Iranian Pilgrims Dismiss Attempts At Normalization Pacts With ‘Criminal Zionist Regime’

A large crowd of Iranian pilgrims gathered this Friday at a point in the city of Mina, close to Saudi Arabia’s Mount Arafat, the highest point of the largest Hajj pilgrimage, to express their unwavering support for Palestine, reminding Muslims of the political aspects of this important annual pilgrimage.

During the religious-political rite of “renunciation of polytheism” (baraat min-al-mushrikeen), Iranian pilgrims held banners with slogans against the Israeli regime and chanted anti-imperialist slogans, also in support of Islamic unity.

“The liberation of the holy Al-Quds, the first Qibla of Muslims, from the hands of the child-killing Zionist regime is the irreplaceable cause and priority of the Muslim world,” the Iranian pilgrims said in a statement issued and read at the end of the ceremony.

The Hajj, the major pilgrimage to Mecca, is a paramount religious duty in Islam and is considered one of the cornerstones of the faith.

Expressing strong support for the “resistant nation of Palestine”, the statement condemns any form of normalization with the “criminal Zionist regime” when the reactionary regimes in Arab countries have decided to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020.

Hajj pilgrims have warned about the distortion of Islamic concepts, the establishment of extremist groups that falsely present themselves as Muslims, and the intervention and occupation of Islamic countries by arrogant powers seeking to eliminate the profound cultural and spiritual effects of Islam.

In another part of their statement, the Iranian pilgrims have rebuked the US and the Israeli regime for trying to sow discord among Muslims, emphasizing the need for Muslim unity by adhering to the teachings of the Holy Quran and the aspirations of the Prophet of Islam. , the Hazrat Muhamad (peace be upon him).

Unfortunately, the Hajj has lost its political edge in recent years; nothing else remains of its religious character.

Although the “renunciation of polytheism” ceremony is an opportunity to show the political aspects of Hajj while representing the unity of the world’s Muslims, Saudi Arabia does not allow Muslims to celebrate it in public.

In a July 2018 speech, the leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, noted that the “true Hajj” should include this ceremony. “The real Hajj should include the Baraat min-al-Mushrikeen and pave the way for greater unity among Muslims,” ​​he said in a meeting with Iranian Hajj officials.

From Thursday, one million Muslims started their annual major pilgrimage that represents Muslims’ devotion to God. More than 39,000 Iranian pilgrims have participated in this year’s Hajj.

In a message issued this Friday on the occasion of the Hajj, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution has emphasized that the unity of Muslims is one of the fundamental pillars of the Hajj, and the other is to be accompanied by the invocation of the name of God and spirituality, which, can lead the Islamic world “to the peak of power and happiness”.