Tehran, Jan 12, IRNA -- Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, the
pre-sermons speaker of the Tehran Friday Prayer this week, said that
the patriotic-religious intellectuals' belief in God is comparable
with Satan's belief in Him.
The Qom Seminary theology professor opined so after quoting a
question by some individuals, "wether the patriotic-religious
intellectuals, too, are believers in God, or not?"
He further elaborated on by posing the question, "should such
individuals be commemorated in our society and be treated as great
cultural figures, then?"
The theology professor himself replied, "naturally not, since
they too, like Satan, ask questions in God's authority, and
therefore, deserve to be treated the way we should treat Satan,
since they keep doing the same thing that he once did"
Ayatollah Mesbah also said that these intellectuals believe that
modern man has no commitment towards God and all he has to do is to
safeguard his own interests.
"Therefore, even if God does not approve of some of the rights they
elieve they should enjoy, they would not hesitate in rioting against
Him either. O! Death with such wayward human beings!" He said.
Mesbah further added that the satans of our era and those who
call themselves patriotic-religious and religious intellectuals have
gone so far today as to claim that the reason why man is referred to
as `God's salve' is the ruling culture at the advent of Islam.
The Ayatollah said that this is the typical mentality of the
modern era man, and that is the logic that (the intellectuals) wish to
romote in Iran today. "That is the basis of their training for our
youth and our university students," he regretted, "and the people who
are supposed to encounter them are unfortunately expressing pride that
they are providing for the ground for their activities."
Elsewhere in his furious remarks, the orthodox-conservative
theoretician referred to the religious pluralism issue raised by some
of these intellectuals arguing, "according to their version of Islam,
t is not against piety even to deny God, and such a sensitive issue
is regarded as a `secondary matter in belief' based on their
teachings!"
Ayatollah Mesbah clearly referred to an article entitled, `The
Innate Nature of Religion and the Secondary Issues,' in which one of
these intellectuals has referred to `belief in God' as a secondary
atter of importance for a monotheist!
"Such people have now targeted the beliefs of our youth and are
either Satan himself, themselves, or they have become tools in the
hands of the satans issuing orders overseas."