نُجَباء در همایش بین‌المللی تهران؛ حمایت از قدس شریف و تکریم هنر متعهد

Held at Azadi Tower;

al-Nujaba at an international conference in Tehran; Supporting al-Quds and honouring committed art

 

The International Conference of Committed Art in Support of al-Quds al-Sharif [the Noble City of al-Quds] was held at Tehran’s Azadi Tower with the participation of the representative office of the al-Nujaba Islamic Resistance Movement in Iran.

 

According to the website of the representative office of al-Nujaba in Iran, the International Conference of Committed Art in Support of al-Quds al-Sharif was held on Monday, February 20, 2023, in cooperation with al-Nujaba’s Islamic Resistance Office in Iran, at Tehran’s Azadi Tower. 

Below is a report of the details of the conference and the statements of the guest speakers from our perspective:

 

The Islamic Republic continues the path of resistance alongside the oppressed people/ Committed art in the service of the important issues of the Islamic world

 The Chairman of the Committee to Support the Islamic Revolution of the Palestinian People by the Presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran during his speech at this conference while praising the participants said, “This festival has been organized with the efforts of the supporters of Palestine and the Islamic Resistance as a unique step in taking advantage of God-given zeal so that artistic techniques are in line with the ideals.”

 Ayatollah Mohammad-Hasan Akhtari emphasized the necessity of synergy in different sectors and continued, “Art should serve the important issues of the Islamic world in beautiful formats and multiple frames of caricature, film, animation, literature, poetry, drama and other techniques.”

 Referring to the views of Imam Khomeini (ra) and the Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Khamenei] regarding revolutionary art, he noted, “Islam wants art to serve human and religious issues and divine culture. The Supreme Leader emphasized many times that serving Islamic ideals, especially the Palestinian cause, is one of the essentials of art.”

 In another part of his speech, the head of the Supreme Council of the Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly condemned some of the so-called inhuman artists who desecrate sanctities in Denmark, the Netherlands and France under the pretext of freedom, saying, “We condemn these foul and malicious actions and express our hatred for the governments that support them, who have turned art into a tool against the Islamic ummah.”

 At the same time, Ayatollah Akhtari did not think it was enough to be satisfied with condemnation and stated, “We must use our artistic capacities to confront and cultivate the idea of fighting against oppression and arrogance among all people, especially at the level of students.”

 He regretted the silence of the international community regarding the crimes of the Zionist regime in Palestine and the aggression of the Saudi regime against the oppressed people of Yemen and added, “It is necessary to use committed art to destroy Israel, repel oppression and strengthen resistance to mobilize the world against criminals.”

 In conclusion, the Chairman of the Committee to Support the Islamic Revolution of the Palestinian People by the Presidency of the Islamic Republic reminded, “The issue of Palestine is the issue of all Muslims today. Today and at this very hour, settlement construction and destruction of people’s homes, killing of young people and captivity of women and children continues. The leadership and officials of the Islamic Republic, as they have been standing by the Palestinian and Yemeni people, continue this path.”

 

Iran’s support for liberation movements is due to the guidance of the Supreme Leader/ Mobilization of artistic capacities against enemies

 In a message to the attendees of the conference, the spiritual leader of the Bahraini Revolution noted, “The Islamic ummah now needs to mobilize all its capacities, including art, to constantly support the Islamic Resistance Front against the enemy of the Zionist occupation.”

 Ayatollah Shaykh Isa Qasim celebrated the public, honest and continuous support of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the issue of Palestine and al-Quds, and added, “Despite the compromise of some Arab regimes with Israel, the Muslim people are aware of Iran’s responsible and honourable role in supporting the issue of Palestine and we hope to witness the unity of the Islamic ummah.”

 He attributed the Islamic Republic of Iran’s support of the liberation movements to the guidance of the Wali al-Faqih (Guardian-Jurist) and knowledgeable jurists and added, “This support continues even if it is not reported to the media.”

 At the end of his message, the Bahraini member of the Supreme Council of the Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly emphasized, “In Palestine and al-Quds, there is a continuous battle between truth and righteousness, which affects other Islamic countries like a volcano.”

 

Art is one of the effective ways to fight against Israel/ Palestine’s victory in the war of narratives

 During a speech at the International Conference of Committed Art in Support of al-Quds al-Sharif, the representative of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement in Iran stated, “The Zionists used art as a weapon from the beginning of their occupation project to the extent that many Westerners now think that Muslims have invaded the Jews in Palestine!”

