The Religious Authority, Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlullah warned that the current situation the nation is passing through is the most critical and complicated one. He also warned against the American suggestions that some Sunni countries are confronting other Shiite groups.

His Eminence emphasized that a serious Muslim – Muslim dialogue has become a necessity after the various conferences that were held, had turned into exchanging compliments or entering into skirmishes, calling for a serious dialogue among the Wahhabi and Shiite sects.

The Sayyed issued a statement, indicating that the dialogue movements and conferences have failed in promoting the Islamic unity… He said:

Many international conferences were held recently under the title of dialogue, especially the dialogue among religions, in view of the political and social complications that had affected negatively the relationships between the followers of religions and sects.

At a time we emphasize the importance of conducting a dialogue, especially among religions and sects on both the regional and international levels, we notice that the term "dialogue" that was consumed on the political and media levels, in addition to the conferences and seminars that are held here and there, have been turned into compliments and formalities, thus serving certain political interests or to get rid of some pressures that had resulted from the struggles between countries on the world stage.

Amid these critical and complicated developments, in which the arrogant countries started to instigate sectarian divisions in the nation to serve the Zionist-American project to the extent that America is suggesting that some Sunni countries are confronting other Shiite countries and that some Shiites are supporting the Zionist-American project on one hand, while other Sunnis are supporting it also on the other hand… While in reality, we see that both the Sunnis and the Shiites profoundly reject occupation and all its projects in the region.

For that reason, we emphasize the necessity to launch a Muslim-Muslim dialogue that does not remain in the ivory tower, but rather plays an effective role in dealing with the practical affairs of the society through the movement of the Sunni and Shiite scholars. Besides, this dialogue should not comply with circumstantial and political needs that are related to the movement of regimes or international policies, but it should be founded on the educational and intellectual basis that considers the dialogue an open educational and intellectual movement based on the scientific and objective spirit.

However, we consider that any dialogue should be based on the following key conditions:

Firstly: The good intentions that are based on the Quranic method of dialogue that Allah has made clear in His saying: And most surely we or you are on a right way or in manifest error. (34:24).

Secondly: The dialogue should be considered as a general Muslim priority that includes all sects without any exclusion, including those whose relationships are very complicated even to the extent of accusing one another with Kufr.

Accordingly, the dialogue between Shiite groups and Salafi currents, such as the Wahhabi sect whose some of its jurisprudential rulings are acute, "would be among the most vital and beneficial to Muslims". Such a dialogue should be based on an open intellectual and educational movement, in which the Holy Quran and the Sunna of the Prophet will be the reference in dealing with controversial issues. Allah, the most Exalted says: ".., then if you quarrel about anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger," (4:59).

Thirdly:

No taboo issues should be ruled out of the dialogue. Hence, every party has the right to discuss any issue because a constructive and serious dialogue should not be hindered by obstacles but rather on the basis of God's saying: "Bring your proof if you are truthful." (2:111)

And that is how the Holy Quan, dealt with the issues raised by the unbelievers. Hence, the Holy Quran has dealt with all the accusations that were raised against the Prophet, whether concerning his personality or his Message. The Quran has also answered objectively the wrong notions about Allah, the Most Exalted, although it was considered sacred to all Muslims. So, what do we have to say about the issues that are of a less importance?!

Perhaps, we ought to exclude the term "sacred" from the movement of the dialogue, because this concept is ambiguous in its meaning, while the scientific logic that the Holy Quran has emphasized, and all the Messages have called for, is the logic of evidence and proof.

Fourthly:

Accordingly, we see that the Muslim – Muslim dialogue should be based on the scientific frankness without finding any difficulty in raising any of the controversial issues, in which the reality and the thought have a mutual thought effect on one another.

Fifthly:

The dialogue should not be conducted on the basis of what the earlier scholars from this sect or that had written, but rather on the dialogue among the contemporary Muslim scholars, since many ideas that each party had about the other, were imposed by the complications of the movement of history in the past, or by their mentalities, while the jurisprudential view of the present is different from that of the past. Thus, we do not consider the thoughts of the earlier scholars as "sacred", regardless of how important they are. Besides, keeping the dialogue within the frame of what they had produced will not help in creating a serious and vivid dialogue, but rather it will turn the dialogue into skirmishes and into a sphere in which each party records goals against the other. Therefore, the dialogue should be based on the jurisprudence of the present scholars and not of the previous ones in order not to travel with the dialogue to history while ignoring the reality of the present.

Sixthly:

The dialogue should also stay away from skirmishes and recording goals by this sect or that. Thus, we must study the feasibility of the media coverage of the dialogue's movement since this coverage might instigate fanaticism in the Muslim "street" instead of accompanying this movement intellectually.

As a result, it goes without saying that the seriousness of any Muslim-Muslim dialogue, in its relation with the Muslim "street", is determined according to the results of the dialogue and not to the dialogue's movement that holds many elements of instigation, regardless of how objective and scientific this movement might be. That is because we know that the movement of complications that might reach the "street", can hinder any dialogue, regardless of how serious this dialogue might be.

Seventhly:

Accordingly, we see that one of the most important reasons that led to the failure of the previous dialogues and conferences, or to the failure to lessen the sectarian tensions, is represented by – in addition to that it lacks the high level of seriousness – the inability of the positive results of dialogues to get down to the "street", in which these dialogues are being turned into – through the popular educational tools – a new Islamic education that puts the disagreement with others in the jurisprudential Islamic sphere and not opposing it.

Therefore, we consider that the dualism in the movement of the Muslim-Muslim dialogue should not remain between the conviction formed by the conferences and between the popularist culture. For that reason, all the educational methods that are practiced by the callers and scholars who stand in the middle between the leaders of the Muslim-Muslim dialogues and people should be reformed. That is because we feel that there is a wide difference in the leaders' viewpoint regarding each other and between the viewpoints of the preachers who are accusing one another of Takfir and delusion, relying on issues that were obliterated by time.

Therefore, we realize the importance of the sensitivity of this point in particular, because any dialogue on the Islamic level, could not help in forming a qualitative movement, if it does not form a general atmosphere in which the leaders and people associate with each other because that is what lessens the pressures among them.

Lastly:

The entire international arrogance is confronting the entire Islam in a campaign of several aspects and goals that are not confined to the political and security aspects only, but rather establishes a distortional educational and intellectual movement that leads all Muslims to a vagueness of concepts in which it will be easy for the arrogant and oppressors to break deep into the Islamic consciousness through instigating divisions based on misunderstanding the other and even accusing him with Takfir. In this way we will be reflecting the Holy Hadith of the Messenger (a.s.) of Allah: "The nations are about to call each other and set upon you, just as diners set upon food."

He was asked. "Will it be because of our small number that day?"

The Prophet answered, "Rather, on that day you will be many, but you will be like foam, like the foam on the ocean, And Allah will remove the fear of you from the hearts of your enemies and will throw wahn (weakness) into your hearts."

Some then asked. "O Messenger of Allah! What is Wahn?"

He replied. "Love of the world and the hatred for death" (Abo Dawood 4292).