghanistan to seek refuge in the Islamic Republic of Iran. For more than forty years, Iran has hosted millions of Afghan refugees, which is commendable. We thank the people and the government of Iran for this. Afghanistan’s current problems have forced large numbers of Afghans to flee their homes and seek refuge in safe havens,” added Deputy Chairman of the Council of Shiite Scholars of Afghanistan.