ID :
154064
Mon, 12/20/2010 - 13:37
Auther :

Iran`s Ayatollah hails Erdogan’s participation in Ashura ceremony

TEHRAN, Dec. 20 (MNA) -- In a message to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday, Grand Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani praised his participation in Ashura ceremony.

Erdogan attended the ceremony this year for the first time since his AK party came to power in 2002.

Erdogan, who is a follower of the Hanafi school of the Sunni branch of Islam, delivered a speech at the ceremony, in which he discussed the importance of unity between Shia and Sunni Muslims.

“Your participation in the mourning ceremony this year in your country was very significant and influential,” the message read.

It added that on the one hand, it was an invitation to respect Prophet Mohammad’s household, and on the other hand it was an expression of support for the causes of Imam Hussein (AS) including struggle against oppression and seeking peace which the world is in dire need of.

Iran’s former foreign minister, Ali Akbar Velayati, who is currently a senior advisor of the Supreme Leader, also attended the ceremony in Istanbul along with Erdogan on the invitation of Salah al-Din Ozgunduz, the leader of Turkey’s Shia Muslims.





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