ABWA Official Website – Referring to the history of the establishment of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, Hojat al-Islam Nabil Halbawi, a member of the Supreme Council of the Assembly, stated, “Personally, I observed the establishment of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, and I was present in the very first sessions negotiating the establishment of the Assembly by order of Grand Ayatollah Khamenei. Our expectations from the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly were high. We wanted the Assembly to be a place that would bring together all Shiite movements from around the world, and fatherly plan for Shiite activities in the world, and to achieve this goal, accumulate the local activities of Shiites.”
Halbawi, who was speaking in an interview with ABNA News Agency, added, “Regarding whether the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly has achieved its goals, I must say that we do not have such a claim. Rather, we say that the Assembly is trying to achieve its goals and has taken steps in this direction. But there is still a way to reach its objectives.”
“All the former general secretaries of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, from Ayatollah Taskhiri to Dr. Velayati, Ayatollah Asefi, and Ayatollah Akhtari, were great figures who had special positions and fulfilled their duty as the general secretary of the Assembly. They sincerely did everything they could. During the period of Ayatollah Ramazani as the Secretary General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, we also witnessed the development and revision of the activities of the Assembly,” continued a member of the Supreme Council of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.
Referring to the approach of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, Halbawi stated, “The Assembly should focus more on planning and determining strategy, instead of engaging in executive tasks. It is not desirable that the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly only publishes books or sends preachers. The Assembly should seek to fill gaps and support local activities. The future, rights, and honor of Shiites in different parts of the world should be the concern of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.”
“Humanity and Muslims need Shiites, and anyone who considers himself a member of this movement should be careful not to say anything but for God, not to do anything but for God, and not to compromise from being a good representative of Islam. We Shiites need to act in such a way that if it is said a person is a Shiite in a meeting, everyone will say “We love Shiites”. This is a great responsibility for every Shiite person,” he continued.
“According to the hadiths of the Infallible Imams (a.s.), a Shiite person is someone who obeys God, and we must be committed to this. It is not acceptable that a person claims to be a Shiite but does whatever he wants,” added a member of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.
Regarding a question about the activities of ABNA News Agency, Halbawi said, “I admire the activities of this News Agency. ABNA is a successful News Agency and has good news coverage, and it is trying to reflect the activities of Shiites in the world.”
“I always recommend that we should open our arms to all Muslims, and we must attract the Muslims of the world. It is stated in a hadith of the Infallibles (a.s.) that, “If people knew the virtues and beauties of our words, they would follow us.” We have a universal mission that is for all humanity, and, in all affairs, we must be committed to this important issue,” he noted in the end.
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