i have been exposed to two semi-embarrassing situations in my life, the last of which was 34 years ago, when one of the brothers in the “citizens aid committee in riyadh” asked me, during saddam’s invasion of kuwait, to lead them in prayer as an imam, and they were all sunnis!
i apologized, but my refusal was misunderstood. the chief volunteer in the committee came up to me and said something that is still stuck in my memory: abu tariq, you are our leader and our president. the country is lost and we are all equal. there is no difference between shiites and sunnis, and we want you today as an imam. i repeatedly apologized, and it ended with someone else taking over.
after the liberation, that person was involved in a case of dishonesty, and he was a member of the brotherhood, and he disappeared from the scene!
i remembered that incident while reading the news that “imam juma” in the city of tehran had disposed of a huge plot of land worth billions, which had previously been placed at his disposal to build a cultural center and a scientific seminary. he transferred it to his name and defended his position that people had forged his signature and registered the land in his name.
that incident reminded me of another similar incident in which a senior government official, who was a member of the muslim brotherhood party in kuwait, transferred ownership of a large plot of land that the azerbaijan government had granted to his association to build an islamic center. he registered it in his name and disposed of it, and his matter was exposed, due to his stupidity, and he was removed from his position and he was sentenced to prison!
i also remembered the complaints of some visitors to tehran about the lack of sunni mosques there, and this is inaccurate, as their number is very small, and the phenomenon of the lack of mosques exists in almost all islamic countries, and only the gulf countries have their governments competing with the people in building them.
a shiite does not give prayer in mosques the same importance as the sunni, for two reasons: first, the timings for its performance are flexible, and thus it is difficult for the worshipers and the imam to agree to a specific hour. also, a majority does not accept praying behind any imam, but rather specific qualities must be present in him.
with khomeini’s arrival to power, he restored friday prayers to their historical importance, and they began to be held in all major cities, and supervised by the “friday prayer organization,” which follows the supreme leader, and from here the friday imams gained their power and importance.
on the other hand, the “charitable endowments organization,” which is managed by hojjat al-islam mehdi khamoshi, appointed by the supreme leader, is considered one of the wealthiest charitable organizations in iran, as it controls tens of thousands of acres of land, real estate, and properties, which their owners place at the organization’s disposal for charity purposes.
according to iranian laws, the organization must appoint a supervisor for its properties, who is often a cleric. they are allowed to dispose of the properties as they wish, as they are tax-exempt properties and are not subject to accounting, and therefore it is not possible to know the incomes generated by those supervising them.
the “friday imam” scandal in the city of tehran revealed the extent to which clerics exploit donations given by citizens to charitable works, to achieve their personal and political goals, and this is exactly similar to what happens to us by some parties that receive a lot of donations, manage their endowments, and are not subject to accountability. these parties will often aggressively exploit charitable funds in the upcoming elections, as usual!
i and many others were pleased with our visit to “kuwait house”, the home of brother adel al-zawawi, to congratulate him on the month of ramadan, and to support him, as a staunch defender of national identity. thanks go to the rest of the members of the gathering of eighty for their good efforts.