TEHRAN – A forum titled “Nahj al-Balagha; Book of Life” was held at the 30th Tehran International Holy Quran Exhibition and addressed by Japanese Muslim convert Fatemeh Etsuko Hoshino who highlighted important points about human rights in Imam Ali (AS)’s letter to Malik Ashtar.
She said Imam Ali in this letter underlines the need for respecting the rights of everyone, even one’s enemies.
He sees all human beings as God’s servants and makes no distinction when it comes to their humanity, she said.
“Imam Ali (AS)’s letter to Malik Ashtar is filled with Ikhlas (purity of intention).”
Nahj-ul-Balaqa is a collection of Imam Ali (AS)’s sermons, letters and sayings compiled by Muslim scholar Sayyid Radhi.
Elsewhere in her remarks, she referred to her conversion to Islam, saying she had been raised as a Buddhist but started to study about other religions to find answers to her questions about life, the world and spirituality.
After the 9/11 attack in the U.S., she began learning about Islam and finally found the answers in Shia Islam and converted to the faith.
Hoshino referred to the enemies’ attempts to tarnish the image of Islam and said the efforts only backfire and draw more people to the religion.
Hoshino, who has been in Iran for 13 years, has translated a number of books about Shia Islam into Japanese.
She said she is keen on introducing the Shia culture to the people of Japan.
Another speaker at the Friday forum was Sheikh Bahaeddin Naqshbandi, a Sunni scholar from the Iraqi Kurdistan region, who underlined the eloquence of Nahj al-Balagha, which has inspired people throughout centuries.
The 30th edition of the Tehran International Holy Qur’an Exhibition was launched at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla (prayer hall) in Tehran last Saturday.
Qur’an translations, poetry and literature, civilization-making mosques, family and Qur’anic lifestyle, children, Qur’an-based consultations, grassroots Qur’anic institutes, Qur’anic education, promotion of the culture of Nahj al-Balagha, promotion of Sahifeh Sajjadiyeh, Qur’anic innovations, religious arts, and religious publications are among the disciplines covered in the exhibition.