NasimA senior Iranian cleric said the country is set on assisting Muslim minorities in western countries.Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Taskhiri, head of the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought, said on Friday that the forum, and Iran, feel committed to resolving the issues of Muslim communities in western countries, and has taken several steps in this regard.
He underlined the devastating conditions for Muslims in Myanmar and Sri Lanka, and said a number of sessions have so far been arranged at the forum with senior representatives and leaders of Buddhists and Muslims from Sri Lanka to work out ways to free Muslims from their current unstable state in the country and region.
Addressing the 27thIslamic Unity Conference here in Tehran, Taskhiri further underlined that misunderstandings between the followers of divine religions are also addressed by the forum and many steps have so far been taken.
Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar account for about five percent of the countrys population of nearly 60 million. They are persecuted and have faced torture, neglect, and repression since the countrys independence in 1948.
Violence in Western state of Rakhine, one of the most impoverished regions of Myanmar that is home to one million people, mostly Rohingya Muslims, has continued in 2013. About 140,000 people, including Muslims, have been left homeless in Rakhine.
On October 6, Myanmars state media reported that police had arrested over 40 Buddhists after houses of Muslims came under an arson attack while President Thein Sein was visiting Rakhine.
On October 2, police said that five Muslims had been killed in the village of Thabyuchaing as hundreds of Buddhists went on a rampage.
Human rights organizations blame Myanmars government for turning a blind eye to the violence against Muslims in the country.
By Nasim Online
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