Erdoğan tries to "revive" the Ottoman Empire: Senior cleric
In a meeting with Major General Rahim Safavi, Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi criticized the destructive role of several governments in the region and accused the Turkish government Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of trying to revive the Ottoman Empire.
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In a meeting with Major General Yahya Rahim-Safavi and a number of senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem-Shirazi spoke on several important issues facing Iran. “If people detect a problem and seek a way to solve it, it is considered a victory,” His Eminence explained.
Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi stressed that the government is faced with a series of financial problems and limitations, saying: “On the one hand, we are under sanctions and on the other hand, oil prices have substantially reduced, but we believe there is no problem that does not have a solution. We should sit and think about it.”
While explaining the ongoing issues facing the Middle East and the Takfiri phenomenon, His Eminence said that without the vigilance of the Shi’ite religious authorities and sincere and selfless assistance given by Iran in the fight against terrorism, Iraq would be in a much worse situation today. “With the arrival of the religious authorities on the battlefields, the Islamic Republic of Iran turned a new leaf,” he said.
The renowned source of emulation said that despite the tremendous investment by Syria’s enemies in an effort to overthrow President Bashar al-Asad’s government, they have not been successful. We hope that the Syrian government and people continue to be successful and are able to solve their problems and resist and repel the evil Takfiri groups.
Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi criticized the destructive role of several governments in the region and said some of the so-called Arab governments, who call themselves Muslims, plus the Turkish leadership have acting in a manner which has led to serious problems in the Middle East. He also accused the Turkish government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of trying to revive the Ottoman Empire.
He referred to the American-led coalition against DAESH (ISIL) as a form of hypocrisy, saying: “There is no doubt whatever the Americans say about the coalition against DAESH is nothing more than hypocrisy.”
Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi also referred to the recent news that an American aircraft was downed in Iraq which had been delivering aid, including weapons, to DAESH terrorists. “If this is true, it is proof that the US is not telling the truth about its war against DAESH.”
In order to counter the Takfiri threat, His Eminence explained that they can be countered with intellectual thought, such as the International Congress on Extremist and Takfiri Movements in the View of Islamic Scholars, held last November, where Shi’ite and Sunni scholars and intellectuals from eighty countries gathered in the holy city of Qom and condemned the Takfiri phenomenon as un-Islamic and a threat to true Islamic values. /SR
