Extremism is a poison to Islamic awakening

Tehran Times -- Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of Imam Khomeini, says the Islamic movements in the region should be guarded against extremism.

Hassan Khomeini made the remarks in an address to a number of Foreign Ministry officials and Iran’s ambassadors to foreign countries who had visited the mausoleum of Imam Khomeini to reaffirm their allegiance to the ideals of the Islamic Revolution.

Hassan Khomeini went on to say that the developments in the Middle East and North Africa region have marked a milestone in the history of the Islamic world.

He drew a distinction between revolutions and said that certain revolutions are political in nature creating changes in countries’ political systems while others are specifically social.

He said that social revolutions are superior to revolutions which are merely political.

“In (social) revolutions social institutions undergo changes and political structures also change as a result,” he commented.

He said that the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979 was undoubtedly a political and social revolution which changed the social and political structure of the time.

The Islamic Revolution had a “historical message” for the people of the world and it was not limited to a particular generation or time, he explained.

The message of the Islamic Revolution is to promote spirituality and justice in the world, and “today we are witnessing such a thing is happening in the Islamic world.”

However, he added, it is possible that a movement will find an ill fate, and “extremism is usually the greatest danger to a movement.”

If we do not remain vigilant about what has spread in the world under the name of “Talibanism” the Islamic awakening will suffer a great blow, he stated.