I think you could learn a thing or two from Islam
and the Ayatollahs. The following is from the website
of Grand Ayatollah Sistani, the highest ranking Ayatollah
in all of Shia Islam and whose word is law.
A couple of...recent examples of his opinions.
Grand Ayatollah Sistani.org
http://www.sistani.org/english/
Advice and Guidance to the Fighters on the Battlefields
2. With regards to Jihad there are general guidelines to
which one must adhere even when confronting non-Muslims.
The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, advised
Companions to follow these general guidelines before
sending them off to battle. .....'Do not indulge in acts
of extremism, do not disrespect dead corpses, do not resort
to deceit, do not kill an elder, do not kill a child,
do not kill a woman, and do no not cut down trees
unless necessity dictates otherwise.'
3. Similarly, the fighting against those Muslims who
oppress [others] and who wage war [unjustly] has its
guidelines and etiquettes, too.
7. Never inflict harm on non-Muslims, regardless of
their religion and sect. The non-Muslims [who live
in predominately Muslim lands] are under the
protection of the Muslims in those lands.
Whosoever attacks non-Muslims is a betrayer and traitor.
And rest assured that such an act of betrayal and
treachery is one of the most repugnant acts in
accordance to innate nature and the religion
of God.
20. Everyone must let go of those sentiments which
carry hatred and bigotry. Follow the noble manners.
God has made people into different tribes and races
so that they may know each other. Do not be overcome
by narrow-minded views and personal egos. Do you not
see how the majority of Muslims today are engaged in
self-destruction where they spend their resources,
energy, and wealth on killing and destruction of
each other? They should instead spend their resources
and wealth on the advancement of knowledge and
multiplying their resources and improve the welfare
of the people.
http://www.sistani.org/english/archive/25036/
...................
Found this on Ayatollah Sistani's main page
The Monitor's View... Who can end Iraq's Sunni-Shiite violence?
As Sunni-Shiite tensions erupted over the past year after
sectarian power grabs by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki,
Mr. Sistani met with religious Sunni leaders to tell them
that Iraqi Muslims (and the country’s ethnic Kurds) have
too much in common to split over long-held theological
and cultural disputes. He has called on the prime minister
to “give justice to the Sunnis in Iraq.” He even puts
Iraqi national identity above a Muslim one.
Unlike the Shiite clerics in neighboring Iran, Sistani warns
against the dangers of clerical rule, favoring instead such
democratic equalizers as one person, one vote. Like many
Shiites in Iraq, he has embraced the democracy implanted
after the 2003 American ouster of Saddam Hussein.
That mental shift is important. Shiites, being a minority
in the Muslim world, have a history of being rebellious
against Sunni dominance. With a culture rooted in protest,
are not used to holding secular power. That kind of
thinking comes with values based on survival, while
a democracy relies on the values of self-governance
and inclusive, collective progress.
Iraq’s young democracy has yet to create the depth of
popular support that is needed to sustain it. The country
still requires leaders who stand up to preserve democracy
when societal divisions jeopardize it. Sistani is one
of those necessary leaders – despite his reluctance to
evoke religious authority for a secular cause.
Within Shiism, leaders like Sistani rise up because
of their principles, education, pedigree, and connections.
They are often seen as infallible. Their fatwas
(edicts) are obeyed.
It is rare, then, when such a figure adopts
constitutional democracy as the ideal form
of governance.
http://www.sistani.org/english/in-news/24560/
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