Maryam Rajavi, Iranian Opposition Leader: Terrorist Attacks in Paris Fundamentally Opposed to Islam That Advocates Tolerance and Coexistence

PARIS, Jan. 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- "Those who propagate despotism and ruthlessness under the veneer of Islam are the worst enemies of Islam. Those who massacre journalists under the pretext of defending the Prophet of Islam have no understanding of Islam whatsoever," Maryam Rajavi, the Iranian opposition leader said.

While emphasizing on peaceful coexistence among followers of religions, she noted: "Neither the abduction of school girls in Nigeria, nor the murder of children in Pakistan, nor the everyday hanging of prisoners, nor splashing acid on the eyes and faces of women in Iran, nor beheading western nationals, nor the sectarian killing of Sunnis in Iraq and nor the massacres in Paris have anything to do with Islam."

Rajavi was speaking at a major international conference on Sunday afternoon in northern Paris called, "In 2015, all for tolerance and democracy against religious extremism."

The President of the National Council of Resistance of Iran added: "Attack on journalists and writers is a barbarity that Khomeini first laid the basis for by his fatwa against British writer Salman Rushdie."

Scores of prominent French politicians including members of parliament, French Mayors and European parliamentarians were in attendance. Politicians and religious leaders from the Middle East also participated in the event and several addressed the crowd.  

The event was held on the same day that central Paris was the scene of a mass rally against the terror attack on the French Weekly, Charlie Hebdo, which resulted in the death of 12 individuals, including a number of journalists. French President Francois Hollande called for public participation in the rally as a show of solidarity.

The solidarity rally was attended by more than a million people and 40 heads of states and leaders from all over the world who had converged in Paris.

Rajavi underscored the solidarity of the Iranian people with the great demonstration of people of France on Sunday.

On behalf of the Iranian Resistance that 120,000 of its members have lost their lives in the fight against religious fascism, she expressed solidarity with the families of the victims. She also condemned the silence of Iranian regime's leaders regarding this dreadful crime and their attempt to implicitly use this slaughter to blackmail and make deals.

The President of National Council of Resistance of Iran elaborated the roots of Islamic fundamentalism in recent times saying: "Indeed, the existence of the rule of terror, barbarism and fundamentalism in Tehran is the driving force behind all extremist forces who invoke the name of Islam. From Iraq and Syria to Yemen, and from Afghanistan to France, the political and ideological backbone of extremism under the banner of Islam is the Iranian regime."

She stipulated that the regime of velayat-e faqih ruling in Iran is the epicenter, inspirer, and the bankroller and arms provider to extremism whether under the banner of Shiite or Sunni Islam. She thus called for support for a unified front against Islamic fundamentalism; specifically against the regime of velayat-e faqih in Iran. She accentuated that the intellectual, cultural and root solution to fundamentalism is the democratic and tolerant Islam that in Iran is represented by the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

Rajavi called the international crisis caused by the rise of ISIS and the fanaticism under the banner of Islam a product of the Iranian regime and the policy of appeasement with this regime and added: "Mullahs of Iran and their lobbies are trying to take advantage of the coalition formed against ISIS to get their regime out of its crisis although the Iranian regime is itself the biggest source of instability in the region and its eviction is indispensable to stability, especially in Iraq and Syria." 

SOURCE Iran News Update