![\"Ayatollah](\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/10\/gangei-jalal-ayatollah-400.jpg\" "\\"Ayatollah")
\nIn an article published on October 15th on Townhall.com, a political commentary website in U.S., Ayatollah Jalal Ganje\u2019i a well-known religious figure and Chairman of the NCRI’s Committee on Freedom of Religions and Denominations denounced Khamenei\u2019s Nuclear Fatwa as an irrefutable lie.<\/p>\n
Referring to the Iranian regime\u2019s vocabulary for expansion of regional influence \u2013 \u201cEqtedar\u201d [might] he wrote:\u00a0\u201cOn September 4, mullahs\u2019 Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei declared that the way forward for his regime is to ramp up its \u201ceqtedar\u201d [might].\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c ‘Eqtedar’ is achieved by one of two ways. One is to expand regional influence through the export of terrorism, officially described as ‘export of revolution.’ It is this policy that has led to the establishment of Lebanese Hezbollah, propped up the Assad regime, and most recently contributed to the rise of Islamic State. The other is development of nuclear weapons to obtain international leverage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Referring to the Tehran’s clandestine nuclear program that was exposed by the main Iranian opposition group, the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK), Ganje\u2019i said: \u201cThe Iranian regime has claimed that a religious decree (fatwa) by its Supreme Leader had previously declared the use of WMDs as \u201charaam\u201d [religiously forbidden]. Just prior to the UN General Assembly, Hassan Rouhani once again cited this as proof of the peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear program. However, a bit of scrutiny shows that such a fatwa likely does not exist and that even if it did, foreign powers cannot rely on it as evidence of peaceful intentions. In either case, the regime knows the truth and uses tales of this fatwa purely for purposes of propaganda and deceit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ayatollah Ganje\u2019i continued: \u201cIt is a fact that there was no such fatwa until May 1998, when the first Pakistani nuclear bomb was revealed. At the time, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former president of Iran and second in command only to the Supreme Leader, welcomed Pakistan\u2019s weapon, saying that Muslims have a greater chance to overcome Israel and other enemies when they have such weapons.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time, Khamenei did not contradict these statements, and there has never been any written document against nuclear arms in Khamenei\u2019s handwriting and carrying his stamp. It is standard practice for all fatwas to be produced in this way and distributed via the press or official websites. Furthermore, not all prohibitory fatwas are binding for the government or officials.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Chair of the NCRI’s Committee on Freedom of Religions and Denominations, analyzing the religious value of the regime\u2019s supreme leader\u2019s Fatwa said: \u201c(\u2026) even if taken as face value, (The Fatwa) is just a political gimmick and not a fatwa. A fatwa never refers to one\u2019s personal understanding of the Quran or another text. Here, Khamenei states that destroying mankind has been condemned by Quran. Even in referring to Quran, we see that this verse has no such meaning and Khamenei\u2019s interpretation of the verse in question is simply inaccurate. No reputable religious scholar or interpreter of Quran has interpreted this verse in this manner.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe credibility of a fatwa may be assessed on three grounds: its correctness, utility, and the competence of the one who issues it. The solidity of the reasoning behind a fatwa largely hinges on the religious expertise of the one issuing it, and Ali Khamenei is not considered a jurisprudent in Iranian and Shiite religious centers.\u201d<\/p>\n
He continued: \u201cAs the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ruhollah Khomeini declared the Jawaher al Kalam (a 50-volume collection written by Sheikh Mohammad Hassan Najafi in 1850) to be the only credible source of Islamic jurisprudence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the leader of the regime, Ali Khamenei must adhere to this text in his own pronouncements, but Jawaher al Kalam quite clearly contradicts him: \u2018In the battle with the enemy it is permitted to stage a siege, prevent anyone from entering or leaving; use catapults, guns, gunpowder; rain down deadly and poisonous snakes, scorpions and other deadly animals; destroy walls and houses; cut off trees; rain down fire and guide floods [to the enemy site]; and anything else that would increase the chance of overcoming the enemy\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
The author in Townhall\u2019s article goes on to say, \u2018In these matters there is no difference between the scholars.\u2019 (\u2026) \u2018Poisoning of the enemy water or food is considered \u2018haram\u2019 by some\u2026 and is reluctantly accepted by some\u2026 But if this is the only way to defeat the enemy, it is permitted without qualification.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this logic, the essence is victory over enemy and as such, even mass killings that some would consider \u201charaam\u201d in normal circumstances are \u201cpermitted without qualification\u201d if it would be the only way to defeat the enemy. Now, is it that in his hypothetical fatwa, Ali Khamenei is saying that \u201cwhat matters the most is not victory\u201d? Neither he nor any of his cohorts dare to say so.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ayatollah Ganje\u2019i who was known as a religious expert and had held many speeches both during the time of the Shah and after the 1979 revolution, revealed that \u201ceven if Khamenei was serious about issuing a contrary fatwa, it would not matter for two reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst, a fatwa is only binding for the followers of the religious scholar who issues it, and any officer or commander who follows another religious scholar or considers himself to not need the fatwa, is not required to follow it. In addition, there is no punishment for failing to adhere to a fatwa.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSecond, and more importantly, any fatwa issued by anyone may be declared void by \u201csecondary decrees.\u201d The most imperative cases of \u201csecondary decrees\u201d are \u201cemergency circumstances.\u201d Moreover, any decision about the need to use the \u201cpoison\u201d namely a nuclear bomb is not up to the scholar who has issued the fatwa.\u201d<\/p>\n
Townhall concluded the article with: \u201cIt is more than evident that there is no fatwa to back up the regime\u2019s senior officials when they claim that Iran has only honorable intentions for its nuclear program. And certainly, there is nothing to back up any decision by the international community to appease the criminals ruling Tehran. The only value that the supposed fatwa has in the Islamic Republic is as grounds for such appeasement. And the mullahs are counting on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs such, President Obama and other Western leaders cannot set policy according to non-binding and easily reversible remarks by Khamenei. Doing so would put the world in great peril on the basis of a fantasy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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