Ayatollah Mohammed Ali Taskhiri

The world of today faces numerous dangers, at the head of which are the following ones:

1. The explosion of population in the world.  It reached six billion and is speedily increasing.

2. Poverty and meager income.

3. Ignorance and illiteracy especially within the third world.

4. Environment pollution, particularly that caused by the nuclear wastes.

5. International and local conflicts entailing disasters and calamities.

Naturally, it is not expected from this conference to treat these questions, yet it concentrates on the issue of family and its sanctity.  It is a question that is connected, in the first place, to the first problem.  I think, however it is basically related to different humanistic questions.  If the family were protected and supported morally and financially, and its role in the social life was firmly established, it would certainly leave its positive results upon the general human prosperity.  The family is the cornerstone of the social construction.  Its solidarity means the solidarity of the society and leads to the suitable road for the society to perform its required civilized role, which would result in solving many problems of humanity.

As a Muslim, I think that Islam’s entire social plan is based on the correct role of the family, and it is the foundation of the optimum planning.  Islam demands that the sexual energies be directed only to the establishment of the family.  Islam regards marriage to be a sacred and rewarded procedure.  It, thus, systematizes sexual reproduction and lineage regulations.  It defines the relations between the married couples, as well as with their children in a practical way.  It approves any reasonable planning of the family, but rejects abortion and sterilization.

Successive international meetings in New York, Bucharest, Mexico and Cairo were intended to provide solutions for those problems, but they ignored the role of the family and did not pay sufficient attention to religious values that can help in this regard.

In the Cairo conference we emphasized on the following points:

1. Superficial development as well as unfair distribution of the divine natural resources and wasteful activities and extravagant consumption are the causes of these problems.

2. Indicated woman’s effective role in carrying out the social, political and economical construction of the society.

3. Confirmed that the family is the cornerstone of the social construction, and that any procedure causing it to become shaky and weak is a rejected procedure.

4. Stressed that morality is the basic foundation of any development.

5. Called upon the rich countries to explain their plans for decreasing the differences in the individual and world standards of living.

6. Advised refrain from imposing military or economic mights of any country against the others.

7. Condemned the idea of abortion as a way of family planning.

Nevertheless, the Cairo document did not include the religious values, although it contained many positive points.

Five years ago, before the holding of the well-known Cairo Conference, we had announced that its drafted documents prepared with an irreligious spirit, or, at least, it disregards the religious teachings.  We suggested some improvements.  Nevertheless, it still contains many weaknesses.

Of the document’s strong points are considerations such as the improvement plan for women and youth, considering their diseases, migration, education, sex discrimination, population, development, birth-health and the like.  A writer objected for approving the positive aspects in the document.  But later, especially after the changes done by the Islamic and the Christian delegations, he withdrew.  However, I still insist that the document, despite its insufficiency, included positive aspects.  This is backed by the fact that all the countries had taken it seriously.  Even the countries that boycotted the conference had formed national committees to implement its items on the national level, and they presented detailed reports to the Holland Conference.  This favored the experts in the world with a valuable collection of information and live experiences, resulting in great social effects all over the world, since it was not easy to neglect the valuable demographic proportions and the big statistical figures presented by the Iranian Islamic delegation, such as the number of the health centers in Iran, which were only 200 before the Cairo Conference, and rose to 43000 centers after five years.  Likewise the formation of 600 consulting centers about mother’s suckling, and other information part of which was stated in the delegation’s report, which were positively received by some universal personalities. 

Instead of neglecting the problems, we have to face them with courage and try to solve them wisely, by adhering to the Islamic laws as well as other divine teachings:

Sensitive Problems

There are a number of sensitive questions and problems, some of which are:

The Problem of Youths

The young generation has, due to its vital nature and evolution, many problems and styles of behavior which are exaggerated at times, and can not be breathed out in some societies, such as the sexual and marriage problems, the inclination to be free from all limitations, the revolt against the traditions and requiring answers to may questions, the unstable personality when bridging childhood to adulthood, as well as educational problems, etc.

