Hojat-ol-Islam Shahriari, Secretary General of the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought, made the remarks in a meeting with a group of Shia and Sunni scholars in Kordestan province.
Takfir comes from outside Islamic religiosity and the Shia thinking does not even let us consider followers of Wahhabism as apostate because they perform prayers and say Shahada, he said.
“We, as Muslims, should follow the teaching of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who said we cannot kill an individual who is saying Shahada.”
The criterion for being a Muslim is Shahada, but of course, true belief finds its way to the heart, added the official.
Shia Islam condemns any form of Takfir in the Islamic community, he said, noting that the Quran does not let Muslims even kill apostates unless they take arms and move against the Islamic establishment
War, terrorism, Takfir, conflict, and insult are the five plots devised by the Arrogance and the Zionism against Islamic society, Shahriari said, adding those Shias and Sunnis who disrespect each other’s sanctities are receiving money from the US and the UK.
Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) was created by an American-British-Zionist plot with the help of the ignorance of some Muslims and Muslim scholars should stand against such heinous plans, he stressed.