The Religious Authority, Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlullah, received a delegation from an American University "Tufts" that included some of its outstanding students. This meeting was one of a series of interviews that the students conducted with Lebanese politicians and religious scholars.

His Eminence welcomed the delegation saying:

"You are welcome as a group of American university students who are searching for the truth and knowledge on both the scientific and political levels. That is because we welcome all those who search for the truth earnestly and objectively and because you represent the United States of America, the country that consists of various peoples, but also interferes in the world's issues… As we welcome you, we would like you to insist on asking questions because this age is the age of the biggest questions that should be answered in a scientific and objective manner. We also want you to take into consideration the politicized media that often represent many issues in a distorted and incorrect image.

He added: We believe in the dialogue in which every party or every group presents its viewpoint to the other through a scientific spirit, far away from the subjective backgrounds. That is because if I have the right to disagree with others, the others also have the right to disagree with me. Therefore, we should use the dialogue as a basis for searching for the lost truth so that the political, religious or intellectual dialogue will be a real movement for establishing peace in the entire world.

In this respect, the Sayyed answered a question about the role of religion in a society such as the Lebanese society. H.E. emphasized that the religion is not a problem because it represents the heavenly values that open on all people to make them love and forgive one another. But, the problem mostly lies in the fact that the fanatic religious scholars are trying to reject others and do not concentrate on the common issues between sects and confessions, but rather on the issues upon which the sects and confessions disagree. The problem also lies in many examples of the Lebanese politicians that strive to guard the confessional regime to ensure that they remain in power.

H.E. added: "Lebanon represents the plurality of religions and sects that might have been a unique case in the world, but the problem in this country lies in the closed religious organizations and in the confessional regime that has turned the confessions into closed circles that look like disunited countries or nations. Thus, Lebanon will not find peace or stability except through the system of citizenry that helps people achieve their goals by their competencies and not through what the confessions' quotas impose.

Fadlullah also confirmed that the American Administration talks about democracy that it applies formally, but abuses it implicitly through supporting the totalitarian regimes in the region. Besides, H.E. stressed on respecting the American people and called for accepting the mutual interests of the Arabs and Muslims on the one hand and of the western countries on the other hand. He also indicated that the peoples of the region do not hate the American people, but they hate the policies of the American Administration, especially the current administration. Therefore, when those people confront occupation, they are defending their interests and existence.

In addition, His Eminence pointed out to the role that the United Nations ought to play, saying that: "We wish that the United Nations works on conducting the dialogue among peoples and preserving the world peace and security, since the UN represents the world government, but the American Administration has paralyzed the role of the UN and turned it into a party. It has also pressurized it to adopt the American policy that paved the way for Israel to violate international resolutions. Thus, we saw that the United Nations has failed in Iraq since it could not play a decisive role as a result of the American pressure. The UN is also intended at present to turn into a party that pressurizes the peoples. Besides, we believe that there is a structural problem in the United Nations that lies in the authority that is given to the countries that have the "veto" right and care only for its private interests in using this right, in addition to preventing the General Assembly from playing its required role, since its decisions are not obligatory...

All that may confiscate the peoples' rights in an unjust manner, in addition to the political problem that is represented by the subjection of the international organization to America or by yielding to it in a way or another. Since, the American Administration has failed in solving the major world problems, how could it dictate its policy on the UN and on the peoples in the entire world, especially while taking into consideration the developments that the world is witnessing nowadays.