‘Hollow and Meaningless’: Religious Authority Slams Western View of Human Rights

IQNA – A senior Iranian cleric and religious authority has condemned the Western view of human rights as “Hollow and meaningless,” noting that their “selective” approach is only driven by self-interest.

Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi, a grand source of emulation (Marja) in Qom, made the statement in a message to the opening ceremony of 10^th American Human Rights from the Perspective of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.

“For years, the lofty concept of human rights has been manipulated by oppressive and criminal powers to serve their illegitimate interests,” he said, adding, “Under the guise of defending human rights, they have committed some of the gravest injustices against nations and communities, all without appealing to human conscience or adhering to the rights of individuals; the current state of our region stands as the clearest evidence of this claim.”

“Over the past year, the entire world witnessed the atrocities committed by the Israeli regime in Gaza. Thousands of women, children, and innocent civilians were either killed or displaced from their homes as a result of its crimes—crimes perpetrated by a regime that is itself the product of a colonial and anti-human ideology rooted in the West,” he added.

Makarem strongly condemned the “savage” US-Israeli aggression on Iran last month which claimed lives of more than 900 Iranians, including women and children.

“Nor should we overlook the recent criminal attacks against our Islamic homeland, in which innocent people were martyred in cowardly assaults on their homes,” he said, asking, “Were these victims not entitled to basic rights such as life and security? In what battlefield were they present?”

“It must be said clearly: the Western view of humanity and human rights is selective and driven by self-interest,” he stressed.

“As long as their own power and control are not at stake, they speak in lofty terms. But the moment their interests are challenged, the first casualty is always “human rights” itself,” he added.

“We must never be deceived by the West’s seductive slogans. The version of human rights they promote is hollow and meaningless. They neither believe in human dignity nor adhere to the very principles they claim to uphold,” Makarem noted.

He advised all scholars and thinkers in this field is to raise awareness and shed light on the truth—exposing the true face of those who falsely claim to champion human rights, noting that this noble concept should not be allowed to be “distorted or destroyed.”

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