On Thursday, July 28, 2021, in a meeting with the clergy and cultural directors of Gilan Red Crescent, Ayatollah Reza Ramazani stated, “According to narrations, whoever serves God, God will serve him. During the spread of Covid-19, both the Red Crescent Organization and a large part of the clergy played an effective role, but they have been neglected and many people are not aware of these services.”
The Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly stated, “During the spread of Covid-19, many of the clergy voluntarily attended hospitals and cemeteries, and they should be greatly appreciated. The members of the Red Crescent, because they attend in the front line of dangers, are mujahids and loyalists in the field of service.”
“All these endowments must be given to the Red Crescent Organization for the religious rules of the endowment be fulfilled. Otherwise, it is contrary to the explicit fatwa of sources of emulation, especially the Supreme Leader of the Revolution,” he said, referring to the endowments of the Red Crescent.
“Everywhere the word Jihad is used, it means that there is a need for a double effort or there is a situation that has an opponent or an enemy. All the Jihads of the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h) and his companions in Makkah were the Jihad of Enlightenment,” Ayatollah Ramazani said, pointing out the Jihad of Enlightenment.
“Karbala and the Ashura Event are also examples of the Jihad of Enlightenment,” the representative of the people of Gilan in the Assembly of Leadership Experts emphasized, “All the infallible Imams (a.s.) were flag bearers of the Jihad of Enlightenment, especially where the enemies were to distort and make heresy in Islam.”
“Today there are two deviant understandings of Islam that they are both the two blades of the same scissors to undermine authentic and original Islam. One of these deviant views is so-called Rahmani (compassionate) Islam, which advocates absolute peace, and the other deviant understanding is the pro-violence Islam that introduces Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) as violence,” he added
“We must introduce comprehensive Islam to the world and confront those who present (distorted and) limited Islam. We must take the Jihad of Enlightenment seriously,” Ayatollah Ramazani noted.
“The late Imam Khomeini (r.a.) was the first person who started the Jihad of Enlightenment during the Islamic Revolution. He was pioneer in this field, and he raised Jihad of Enlightenment when no one dared to raise these issues,” expressed the Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.
“In the past, many people denied the governance aspect of Islam, and today also there are some people who advocate a secular form of Islam. Our duty is to enlighten about pure Islam. Today, clerics must perform their main duty in the principle of explaining Islam in the Jihad of Enlightenment. The belief that a cleric should only pray and should not appear in other fields is a kind of deviation,” Ayatollah Ramazani said.
Referring to the achievements of the Islamic Revolution, and the fact that it is the duty of the clerics to express them, he said, “One of the achievements of the Islamic Revolution is the presence of religion in the social sphere, and it is the duty of the clerics to explain it to the people”
“Another achievement of the Islamic Revolution is scientific progress in the fields of nano sciences, nuclear sciences, etc., which has made Iran rank among the top 5 to 10 countries in the world in these fields. The Islamic Republic of Iran has extensive achievements in the military and missile technologies. If it were not for these developments, no one would have considered Islamic Iran and would not have sat at the negotiating table with us,” added the Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.
“Some people are trying to isolate the clerics. While clerics have been in the forefront in various fields. A clear example of this issue was the effective presence of the clergy during spread of Covid-19, where they performed funerals and burials alongside the families of the deceased. Clerics have been flag pioneers in the field of serving the people. One of the duties of the clerics is to explain the content, form and format of Islam, and to enlighten about it against heresies and superstitions, etc.,” emphasized Ayatollah Ramazani.
“We need to study for the Jihad of Enlightenment. To avoid repetition of talks for the listeners of sermons, for each lecture we need to study for hours,” added the representative of the people of Gilan in the Assembly of Leadership Experts.
“Cyberspace is managing people’s religion, and one of the enemy’s plans is to separate people from religious preachers. We should avoid things that make the people feel that there is no need for clerics,” he said.
Ayatollah Ramazani stated, “Muharram is a good opportunity for Jihad of Enlightenment. In addition to the scientific form, the Jihad of Enlightenment should be performed in an artistic way by IRIB and media to show the truth.”
“If we narrate something in our sermons in the Muharram, we must be sure of its authenticity. Also, if we analyze something, it should be realistic and comprehensive, and if we compare topics, our comparison needs to be correct, robust, and logical,” he said in the end.