The Friday prayer sermon from Imam Al-Hussein Shrine

Sheikh Abdul-Mahdi Al-Karbalai (15-12-2017)

Dear brothers and sisters, a few days ago, the liberation of the last part of the Iraqi territory from the control of the terrorist organization was officially announced, and on this occasion we have the following comment:

Noble Iraqis, after more than three years of fierce fighting, precious efforts and challenges, you have achieved victory against the most powerful terrorist force that targeted Iraq in its past, present and future. You were victorious with your firm will and firm determination to preserve your country, your dignity and your holy places. You were victorious with the tremendous sacrifices of yourselves and all that you hold precious for the dear homeland; you have established the highest images of heroism and altruism and you have written the history of modern Iraq with letters of dignity and nobility, and the world stood in astonishment at your determination and patience and heroism and faith in the justice of your cause until this victory was achieved, which many thought was out of reach. But you made it a tangible reality within a relatively short period, you have preserved the dignity of the country and its pride and maintained the unity of land and people. How great a people you are, the veteran fighters the heroes of the armed forces of all types and classifications.

The supreme religious authority, which gave the fatwa of the sufficient (kifa'i) defence and which harnessed all its capabilities and energies in order to support the fighters and provided them with the best of its sons from the professors and students of the Hawza dispatching them to the fronts in support of the fighting forces and offering dozens of them as martyrs in this way, does not see anyone having a hand in the same way you do nor glory to your glory in achieving this important historical achievement. Without your extensive response to the fatwa of the religious authority and its appeal and your heroic rush to the battle fronts and your heroic steadfastness for more than three years, this victory would not be achieved, so the victory is from you, for you, to you, and you are its cause. So congratulations to you on this victory and congratulations to your people. Indeed, blessed are those precious hands that you fought with and blessed are those pure homes you were raised in. You are our pride and dignity and we are proud of you in the face of other nations.

Iraq is so happy with you, you have sacrificed your lives and gave yourselves for your country and your people and your sanctities, we cannot even repay some of that debt, but God Almighty will reward you the most, and we can only pray to Him to increase the blessings on you and reward you the best reward.

Dear brothers and sisters, today we commemorate with great reverence our righteous martyrs, who reared the land of the nation with their pure blood, and they were great examples of sacrifice and redemption, and remember with them their families, the dignified parents and mothers and wives and children and their brothers and sisters those dear people who were saddened by the loss of loved ones and met the pain of separation with more patience and endurance, and we honour with pride and dignity our dear injured ones, especially those who have suffered permanent disabilities and they are the living martyrs who God willed to stay among us as witnesses to the heroism of the people as they faced the evil of the world by the sacrifices their sons. We recall in greatness and gratitude all the citizens who contributed to the support of their sons, fighters on the fronts, in order to strengthen their steadfastness, as they were their best supporter and backer in one of the finest images of the cohesion of a people with all its parts and components in defending its dignity and honour. We remember with gratitude all those who had an active and supportive role in this great epic of thinkers, intellectuals, doctors, poets, writers, journalists and others. We also extend our thanks and appreciation to all the brothers and friends who have stood with Iraq and its people in their ordeal with the terrorism of Daesh and supported it and offered it help and assistance, asking God Almighty to keep away from them all evil and give them peace and security.

There are several points that need to be mentioned:

The fight against terrorism must be done through addressing its intellectual and religious roots and to drain its human, financial and media sources. This requires working according to well-thought-out professional plans to achieve the required results, and though security and intelligence efforts form the basis in the fight against terrorism, this must be accompanied by awareness work to uncover the falsity and deviation of terrorist thought from the true religion of Islam, together with the promulgation and promotion of the discourse of moderation and tolerance in societies that could fall under the influence of this deviant thought. In addition to the need to work to improve the living conditions in the liberated areas and reconstruction and enable displaced people to return to (their hometowns) with dignity and pride and to ensure no erosion of their constitutional rights and to avoid repeating past mistakes in dealing with them.

We ask God Almighty to take everyone to what is good and beneficial for Iraq and its people. Verily, He is All-hearing, the Responder.