tensions between Shias and Sunnis by issuing a fatwa against insulting Muhammad's companions and wives. Criticism After Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei issued the fatwa outlawing the insult of Sunni Dignitaries (Aisha, Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattāb), Al-Habib responded by calling the Islamic Republic of Iran "oppressive". He continued by referring to Khamenei as "so-called Ali al-Khamenei – who pretends to be a Shia scholar". His reasoning for naming the Iranian government as "oppressive" was because the "regime in Iran today unjustly arrests anyone who celebrates the occasion of Farhat-ul-Zahra and prevents people from visiting the tomb of Abu Lulu". Senior Iranian cleric Naser Makarem Shirazi has referred to Al-Habib as a "hired agent or a mad man" and stated: "Recently, an illiterate fool non clergy U.K citizen in the name of Shia has insulted sacred matters of Sunni Muslim brothers". Al-Habib has been criticized by several figures and leaders who speak in the name of Shiism including Ammar Nakshawani, leader of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah, Ali Khamenei (who also issued a fatwa against insulting of Muhammad's companions) and Naser Makarem Shirazi. Works Yasser al-Habib has published many books and articles throughout the years, here are some of his works. Bibliography Filmography The Lady of Heaven References External links 1979 births Living people Kuwaiti Shia Muslims Kuwaiti religious leaders Kuwaiti people of Iranian descent Stateless people Shia scholars of Islam Critics of atheism Critics of Sunni Islam Critics of Wahhabism 21st-century Muslim scholars of Islam Islamic scholars in the United Kingdom