Requesting to Achieve Victory with as Little Losses as Possible, Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim Calls on the Security Apparatuses and the Leader of the Popular Crowd to Be Patient and Extremely Vigilant and Cautious
Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim, head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, called on the security apparatuses and the leaders of the popular crowd to be patient and extremely vigilant and cautious and to get well prepared for any possibility, warning that the enemy is aware that its project will be buried in Tikrit, and this will open the way for its burial in Mosul and Anbar and that it will try to evade the defeat with all its available means and capacities, requesting the security apparatuses and the Mujahideen of the popular crowd to achieve victory with as little losses as possible and to protect themselves as much as possible, explaining that the victory will be complete when they return to their mothers’ arms and hug their families and beloved ones. He also called to be extremely careful so as to distinguish between the ISIS terrorists and the innocent citizens to protect them and keep them away from the battlefields, to preserve their souls and properties and to give a great image of victory to the country, the citizens and the doctrine away from any form of revenge or retaliation, considering the fatwa of the supreme religious authority about al jihad al kifai (which is not obligatory) as a big divine blessing, since they perceived with its penetrating and deep vision and its divine guidance that what is happening is not like any previous terrorist military event, but a project planned by Satan and implemented by its assistants and this project must be stopped with peaceful means, reminding of the authority’s visions since the fall of the dictator and its final word in most of the stops where it represented the pillar and the guarantee for Iraq and all Iraqis. According to him, the authority supported the Iraqis in their battle against terrorism, but it has never declared Jihad to fight it, concluding the danger of the ISIS project by saying, “this proves that the takfiri ISIS project is the most serious level of terrorism that targets Iraq and Iraqis.” Here he explained that the religious authority and its fatwa, the popular crown men, and the consultants of the Islamic Republic of Iran managed to turn this spontaneous doctrinal popular power to a semi-professional military force in a short time under big challenges and pressures and amidst a great lack of munitions and equipments. He also said that the authority’s main objective which is Islam and its defense helped it counter the ISIS project through al jihad al kifai fatwa, thus turning the Mujahideen of the popular crowd along with their brothers from the Arab tribes, the Peshmerga and the other security forces into the main and prominent title in the battlefields, adding that the “Labbayka Rassul Allah (Here I am at your service O Messenger of Allah)” operations prove that the security forces, the Iraqi tribes and the popular crown are the dominant ones albeit the difficulty and ferocity of the battle and the military inexperience and the lack of training, of preparations and of armaments and equipments amidst all these challenges.
This came in the weekly cultural forum held on Wednesday, 4/3/2015 at his Eminence’s office in Baghdad.
“Labbayka Rassul Allah” Operations Are among the Decisive Battles in the Fight against the Terrorism and Perversion of ISIS
According to his Eminence, the terrorists believed that the Iraqis will be under the influence of the shock and they will get weakened and become perplexed, but they pushed them unintentionally and without prior planning to offer the best of them by getting prepared to sacrifice themselves to protect the nation, the doctrine and the country, made the society more united, and gave the youth bigger opportunity to be heroic Mujahideen, rebuild themselves and enhance their doctrinal culture. They also called the attention of the world to their injustice, perversion and terrorism, as well as to the cohesion and discipline of Iraqis, the wisdom of their authority and their obedience to them. His Eminence maintained that Iraqis are humans and with their shortsighted vision, they are unable to see all the good in the divine afflictions and tests, but today they see the victories of the Mujahideen of the popular crowd, the Arab tribes, the Peshmerga, the security and other military forces, as one of the divine gifts out of their confrontation with the evil terrorism, considering the “Labbayka Rassul Allah” operations among the decisive battles in the fight against the terrorism and perversion of ISIS, and once such operations end, ISIS in Iraq will start to move back, decrease in size and retreat back to the demons who planned and supported it, and facilitated its rise, showing his pride for this momentum arising from the generation fighting for freedom and doctrine and with these hands that took the arms and proved to the world that in Iraq, there is a peaceful people, but when their leaders and authority ask them to fight and get armed, they will be on alert in a too short time. Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim added that the terrorist imagined that the moral and patriotic commitment is a sign of weakness in the Iraqi society, however, the image is now clear and the truth rings loud that the Iraqis are committed and go after peace, but when the war is declared, they are attacked by the enemies and a fatwa of Jihad is issued, they all turn to strong fighters in the battlefields.
