Cultural Envoy Highlights Interfaith Dialogue between Iran, Spain
Speaking in an interview with IQNA, Mohammad Mehdi Ahmadi said Christian organizations in Spain are interested and believe in dialogue.
“We in Iran also believe in dialogue and consider it beneficial,” he said.
There have been dialogues on issues like peace, social justice and religious issues and such dialogues will continue in the future, he stated.
Ahmadi added that scholarly delegations and religious figures should make reciprocal visits in order to expand the dialogue.
He also noted that the Iranian Cultural Center in Spain plans to organize a conference on religious foundations from the viewpoints of Islam and Christianity.
Slated for the Iranian month of Esfand (February-March 2024), it will be jointly held with the University of Salamanca, which is run under the supervision of the Catholic Church, he stated.
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Elsewhere in the interview, Ahmadi referred to the situation of Muslims in Spain, saying there are some 2.2 million Muslims in the country, which has a population of 47 million.
Some ten percent of the country’s Muslims are Spanish and the rest are originally from other countries, such as Morocco, Jordan, and Iraq.
He said nearly five percent of Spain’s Muslims follow the Shia school of thought and the reset are Sunnis.
Muslim institutions have formed a union and organize Islamic programs, and the Spanish government supports them, he noted.
As for Islamophobia, the Iranian envoy said anti-Muslim parties are not active in Spain as those in countries like the Netherlands and Denmark.
He also highlighted the support for Palestine among political parties in Spain.
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