The Muslim world has suffered a great loss - the earthly life of our elder and wise brother Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Tashiri has ended. He devoted many years of his life to the activities of the World League for the Rapprochement of Madhhabs, and all recent years was an adviser to the supreme leader of Iran on issues of the Islamic world. Ayatollah Tashiri was loved and respected in the Islamic world as a theologian who made an enormous contribution to the intra-Islamic dialogue, to overcoming the mutual alertness between Muslims-representatives of various sects and madhhabs.

Mohammad Ali Tashiri was well known among Russian Muslims and our brothers in the Commonwealth of Independent States. I can confidently say that he loved Russia and the Russian Ummah, because he invariably responded to the invitation of Russian Muslims to take part in one or another significant scientific or theological event. His last visit to our country took place due to the invitation of Mufti Gainutdin to the VI International Scientific and Practical Conference "Fakhretdinov Readings" on the topic "Islam in the Global World: Muslim Heritage and Intercultural Dialogue" in September 2019. He invariably delivered a message about peace, dialogue, mutual love and harmony. The authority of Ayatollah Tashiri in the dialogue between madhhabs and Islamic movements will certainly be lacking.

On behalf of the Secretariat of the International Muslim Forum, the Moscow Islamic Institute and myself, I express my sincere condolences on this great loss to the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, to the entire Iranian people, to the family and friends of the scientist.

I pray to Allah to accept the soul of the deceased and honor it with His mercy in Eternity.

Damir Mukhetdinov

Executive Secretary of the MIF