The visit of Foreign Muslim Statesmen to Razavi's Shrine and their Sufi Tendencies

Visiting religious places is one of the common programs in the trips of diplomats and officials of Muslim countries when visiting other Islamic countries. The tomb of the 8th Shiite Imam in the holy city of Mashhad, which is considered the most important pilgrimage site in Iran, has hosted dozens of Sunni statesmen in the last century. This research, which was carried out using a descriptive and analytical method, seeks to find the reasons for the visit of the mentioned officials to Razavi's shrine. The findings show that the Sufi tendencies of some Muslim statesmen are one of the reasons for their visit to the holy shrine of the 8th Imam (as). Some Muslim politicians such as: Zahir Shah, Abul Kalam Azad, Imran Khan, Abdullah Vad, Benazir Bhutto, etc., from countries such as: Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Senegal, etc., have gone to Mashhad when they were in Iran with the motivation of visiting Imam Riḍā (as). In their homeland, these people were famous for supporting Sufism or belonging to schools such as Suhravardiyyeh, Qadiriyyeh, Naqshbandiyyeh, Cheshtiyyeh and Moridiyyeh, and there are numerous reports of their visit to the shrines of Sofia. With this explanation, it seems that the mentioned political officials have visited Imam Riḍā's tomb because of their belief or respect for the position of Imam Riḍā (as) in the Sufi dynasties. In this context, it can be expected that the shrine of Imam Riḍā (as) can be effective as a reference point for improving and strengthening political and cultural relations.