The Office of His Eminence Sayed al-Sistani issues a statement on the visit of the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations

The Office of His Eminence the supreme religious authority; Sayed Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani, issued on Wednesday a statement on the visit of the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Miguel Angel Moratinos, to His Eminence .

This is the text of the statement as received from the official website of His Eminence:

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
His Eminence Sayed al-Sistani received this afternoon Mr. Miguel Angel Moratinos, under - secretary-general of the United Nations in charge of developing the action plan of the International Organization for the protection of religious sites after the attacks that have been carried out in various places in the world in recent years.

His Eminence listened to the explanation he made about that plan, the principles underlying it and the procedures followed in relation to it.

During the meeting, His Eminence stressed the importance of concerted efforts in promoting the culture of peaceful coexistence, renouncing violence and hatred, and consolidating the values of harmony based on the care of rights and mutual respect between adherents of different religions and intellectual trends.

His Eminence pointed out that the tragedies suffered by many peoples and ethnic and social groups in many parts of the world-as a result of the intellectual and religious persecution practiced against them, the suppression of fundamental freedoms and the absence of social justice-have played a role in the emergence of some extremist movements that use blind violence against unarmed civilians and attack religious centers and archaeological sites of others who differ with them in thought or creed.

His Eminence stressed the need to address the backgrounds of these phenomena, which are rejected and condemned in all cases, and to work hard to achieve a measure of justice and tranquility in various societies worthy of human dignity as God Almighty intended, which contributes to reducing the atmosphere conducive to the spread of extremist ideas.

His Eminence expressed his appreciation for the efforts of the United Nations in this regard, wishing Mr. Moratinos success in fulfilling his mission, and conveyed his greetings to Mr. Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations.