In the last four parts, we read about two international Islamic conferences and how they went. In the final part of this article, we will discuss the report and observations of Allamah Askari’s companion in the Turkish conference, Mr. Jamal Aryai. Mr. Jamal Aryai’s report: I, Jamal Aryai, who had gone to Turkey in 1995 with Allamah Askari to participate in the symposium on the role of Sunnah in Islam, would like to cite my observations. 1- Arrival day in Istanbul: A warm and sincere welcome from the vice president of the symposium to Allamah Askari. The cooperation of the vice president in the release of 8 cartons of Allamah’s Arabic printed books (about 300 books) from the Turkish customs, including Abdullah ibn Saba (2 volumes), Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha, Maalam al-Madrasatain (3 volumes), Aqaed al-Islam, onehundred and fifty fake companions(2 volumes) , Al-Qur’an al-Karim Wa Riwayat Al-Madrasatain’s. Introduction at dinner on the occasion of the arrival of foreign personalities and scholars from the countries of Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, England, each of them expressed their happiness for the organization of such a symposium for about 5 minutes. Guests: Mr. Al-Bouti, Ayatollah Allamah Askari, Sabouni, Ahmad Al-Katib 2- The second day – the opening day of the symposium: The chairman of the symposium invited Allamah Askari to deliver the opening speech (foreign guests were invited to deliver the opening speech) after his speech about the Quran at the opening of the symposium, positive effects appeared and some of these effects that I found in dealing with professors of higher level students are as follows: removal of accusations against Shia about distorting the Qur’an professors and students above the bachelor’s degree welcoming the topics presented and asking questions after finishing the lecture and saying things such as we have heard the opposite of these things about Shia and we have never seen a Shia scholar saying such things about the Qur’an and Frequent requests to have Allamah’s books regarding the topics discussed. Allamah used the word Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha during his speech for the wife of the Prophet (PBUH) and this had a very good effect on the audience. A student who had chosen his master’s thesis on the subject of Qur’an distortion from the Shiite point of view, after Allamah’s speech, he approached him to say after i heard your words and arguments i should change the contents of my thesis. Journalists who were present at the opening approached Allamah for an interview and demanded that Allamah answer their questions. These questions are related to: A- The opinions of Mr. Soroush (who gave a speech in Turkey recently). B- His point of view towards the unity of Muslims. C- A message to the youth of Turkey and Allamah Askari’s statements about the following issues were: 1. Acquiring religious knowledge from Muslim scholars, not from the West. 2. Self-purification. 3. Muslim Union 4. Cultural war and foreign invasion of Islamic countries. After his speech at the opening, the participating university professors had a discussion with him about the contents of Sirah, Hadith and Quran, and his point of view was very interesting and useful for them, and I felt this from the professors’ subsequent statements in dealing with me. After Maghrib and Isha prayers, according to the invitation of the mayor of Istanbul, we attended his dinner party, and I sat at the table of the participating professors, and they asked me questions about Allamah, which I answered based on my knowledge (in terms of beliefs and the method of work and authored books) and these materials had attracted their attention. 3- The third day in Turkey Allamah’s speech was arranged for the second day of the symposium, and during his talk about “the place of the Sunnah in the eyes of the Twelver Shiites”, I witnessed reactions from the people who were sent from Saudi Arabia (Sabouni and Abdullah) to this symposium.
These two people were constantly anxious and restless during Allamah’s speech, and I was sitting behind them, it was completely obvious to me, and they had a very close relationship with the organizers of the symposium, and even when Allamah narrated the material in extra time, they showed discomfort. After Allamah’s speech and the continuous applause of the audience, what was interesting to me was that these professors had the courage to challenge Sahih Bukhari and Muslim, that one of these speakers openly cited the words of Allamah And he said that we should not be prejudiced and only use our own books and we should criticize the two Sahih books . After this professor finished speaking, others objected to him that I myself witnessed how this professor defended his statements in front of about 20 other professors and cited Allamah’s statements. On the other hand, Mr. Sabouni (an envoy from Saudi Arabia) talked with people against Allamah in different situations, that, on the second day of the conference, after having lunch, he prayed, and while praying, he opposed to the sayings of Allamah, that the same professor who opposed to the Sahih books (a professor of one of Turkey’s universities) objected to Mr. Sabouni In a way that other professors also supported the professor and this caused Mr. Sabouni to not be allowed to pray after dinner that day, that the chairman himself recited the prayer and apologized for Mr. Sabouni’s words towards Allamah Askari. The remarkable thing was that Allamah did not show any reaction to Mr. Sabouni’s action and later I observed the effect of this action that The majority of people objected the president of the symposium that Mr. Sabouni should not recite the prayer, and the president of the symposium announced this in the presence of the attendees during the dinner of the same day. Another result that was obtained after the presentation of Allamah’s article was that the majority of university professors came to him and asked for his books, and because the books were already ready, they were distributed among them, and there was an unprecedented interest in receiving his books. And that night in the hotel room, the vice-president of the symposium apologized to Allamah several times for the encounters that morning and kissed his hand in respect. the vice president of the symposium was the one debating with Allamah in presenting the article. After Maghrib and Isha prayers on the second day of the symposium, dinner was served at Sulaimaniye Mosque in Istanbul, and it lasted for about an hour and a half, and during this time, professors from Turkish universities (about 6 people) asked numerous questions about Hadith and They brought up Sirah. Allama explained their answer in detail and it was clear from their statements that they were under the influence of Wahhabism and their minds were confused about Shia and by the grace of God, they were enlightened by Allamah’s speech and answering their questions. Return day: On the morning of his return (the fourth day of his stay in Turkey), the head of the symposium invited Allamah to give a farewell speech as he (Allamah) was leaving for Iran. and Allamah took the stand and made statements about the symposium and encouraged the organizers, and also emphasized the unity of Muslims, and bid farewell to the meeting with continuous and long applause from the audience and the vice president and the president of the symposium once again apologized and wished him well in front of the hotel door. On the sidelines of the symposium, it was interesting to note that a person named Ahmad al-Kateb of Iraqi origin (who was formerly a Shia) was distributing pamphlets against Imam Mahdi (AS) to Turkish students and youth and was very active in this field. Unfortunately, it must be said that the officials of the embassy and consulate of the Islamic Republic of Iran did not have any presence in this symposium, which should be considered, while the ambassador of Saudi Arabia and other personalities were present in this symposium and were supporting the participants. At the end of my speech, I would like to say that the participation of Islamic scholars in such symposiums and gatherings with prior planning and provision of local facilities and their use can be very effective and fruitful in introducing the holy goals of the Islamic Republic of Iran and dear Islam to others.