These situations require wise treatment, as we said before, by means of field research and free friendly meetings.  It is necessary to fill up the youths’ spare time with diverse positive ways, avoiding an atmosphere of violence, unrestraint and revolt, and by providing them with the opportunities for positive substitution, instead of suppressing their psychological complexes, by spreading high moralities through wisdom and good advice, instead of using methods of concealment, by answering their questions, and so on.

The Problem of Women

The woman also has her own problems, such as social questions due to marriage, divorce, weakness in facing violent cases, such as war, deportation, despotic traditions and entering the social, managerial, economical, political and educated fields.  Therefore it is necessary to exert serious efforts to locate such problems and find their relevant solutions, guided by the Islamic sound solutions, rejecting all instances of hateful extremism which robs the woman of her humanistic and Islamic right perverts her from taking part in the process of the vast social construction, or, rather, preventing her from participating in the great process of building the human civilization, as done by the great women who had put their fingerprints on the historical relics.

Women possess great power that must not be denied nor should leave them melt in isolation.

We must use them in the interest of humanity.

The Problem of Population and the Human Rights

Along the western social thought which is dominant, over the process of forming the international social documents, including the documents of Cairo, Copenhagen, Peking and others – that there are ideas which shape the mentality of those documents, the most important of which are:

First:  The Malthus theory about the rates of the population growth.

Second:  The idea that no obstacles can be, or should be, placed in the way of satisfying the unrestricted sexual instinct, on the pretext that suppressing it would lead to mutiny and anxiety, as well as being contrary to the human right.

Third:  Disbelief in what is called “human values” or the “ethical social values.”  This idea says that the existence of such values in the society leads to be irresponsive to the western culture, on its world wide level, hence, they must be socially effaced so that the people may become open to the general western cultural invasion, and impose the instinctive feelings, not only on the minds, but also on the secondary social laws in religious matters, taking it to be a process of inserting the spirit of the human right in the legal fields, and on the presumption that the west is the alleged guardian of human rights.  This is certainly, the most dangerous stage on this onslaught!

Fourth: The spirit  of secularism, with which the west faced the domination of the church and got rid of its claws, in order to turn towards materialism and make its own civilization which connected this tendency to the scientific progress.  Consequently it is thought that this way of life is the one which must prevail all over the world.  Thus, west is quite sensitive to whatever is religious or is related to religion.  Based on the said ideas and the like, a wizard plan was founded on the following points:

1. Supporting complete freedom from the religious limitations, particularly in respect of family and social life.

2. Reducing population growth by means, including abortion.

3. Imposing the western concept of the human rights on the intellectual, practical and legal fields.

4. Confirming the idea of social secularization by the interference of the United Nations in the peoples’ cultures and their social structures.

We realize, however, that Islam does not admit such ideas, since the Glorious Qur’an confirms that God, the Most High, has inspired man with every necessary solutions for his problems in a perfect harmony with the nature.

In fact, the main problem, however, is man’s unfair and unequal distribution and consumption of natural resources, as well as ignoring Allah’s favors.  As mentioned in the holy Qur’an: “If you count Allah’s favours you will not (be able) to number them; (yet) man is unfair, ungrateful” (14/34)

We should know that the instincts, are only some neutral drives designed in man to help him in his activities that should, under the guidance of wisdom and reasons, through lawful activities, plan, a fair life; otherwise, those instincts will destroy man’s being.  At the necessitated by the human nature and conscience.

Whoever demands another then that, would be undervaluing man’s right, and taking him out to dumb animality; as Qur’an says.

“They are like cattle, or even more astray” (7/179)

Lastly, Islam is the religion of correlated life, which can manage the best way of life, it rejects secularism completely.