The Current Battle Is the Great Battle of Islam in the 21st Century
His Eminence renewed his call for the countries of the region to form a coalition against terrorism because it spares nobody, asserting that the current battle is not that of the international coalition or that of Iraq and Syria, or even that of Jordan or Egypt or any Arab or Islamic country, rather it is the great battle of Islam in the 21st century, describing the battle of Islam against the perverted people who offense in the name of Islam, who tarnished the reputation of Islam and against the extremists who have been trying for long time to take Islam away.
His eminence assured that the battlefields of Islam’s greatest battle are open and diverse, even if they are concentrated in Iraq and Syria, explaining that this concentration has more historic reasons than geographic or demographic reasons or instantaneous circumstances. In fact this part of the world is the cradle of prophets, the land of divine messages and the place of descent of revelation. If they want to attack Islam, they have to attack its heart, and this region is the heart of Islam. His eminence called again upon all leaders of regional states to seriously consider the events and challenges we are facing and to start working on establishing a regional coalition against terrorism.
The Sacrifice Made by the Members of the Popular Crowd in Their Fight Against Terrorism Supports the Project of the State
Sayyid Ammar Al Hakim indicated that the nation is at a historical and decisive moment, having to define its directions and choose its paths, and that the advocates of chaos are supporting terrorism and terrorists in general even if they disagreed on the details. His eminence described the chaos as the environment favorable to the growth of suspicious and deviant projects, with no choices of moderate or impartial solutions. He refused to stay impartial as there could be no impartiality when it comes to right and wrong, to order and deviance, to the one unified country and the divided fighting countries; there could be no impartiality between the oppressor and the oppressed, and between the killer and the killed. His eminence affirmed that reality proves that Iraqis can only be in one united country and that all world experiences demonstrate that once nations are divided, they are no longer good to anyone. Sayyid Al Hakim also insisted that practical experience has proved that Iraqis have no choice but to be strong and support the project of the State, so as to turn all problems into mere details that can be easily solved in a way that pleases everyone. He considered that the sacrifice made by members of the popular crowd in their fight against terrorism supports the project of the State, of the nation, of unity, pointing out that were they seeking chaos, they would have contended with defending their cities and provinces and left the other cities and provinces to darkness and chaos. His eminence wondered what would make the citizens of Al Amarah, Basra, Nasiriyah, Samawah, Al Diwaniyah, Al Kut, Najaf, Karbala, Al Hillah and Baghdad die as martyrs in Ramadi or Saladin?!! Only their faith in the project of the one State would make them sacrifice their souls. Sayyid Al Hakim addressed those who distort or misread the facts by saying “the difference is quite clear between those who support the project of the State and those who contribute to the project of chaos. Everyone should monitor their statements and behaviors and ought to fear God by seeking protection in this country and in this people”.
Moderation is the Future of Iraq and the Right Path that Could Lead us to the Iraq that Everyone Dreams of
The head of the Islamic Supreme council of Iraq stated that the moderation he is calling for and that he himself adopts is an essential pillar in the project of the State and one of the most important weapons to defeat the project of chaos. He affirmed that moderation is not just attractive merchandise, nor a method of emotional mobilization; it is rather based on the belief that we are the holders of a project and of an approach and we will not trade the emotions and future of the people and the future of their country and their sons. He considered that moderation is the future of Iraq and the right path that could lead us to the Iraq everyone dreams of, describing extremism, fanaticism and tension as extraordinary situations that might aggravate for a while but do not go on for long, or build a nation, or establish a state or grow a society. His eminence addressed the fanatics in thought and approach and the politically or ideologically extremists saying that “the history and the present tell us that this approach has never succeeded in building a State, protecting a country, or empowering a nation. I remind them that this approach may provide them with limited gains on the short run, but it will certainly cause catastrophic losses over the long term”.