 Referring to the war of narratives, Naser Abu Sharif continued, “Despite the hundreds of billions of dollars that Israel has spent and the efforts that are currently active on the internet to censor us, now the narrative of the Palestinian people is winning against their lies because Palestinian artists like the martyr Naji al-Ali (a famous Palestinian caricaturist) pioneered and put their capacity in the service of their people.”

 Emphasizing that “the issue of Palestine is still the central issue of the Islamic world,” he said, “Using the language of art is one of the effective ways to fight against the Zionist regime and we are grateful to the Islamic Republic of Iran in this regard as well.”

 

Palestine is the concern of noble people and vulgar artists do not deserve to deal with it

 The ambassador of the Republic of Yemen in Iran, as one of the speakers of the program, described the Palestinians as an artistic and art-nurturing people and stated, “The Palestinian people did not give up in the battle against falsehood and taught resistance to different generations. The issue of Palestine is the concern of noble people and vulgar artists do not deserve to deal with it.”

 Thanking the Islamic Republic of Iran for its support to the oppressed people of the world, especially the Palestinian mujahids, Ibrahim al-Dulaymi continued, “During the war in Yemen, we paid tribute to male and female artists in different fields of poetry, painting etc. with a spiritual and jihadi view and did not let the enemy overcome us in this regard.”

 While emphasizing the linguistic and practical support of the Yemeni people to the resistant Palestinian people, he demanded to provide sufficient facilities to support the committed artists so that they can play their role in the best way.

 

Resistance against occupation and arrogance is one of the examples of seeking justice/ The valuable role of art in exposing Israel’s crimes

 While delivering a speech at this international conference, the secretary-general of the Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly considered resistance to be the only option against occupation and autocracy and said, “The most violation of international norms has been committed by the Zionist regime and our logical position is that the sovereignty of Palestine should be in the hands of the people of this country. The country is Muslim, Christian and Jewish.”

 Ayatollah Reza Ramazani emphasized the valuable role of art in portraying the crimes of Israel and noted, “Palestine is a holy land and respected by all religions, unfortunately, the most bitter events against the people take place there and even the artists who narrate the events of Palestine are threatened and martyred.”

 He commended the holding of this prestigious conference in support of Palestine and al-Quds al-Sharif and added, “According to the teachings of Abrahamic religions and the noble verses of the Holy Qur’an, negotiation and peace should also be at the centre of justice and one of the examples of seeking justice is resistance against oppression and arrogance which has become a global trend today.”

 In conclusion, the senior member of the Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly called Imam Khomeini (ra) “a revivalist of human dignity based on revelation” and said, “Palestine, thanks to the Resistance, is in pursuit of true dignity and this is a great lesson for freedom seekers. Certainly, this resistance will spread in the world and it will be the prelude to the appearance of the Saviour (a) and then humanity will taste the true justice.”

All classes of the Iraqi people, especially artists, are against the normalization of relations with Tel Aviv

Speaking at this conference, Hujjat al-Islam Dr. Ahmad Sa’adi, the head of the Shahid Fadhil Centre for Strategic Studies, referred to the historical record of the Iraqi people in supporting the Palestinian cause and the mobilization of thousands of Iraqis in the late 1940s to fight against the regime occupying al-Quds, saying, “Both the military forces, the seminaries and the people of Iraq have always fought against the Israeli enemy, and these people are against the normalization of relations with the Zionist regime.”

Hujjat al-Islam Sa’adi mentioned prominent Iraqi poets such as Ahmad al-Waeli and Muhammad-Mahdi al-Jawahiri as representatives of the Iraqi artistic community, who in their works put Palestine as the central issue of the Islamic ummah and rebuked the compromisers.

 

It should be mentioned that in the final part of the program, the prizes of the Third International al-Quds Day International Caricature Festival were awarded to the top winners with the reading of the judge’s statement.

 It is worth mentioning that this international conference was organized by the Committee to Support the Islamic Revolution of the Palestinian People by the Presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the participation of institutions from the Islamic Republic and other countries with the presence of national and international personalities such as Naser Kanani, the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran; Ayatollah Reza Ramazani, the secretary-general of the Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly; Ibrahim al-Dulaymi, the ambassador of the Republic of Yemen; Naser Abu Sharif, the representative of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement in Iran; and Sayyid Murtadha al-Sanadi, the representative of the Bahraini revolutionaries, was held.