RNA – In an interview with Hujjat al-Islam Sayyid Ahmad al-Hilu, an Iraqi member of the Islamic Seminary of Qom and a missionary to the Popular Mobilization Forces, referred to the fatwa issued by Grand Ayatollah Sayyid al-Sistani in June 2014, in which the revered source of emulation called on all Iraqi citizens to defend the country, its people, the honour of its citizens and its sacred sites, and said that this fatwa launched a movement which was the cradle of martyrdom and sacrifice in Iraq.
The Iraqi cleric said that the belief that the Iraqi people entered into the war against ISIL through this fatwa is the nation’s strongest weapon and added that during his rule, Saddam Husayn attempted to separate people from all awareness and religiosity.
He explained that despite the tyranny of the Ba’athist Party and the Shi’a-Sunni conflict after the 2003 American invasion. no similar fatwa was issued and even the Shi’as didn’t want to defend themselves because if this interpretation were applied perhaps many Sunnis would have been killed.
“But after the arrival of ISIL, Ayatollah al-Sistani issued a fatwa and the issuing of such a fatwa showed the severity of the danger ISIL posed to Iraq,” he said.
Hujjat al-Islam al-Hilu explained that the rise of ISIL was a conspiracy created with the assistance of some Arab countries and the United States to unite Takfiri terrorists with the remnants of the Ba’ath Party to enter Baghdad and overthrow the Iraqi government. They divided their duties as the Ba’ath Party knew Iraq well and ISIL had a lot terrorist elements and this was a combination that could bring them significant success.
His Eminence noted that there are many moderate Sunnis in Iraq, but some are Ba’athists in reality, and we can’t do any thing to oppose them because the US and some countries in the region strongly support them.
He said that ISIL and the remnants of the Ba’ath Party formed a coalition which could overthrow the elected government in Iraq within a few days. This was a serious threat to Iraq. The sources of emulation were aware of this matter and strongly acknowledged the threat to Iraq and issued this fatwa.
Hujjat al-Islam al-Hilu explained that a few days before the jihad fatwa was issued, the then Prime Minister of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki, called for a popular force to fight ISIL but it was Ayatollah al-Sistani’s fatwa which created an intense movement among the people and in the first few days, more than two million people declared their readiness to fight ISIL.
111/112