As I have reported previously to our global network, thanks to the initiative and kind assistance of Sayyid Kashmiri, representative of the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Washington D.C., our Caux Round Table study group was invited to visit Kufa University and noted seminaries in Najaf, Iraq and discuss with Shi’a leaders, clerical and lay, the Prophet Muhammad’s Constitution of Medina and his covenants with Christians and Jews. The visit was most engaging and successful. It was so informative to us.
I had never learned the teachings and theology of Shi’a Islam. We visited the holy shrines and held several round table discussions with noted imams on the Shi’a vision of peaceful co-existence.
We saw the proclamation put in public for the visit of Pope Francis and his meeting with the Grand Ayatollah: “You are part of us; we are part of you.”
Professor Tahseen Fadhil Abbas, holder of the UNESCO Chair at Kufa University, was our gracious and most informative host.
After our visit, Prof. Tahseen wrote an important book in Arabic, now with an English translation, The Role of Shia Muslims in Peaceful Coexistence, available on Amazon.
For me, his book builds on our learning in Najaf about the Shi’a tradition from its founder, Imam Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad.
Prof. Tahseen importantly makes the case for a charismatic Shi’a tradition of prophetic mercy and compassion.
I am very grateful for his intellectual leadership and his sharing of his learning with a global audience.
I most strongly encourage you to order it and read it.