Maryam Rajavi said: “Islam promotes tolerance towards adherents of other faiths and fellow human beings. Islam espouses peaceful coexistence among mankind from every race, gender, faith and creed. Accordingly, we argue that the dispute is not between Shiites and Sunnis, not between Christians and Muslims, not between those in the Middle East and those in the West. There is not a war among civilisations. The main dispute and confrontation are between despotism and fundamentalism on the one hand, and democracy, freedom, and the people who desire freedom and progress, on the other hand.”

The meeting, held in Auvers-Sur-Oise during the Muslim celebration of Ramadan, was entitled “Interfaith Solidarity Against Extremism”.

Rajavi called on those present to recognise extremism, particularly that present in the Iranian Regime, and reject it thoroughly as the true nature of Islam commands.

She said: “I seek your permission to call on all Muslim nations, and all Sunnis and Shiites, to join hands and stand up to those responsible for such a catastrophic situation. Our call is to unite in solidarity, based on a strong foundation over which the overwhelming majority of Muslims concur. Ideologically, this foundation, which derives from the truth of Islam, is to deny religious compulsion and compulsory religion. Politically, it is to stand up to the religious tyranny ruling Iran, which is the common enemy of all nations in the Middle East and is the epicentre of belligerence and export of fundamentalism to other countries in the region.”

Secularism

Rajavi rejected the idea of compulsory religion, as she has many times before when addressing the need for a secular Iran.

She said: “Everyone believes that Islam does not approve of using force to impose an opinion or a religion. Once coercion, compulsion and vengeance are rejected, the prospect will arise for brotherhood and sisterhood – the historical and collective conscience of our nations – to spread. One of the main tools of religious compulsion and imposition is excommunication. This is a means to rid oneself of opponents, in favour of monopoly and imposing despotic rule under the veneer of Islam. [Former Supreme Leader of Iran] Khomeini initiated the decree for the massacre of political prisoners in 1988 by excommunicating the PMOI.”

She continued: “Rejecting all forms of compulsion in religion also opens the way for the principle of separation of religion and state, and leaves no room for tyranny and religious discrimination under the name of God.”

Terrorism

Rajavi addressed how the international community can act to end terrorism by tackling that world’s number one state sponsor of terrorism: The Iranian Regime. The Regime is currently mired in crises and is likely to fall any day now.

She said: “Firstly, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the main operative advancing all the clerical regime’s policies in the region, must be officially recognised and declared as a terrorist entity. The presence of this criminal force and its proxy militias in Middle Eastern countries must not be tolerated, and they must be evicted altogether from those countries.”

She continued: “Secondly, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) must expel the Iranian regime and grant Iran’s seat in this organisation to the Iranian people’s Resistance. Thirdly, the Iranian people’s struggle to bring down the clerical regime and establish freedom and democracy should be recognised. Undoubtedly, the vast strength of solidarity and resilience among our nations will put an end to the mullahs’ religious dictatorship and realise the victory of the people of Iran, as well as of the peoples of the region.”

Syria

Rajavi also addressed the issues of the Syrian Civil War, which has been made significantly worse by the involvement of the Iranian Regime on behalf os the Bashar Assad dictatorship.

She said: “The incidents of recent years in the Middle East, particularly the slaughter of at least half-a-million innocent people of Syria with the complicity of the Iranian regime and the Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), have proven the mullahs’ endless hostility to Muslim and Arab nations.”

Prior to Rajavi’s address, attendees visited a photo exhibition, entitled “Carnage and mass killings, from Iran to Syria”, which displayed photos of the martyrs in the Iranian and the Syrian resistance forces and demonstrations against the Assad regime.