The great Imam maintained that Christian people and leaders should follow the pure teachings of the Jesus Christ—the great prophet of God the Almighty — instead of favoring the wrongdoing of some aggressive materialistic minded rulers.
The founder of the Islamic Republic believed in the unity of Islam and other divine religions as it was a necessity against colonialists and the enemies of Islam. Call to unity under the flag of monotheism forms an important part of Imam’s messages and speeches.
The works and initiatives of Imam remain equal popular among all followers of Divine faiths including the Muslims, Christians, Jews and others. Imam was also a staunch supporter of the minorities and issued special recommendations and advised that their rights must be observed.
The great imam believed that man’s intuition is based on monotheism, charity, search for truth and justice. According to Imam, if general awareness increases and the evil of ego weakens, then every human society will take to God-seeking and live in environments rich in peace and tranquility.
Imam strongly denounced if any media outlets or individual inflicted insults against the followers of other relgions.
This comes as Muslims across the world have protested at the printing of satirical sketches of the Prophet Mohammad by French magazine, Charlie Hebdo.
Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Movahhedi Kermani, a top Iranian cleric, in a sermon to worshipers at weekly Friday Prayers in the Iranian capital, Tehran, decried the publication of the sacrilegious cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad in the satirical French weekly, and said the reason behind such profane moves is that Islam is growing and making its presence felt in the West.
Iran’s parliament (Majlis) speaker, Ali Larijani, said on Thursday that the recent desecration of the Prophet Mohammad by the French magazine aimed to rev up acts of terrorism across the world.
The act of “insulting the holy Prophet” was committed with the aim of “keeping terrorist currents alive,” Larijani said.
A protest rally was also reportedly organized in Jordan where around 2,500 protesters took to the streets of the capital, Amman.
Protesters in Amman held banners that "insulting the prophet is global terrorism." Similar demonstrations were also held in other cities in the country.
Elsewhere in the Middle East, Qatar lashed out at the magazine for printing the "offensive" cartoon.
"These disgraceful actions are in the interest of nobody and will only fuel hatred and anger," Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said, describing the blasphemous acts as a "violation of human values of peaceful coexistence, tolerance, justice, and respect among people," adding, "Our leader will forever be Mohammed."
Hundreds of Palestinians demonstrated at the flashpoint al-Aqsa mosque compound in al-Quds (Jerusalem) Friday, some with banners reading, "Islam is a religion of peace!" and "Our leader will forever be Mohammed."
Saudi Arabia's top religious body, the Council of Senior Scholars, also lamented the printing of the cartoons, saying such acts “have nothing to do with the freedom or creativity or thought."
Such moves would only "serve extremists who are in search of excuses for killing and terrorism," Fahd al-Majid, the secretary general of the Saudi religious body, said.
People in the African countries of Sudan, Niger, Algiers, Senegal and several other nations also staged a demonstration to vent their anger at the publication of the blasphemous cartoon.
The people, who had come to Khartoum's Grand Mosque, chanted, "Expel the French ambassador, victory to the Prophet of God!"
They also carried a banner reading, "The French government should apologize and the French government must stop insults to religious figures."
Tunisia was also the scene of protests against the French magazine.
The protesters in the African country gathered at el-Fath mosque, saying journalists working for Charlie Hebdo "…insulted our prophet many times."
The French weekly has repeatedly provoked Muslim anger by publishing such offensive cartoons.
Meanwhile, Pope Francis speaks against insulting religions. Pope Francis says there are limits to freedom of expression, especially when someone’s faith is insulted or ridiculed.
The leader of the Catholic Church stressed that certain limits exist as people cannot make a toy out of other religions and insult the faith of others.
“There is a limit. Every religion has its dignity...in freedom of expression there are limits,” he pontiff said, adding, “You can’t provoke, you can’t insult the faith of others, you can’t make fun of faith.”
Pakistanis stage rallies to slam Charlie Hebdo cartoon. On Thursday, clashes erupted between a large number of student protesters and police as the students were heading toward the French Consulate in southern Pakistani port city of Karachi.
Similar massive rallies were also held in other Pakistani cities, including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Multan and Faisalabad over the past 48 hours.
We bring some phrases form Imam’s saying which directs media to act in responsible manner:
Newspapers should reform themselves. They should not betray Islam and the Muslims. Do not render in vain the blood shed by the oppressed people. They should not reflect adverse propaganda; they should thwart conspiracies, but people are free to cast their votes. When the referendum is announced, I shall vote for a republic, an Islamic republic. Anyone who follows Islam must want an Islamic republic. However, people are free to cast their votes and say that they want a monarchial regime or the return of Muhammad Rida Pahlavi. They are free) to say so (; or, say that they want a Western-oriented regime or a republic, but not an Islamic one.
Freedom to vote in Islam
We should ask that person who says there should be a republic, but not Islam, what he knows and has seen of Islam. What evil have you seen in Islam? He should be told that it was Islam, not the people, which uprooted
the taghout; it was faith, not you or I, which overthrew the taghout! What bad thing have you seen in Islam? Those who say they want a democratic republic, that is, a Western kind of republic, what bad aspects have you seen in Islam? What do you know of Islam? Islam guarantees freedom, independence and justice. In Islam, there was no difference between the head of the country and a peasant. In fact, the former was entitled to the use of material things less than the latter. Freedom to vote has always been part of Islam even at its inception, not only during the time of the Imams, may God's peace be upon them, but also at the time of the Prophet. People were free to express what they wanted to say or to discuss issues. Anybody who has an argument to put forward regarding freedom of expression has nothing to fear, but we will not consent to any conspiratorial moves. These) the opposition (do not have any) substantial (thing to say; they just want to plot) against Islam (. We invited them to come to the television station and express what they want and we would debate) the issue (. So far, nobody has stepped forward.
(Sahifeh, vol6, Page: 542)