The visit took place on 19 September with Ahad Faramarz Gharamaleki, head of the foundation, and Hoj Faqih Esfandyari, Deputy for International Affairs of Imam Reza shrine, in attendance.

Welcoming the Australian group, Gholamreza Jalali, an official from the Islamic Research Foundation, stated: “Mashhad is the city for all pilgrims from across the globe”.

“Human is oriented towards God in four streams; first, the creature to the Creator; second, with the Creator to the Creator; third, the Creator to the creature; and fourth, the Creator with the Creator. In fact, we achieve unity from multiplicity, and it is a civilizing movement”, said Jalali.

“We’re constantly dealing with multiplicity; therefore, we come across numerous routes, which puzzle us. Hence, we need a leader who can reconcile the opposites”, continued the researcher.

Jalali further quoted from Imam Reza: “Humans can gain divine blessings with the rule of justice and righteousness”.

Stressing that Imam Reza’s role in making civilization was his comprehensive kindness, he noted: “Imam’s kindness helped the Shias to converge. The respect Shias have for each other is modeled on Imam’s negotiations with other faiths”.

“Following in Imam Reza’s footsteps, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution meets with the families of martyrs from different faiths. This behavior has made Iran – where people respect each other – a model for other countries, and has started an Islamic civilization”, added the official.

Elsewhere in the meeting, the head of the foundation, Faramarz Gharamaleki, addressed the Australian Shias, saying: “Peace is the missing wish in most human communities at the moment”.

He asked the Australian group whether humanity had gained peace or not, stressing: “It had been speculated that humanity could naturally reach peace with the Industrial Revolution (18th century), but it didn’t materialize. In fact, world peace has turned into an unattainable goal for humanity”.

Gharamaleki pointed to the fast developing information technology and artificial intelligence, which necessitated the demand for peace and peacefulness to the core.

He called humanity’s failure to reach peace as a multi-factor phenomenon.

Talking about the three factors involved in this failure, he said: “first, we overlook the fact that outside peace is rooted in inner peace”.

He continued that the other factor was mistaking peace with convenience, noting: “Most of our efforts are for convenience under the guise of peace. Science and technology are aimed at creating convenience as a material need. Material needs are very important, but widely depart from peace. Humans can only reach durable peace through divine connection”.

Likening humans to fish in a pond that are seeking to reach endless seas for peace, Gharamaleki said: “Imam Reza is referred to as ‘peace of hearts’ in Islamic anecdotes as he is the manifestation of God”.