No Attack on Any Gathering Is Compatible with Any Morality, Mostafa Malekian

The elders of a country must be mindful of what is happening in the streets, the bazaar, and at meetings. No attack on any demonstration or any gathering is compatible with any human or religious morality. Bring me one piece of evidence from the verses or traditions that says you should go and disrupt gatherings. Let anyone who has a dissenting opinion come and speak. As Sa'di said, whenever you have nothing to say, you resort to clawing. Clawing shows that you have nothing to say. These behaviors are not Islamic. So, all those reports you cite about the Prophet and Imam Ali regarding how they treated their opponents—what were those preserved for? Where is an Islamic society, except when its morality is Islamic? Whether anyone likes it or not, I will speak my mind. An Islamic government cannot be established with a few slogans; society must also be reformed. The inner realities of society must be reformed. Whether you attend Friday prayers or not—these are outward appearances. The emergence of a monolithic society is neither possible nor desirable. Disagreement in opinions and matters both exists and must exist. It is stated in the Quran that if We had willed, We would not have created you diverse. Know that until the Day of Judgment, you will have differences. And difference is not bad. It is narrated from the Prophet that the difference of my community is a mercy (though this has another interpretation as well). But behaving ethically in the face of differences is something that must be learned. The fact that there are various factions in the country is not a danger; the danger is that the various factions do not treat each other humanely. And the first sign of humane behavior is that, when we disagree, we present each other's arguments and see which argument prevails in the battle of proofs, and then accept it.

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