Ayatollah Sistani's opinion on the "purity" of the people of the book

Religious Authority: 
Ali al-Sistanti
Fatwa Question or Essay Title: 
Ayatollah Sistani's opinion on the "purity" of the people of the book

Question: What is the hokm (ruling) about Ahlul Kitab (people of the Book)? Are they clean? How should we deal with them?

Answer: The Ahlul Kitab (that is, the Jews, the Christians and the Zoroastrians) are ritually pure (tahir) as long as you do not know that they have become ritually impure (najis) by coming into contact with an impure object. You can follow this ruling when dealing with them.