The Tribal Council Will Play a Significant and Pivotal Role in Reestablishing the Cohesion of the Iraqi Social Structure
His eminence maintained that time has come to work seriously on establishing the national council for Iraqi tribes, explaining that this tribal council will play a significant and pivotal role in reestablishing the cohesion of the Iraqi social structure, already divided because of the violent political events that Iraq has experience over the last decades. Sayyid Al Hakim assured that the Iraqi tribes, of all affiliations, have proven to be the real reservoir of public mobilization for this country and have demonstrated their ability to surpass many of the political and confessional obstacles in dealing with events and changes, as well as their possession of influential tools and their ability to drastically change the facts on the ground. His eminence insisted that the national council of tribes should have a legal and constitutional protection and complete independence, explaining that the most important role to be entrusted to the council is the social role complementary to the political role. He added that the council must not be subject to the narrow political, factional and authoritarian temperaments and interests, explaining that he sees the council as one of the essential pillars of civil peace and a cornerstone in the political construction of future Iraq. In the same context, his eminence warned against a dangerous social situation and confused social and tribal relations worn out by the current phase, underlining that the presence of such council would make it possible to overcome the problems and reestablish cohesion in the Iraqi social structure.
Scholarship Students Are the Academic Crowd of Iraq, By Whom Ignorance and Backwardness Are Fought
His Eminence has pointed again to the issue of reducing the salaries and allowances of scholarship students, considering it as an important and sensitive matter that we must deal with very seriously, stating that such things are not restricted by decisions issued by a Ministry; yet they are matters of concern to the entire community, the future of the country and state trajectory. He stressed that such decisions must not be taken according to technical issues or through committee meetings because they determine the fate and future of thousands of our scholarship students abroad, who are the academic crowd by whom ignorance and backwardness are fought and the academic Guard for Iraq. Al-Hakim has signaled that this academic crowd are the pride and glory of the country like the popular crowd, wondering about the allocations that have been deducted from the grant of students’ salaries, and if it will make a big and influential difference comparing to a state budget of $ 105 billion dollars?! His Eminence pointed out that the countries that respect themselves borrow money in order to send their students to scholarships abroad, and many of them resort to reduce their officials’ salaries and privileges in the austerity conditions, and they never think of reducing the salary or grant of their students abroad because they do not dare to deteriorate the future and dispel the large efforts made by these students in the previous years, noting that the reduction of the salaries will force students to return their families, which will increase the psychological and social pressures on them and expose them to aberration risks, hoping that officials in the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research will keep away from the repercussions of this hasty decision and take it back.
The Law of Purchasing Educational Service Allows Citizens to Improve the Accessible Educational Opportunities
His Eminence called for the legislation of Teachers’ Protection Act as well as the law of Purchasing Educational Service, as they are the most important steps that will contribute to the reform of the educational process, stating that the law will contribute to the presence of appropriate psychological and academic environment for this important segment of any society, its future and the education of its generations. Thus, he added, we cannot develop our capabilities without the presence of a valid educational process which is mainly based on the teacher as a human being and an educational, moral and social value, stressing that the law of purchasing the educational service allows citizens to improve the accessible educational opportunities for their children and contribute to raising the burden on the state in providing the education infrastructure, including schools and supplies and also open the competition of providing the educational services, which contributes to its development and raising efficiency levels. He highlighted that the purchase of educational service means that the student has the right to go to a private school and the state pays the cost of his education and if there is a difference in the cost in the private school, the student bears the increase, pointing out that this law will contribute in relying on tens of thousands of prepared schools, which are managed from the National Education and which will contribute to relieve existing schools and open competition in the education sector and convert it from a retrogressive, slow and boring operation to a renewed, sophisticated and hasty one, calling for the transfer of teachers’ institutes to specialized colleges to train teachers using modern curriculum and contemporary teaching methods.
