Ahlul Bayt News Agency (ABNA.ir), Tehran, Iran -- Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi has warned the government of Azerbaijan to stop destroying the country’s mosques.
“If the destruction of the mosques in Azerbaijan continues, we will issue a fatwa (religious decree) of resistance, and we will declare that anyone who is killed in this path is a martyr,” Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi said in Qom on Wednesday.
“We have officially sent our message to the Azerbaijani government, and we hope that they stop,” he stated.
The government of Azerbaijan should know that Shia Muslims obey marja taqlids (Shia clerics who are regarded as sources of emulation) and act upon their decrees, he noted.
He also said, “You should not become a puppet of Jews and Wahhabis and undermine security in your country.”
The Fatima Zahra Mosque in Azerbaijan was recently torn down following a ruling issued by Baku’s Second Economic Court.
Azeri Muslims have strongly protested against the court verdicts calling for the destruction of several mosques in Azerbaijan.
In addition, a mosque in the Yasamal district of Baku was recently demolished.
