The Iranian government has reacted to the crisis the Shiites are facing in Nigeria, as fuelled by the detention and trial of their leaders, Ibrahim el-Zakzaky.
According to the government, its relationship with Nigeria is cordial and its position is that the recent court ruling gives the two parties an opportunity to resolve the matter.
In an interview in ‘The Punch’, the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Nigeria, Morteza Zarchi, said, “After the order by the court in Kaduna; we have a good chance of resolving any problem between the Shia people and the government. Any problem between nations of Nigeria and the government does not benefit each side and I think, maybe this is a problem of development, and that somebody from outside the country wants to create a problem for the nation, for the government.
“Shia, Sunnis, Christians and people of other religions are all Nigerians; they all belong to the Nigerian nation. We have good relations with Shia, Sunnis, and Christians; we don’t have any problem with anybody. I have a good relationship with the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria and also with the Sultan of Sokoto. Are they Shia? The Sultan is the head of all Muslims in Nigeria and whether Shia or Sunnis, they all follow him. I have invited him to visit Tehran to hold talks with all segments of the Iranian religious groups; I think it is very important. We can also invite some Iranian clergies to come and hold discussions with Nigerian Muslims and Christians.
“What is important is how we can live together as humans. The Qu’ran says: ‘We created you as man and woman and divided you into different tribes to know one another.’ Who is the best? Allah knows. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, we don’t have any problems with the Christians; we don’t have any problems with other religions. We are for peace. We talk about peace and development for all which is the right of all nations in the world. We support this right, we insist on this right.”
