AUCKLAND, New Zealand: International Shia Cultural and Human Rights Organization in Auckland, New Zealand, has expressed its deep shock over the demise of Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Abul Qasim Kokaby Tabrizi.

Text of its statement is:

In The Name Of God, The Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful

Verily to God we belong and verily to Him is our return

"When a Believing Muslim Jurist Scholar (Faqih) leaves this world a gap opens in Islam that nothing can fill." Usul Al-Kafi

The news of the death of Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Abul Qasim Kokaby Tabrizi (May God have mercy on him) on 16th Thul Qa'dah 1426 in the holy city of Qom has reached the International Shia Cultural and Human Rights Organization causing much sorrow and sadness.

We present our condolences for the death of this honourable scholar to the Imam of our time Hadhrat Imam Mahdi (May God hasten his reappearance) and to the Muslim scholars, Shias and his relatives. We ask for God's mercy for this great scholar and to elevate his position and we ask for patience and reward for those left behind.

International Shia Cultural and Human Rights Organization
20th Thul Qa'dah 1426
Auckland, New Zealand
ischro@ischro.org