There is, however, and important point which must be observed, too.  There are legal substitutes, which are applicable instead of clinging to a completely passive attitude.  Islam attends to the question of the family planning and allows, or even advises it if the social progress demands it, due to temporal conditions.  If the population growth becomes a danger to the welfare of a region and its plans, owing to some uncontrollable circumstances, the Supreme Authority has the right to order the family planning.  The individuals can also organize the course according to the social interests.  The parents are quite free in this respect, but through lawful methods, of which abortion is not a part, since it is prohibited except in very rare cases, such as when the life of the mother is at stake, or when the fetus has a dangerous and incurable disease.

The human rights, in their true meaning, are ensured by Islam.  This religion tried to provide them for the individuals within a real and sound frame.  Islam has it’s own concept of sustenance, founding it on the basis of the human nature, which is common among human kind.

At any rate, the mentioned document must be treated with caution and positiveness, else, we might be afflicted with its passivities and lose its positive points.

The Educational Problem (for both sexes):   

No one may think that Islam has any restriction on education, as it is the religion of knowledge.

It encourages man to learn at any stage.  We have no problem in teaching man his individual and social rights, and there is nothing preventing the exposition of the facts to man.

The difficulty, however, is in exploiting education and its methods to carry out non-humanistic objectives.  In such cases Islam stands against this exploitation.

Teaching the matters of sex, sexual relations and their consequences is a natural affair warding off the passive results of ignorance, planning for wise gratification and implementing the aim of the creation of man in the continuation of the human species in order to construct the land, to build a good society, to organize nice social relations, as well as o satisfy the natural sexual desires of human being to enjoy life.

That is all natural, it is natural that Islam should invite to it and approve of it.  But the danger is in the process of exploitation – a fact that requires precaution, because it concerns a sensitive burning aspect of man’s life, particularly the youth.  Here is the factor of exploitation that needs precaution.  That was why the Iranian Islamic delegation insisted, in all those meetings, on starting education at a suitable age, under the supervision of the parents, with aim of not ending in negative results, individually and socially, bodily and spiritually.  Therefore, it is necessary that a wise plan should be planned for teaching our sons and daughters the information they need in respect of this subject, whose relevant precepts are scattered in different (fighi) juristic issues, such as “Purity,” “Marriage,” “Penalties” etc.

As to hiding the questions because of shame or not uncovering the secrets, is somewhat natural, but it does not mean that the youth should be kept away from the necessary information, so as not to expose them to committing sins or becoming worried.

The Problem of Abortion

This problem took much of the Cairo Conference’s time until arrived at a compromised solution.  There are states whose laws allow abortion as a natural affair.  Others, on the other side, are led by the church which absolutely prohibit abortion and any kind of birth control and family planning by means of contraceptive pills and the like, except for sexual intercourse at times when it is unlikely to have conception, such as the woman’s monthly periods.

The Islamic way is a middle one, as it prohibits abortion as soon as conception takes place.  But is allows taking every measure to prevent this conception, such as isolation which the Prophet (S.A.) allowed his companions to practice.  Islam also allows abortion if the mother’s life is surely exposed to danger, or if the fetus is afflicted with an incurable disease.

At any rate, abortion must not be encouraged and not used as a means of birth control at all.  If, however, it was allowed by religion, it must be conducted in a safe and healthy way.

Islam absolutely prohibits the mother to do that just because she does not like to have children, or because of some negative economical or social results.

Whatever the cause to the conception, even through illegal contact, the fetus will have the right to live, since a human being is a respected creature from the beginning.  Rather, all means for his evolution are to be provided to be developed and have a healthy delivery.

Finally:

We believe that the world wide movement to protect family values is apt to offer great services to humanity, at the head of which is the protection of the family formation against that of the abusers, and the aggression of the aggressors, as well as organizing the efforts of all the sincere and believing people of different religions to systematically serve the social human values, and to prevent any ethical chaos, which would bring the greatest of dangers. M6/20