Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim Warns against Hints about Sending Foreign Troops to the Region and Stresses the Need of Backing Iraq according to its Needs and not to Backers’ Agenda
Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim, head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, warned against declarations and hints launched by some officials about sending foreign troops to the region to counter the ISIS, stressing the need to back Iraq according to its needs, and not to the backers’ agenda. In his opinion, it is the duty of the Iraqis themselves to liberate the land and they can do it, citing the victories made by the security forces, the popular crowd and the Peshmerga and lately those in Muqdadiyah. He also reiterated the need to support the Iraqi government so that it can provide the fighters with weapons and equipment, as well as the need to keep the arms only in the hands of the Iraqi state and to provide legal cover to their holders, calling on the Iraqi government to back the security forces, the popular crowd, the Peshmerga and the Iraqi tribes by providing them with arms and equipment. His Eminence commended the Iraqi forces and the popular crowd and their achievements in Diyala and other regions, the Peshmerga’s victories in the north of Nineveh and those of the Iraqi tribes in Anbar, urging everyone to properly exploit the situation and to make terrorism a common enemy faced by everyone since it spares no one and targets all the Iraqi people through sectarianism and division. He also called to confront terrorism through unity within the one component and between the components of the Iraqi people so that Iraqis rally against terrorism, showing the need of Iraq for unity, for the unity can only be achieved by clearing up all concerns and finding a roadmap. According to him, the government’s platform is the roadmap that must be implemented in a poised way that clears up the concerns and answers the components’ aspirations. On the other hand, his Eminence called on everyone to take steps regarding the southern and western regions, for no side can be satisfied, while provoking the other, stressing the need to resolve the issues through the unity that reassures all parties, pointing out to the agreement with the region of Kurdistan which guarantees the interests of both Iraq and the latter. Moreover, he called on to continue the common security operations between the security forces, the popular crowd and the Peshmerga in the mixed regions, explaining that Iraqis need each other to face the challenges.
This came in the eulogy for the leader of the community Ayatollah Sayyid Mohsin al-Hakim (may Allah sanctify his soul), “leader of the unity” on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his death held on Saturday, 24/1/2015 at his Eminence’s office in Baghdad.
The West Must Incriminate the Profanation of the Muslims’ Shrines
His Eminence called on the European Union, France, the western countries and the United States of America to pass laws that incriminate the profanation of the Muslims’ shrines in order to prevent the provocation of the Muslims’ feelings, maintaining that there is no dialogue with the atheists and extremists, but the speech is addressed to the states and the institutions that supported them under the “freedom of expression” pretext, wondering about the logic of facing the profanation of Islam with the freedom of expression, when the west incriminates the profanation of Judaism under the slogan of anti-Semitism or those who denies the holocaust since this is a denial of a historic truth or the harm caused to black people being considered as racism, or the abuse of women as chauvinism. He said if this is a crime, it is against everyone, and if this is a freedom of expression, it is for everyone, reminding that the terrorism that hit France was condemned by all Muslims all over the world who united against it. But according to him, they were rewarded by the support provided to those who desecrated the Great Prophet (BPUH) under the “freedom of expression” pretext. His Eminence called for a dialogue, not a clash, of civilizations and the west should not give impression through such acts that it is antagonist to Islam, and not to terrorism.
Imam Al Hakim (May Allah sanctify his soul) Used to Divide His Effort Between Studying, Worship, Writing and Communication with People
His eminence considered that the remembrance of Imam Mohsin Al Hakim (may Allah sanctify his soul) is an opportunity to remember the religious leaders who became martyrs for the doctrine and for Islam, and the martyrs of Iraq who are currently dying while defending the country and the sanctities. He explained that the most important features of Imam Al Hakim that made him distinguished were the “orphanhood”, which made him depend on himself, poverty as well as his gnostic attitude and his eagerness to maintain truthfulness and fidelity, to investigate the source of any information said to him, and to write his works by hand and supervise their printing. His eminence clarified that Imam Al Hakim used to divide his effort between studying, worship and replying to shari’a issue and social communication with people, adding that the Imam endured his affliction and illness without any complaint and indicating that he was characterized on the level of science, with accuracy, poise, concision and boldness in referring opinions about the authority to an entity capable of meeting life requirements. Sayyid Ammar Al Hakim reminded attendees of the Imam’s qualitative steps to establish the network of authorized agents in Iraq and in the countries of the Islamic world and Africa, explaining that the number of Hawza students in his era increased from 700 to 7000 because of his interest in students. The head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq also stated that the Imam founded many civil society organizations and contributed to the establishment of universities like the University of Kufa, the publication of cultural magazines and the organization of central religious celebrations that conveyed clear political messages that shook the Iraqi society. His eminence pointed out that Imam Al Hakim was rigorous in the choice of his work team and closed ones, as he insisted that they needed to be scholars with a good reputation, and he sent many of them to follow up on the situation of Ahl Al Bayt in Africa, India and Iraq like Talaafar and other places. Furthermore, Sayyid Al Hakim explained that the Imam communicated with Al Azhar and sent students to study there, and that he communicated with the Iraqi tribes and initiated a significant movement to bring the religious authority back to its anticipated role.
Imam Al Hakim’s Positions Made Him a National and Islamic Symbol
His eminence highlighted that Imam Al Hakim (may Allah sanctify his soul) witnessed five political overthrows in Iraq over fifteen years and took national positions that made him an Islamic symbol, like defending the Kurdish people, granting legitimacy to the political work of the Iraqi Islamic Party, and his position with Abdul Nasser when he sent him a cable refusing the execution of Sayyid Qutb. His eminence added that the Imam had a position from atheist forces and that he stood up with the Palestinian cause and was the first one to issue a fatwa on the permissibility of martyrdom, of paying zaka to the Palestinian cause and of jihad in Palestine. His positions had a clear impact since people opened their houses to the combatants in South Lebanon, and even the Palestine Liberation Front moved its headquarters from Palestine to Lebanon due to the facilitations presented by the fatwa of Imam Al Hakim. Finally, his eminence indicated that Imam Mohamed Mehdi Al Hakim (may Allah sanctify his soul) was a national personality with a deep effect on strengthening national unity and that targeting him was a targeting of his father, stressing the need for Imam Al Hakim’s approach to reinforce the harmony and peaceful coexistence of Iraqi components.
