RNA – In an interview with the media, Hujjat al-Islam Bassam Karim, an Iraqi clergyman and member of the Popular Mobilization Forces, spoke on the fight against the Daesh Takfiri forces.
In regard to the ongoing operation to liberate the city of Mosul, he said that within the city of Mosul, there nothing left, except for the area around the Nouri Mosque, although most of the city has been liberated from Daesh and added that the delays in the operation to liberate the city have been caused by the hardships of war.
“In the old part of Mosul, the streets are narrow and many civilians are present there and Daesh is also present and uses the civilians as human shields. For this reason, the army, security forces and the Popular Mobilization Forces have allied together and are protecting the lives of the people and thus, the liberation of these areas has been delayed,” he said.
Hujjat al-Islam Karim added that seminarians have played a major role in the liberation of regions of Iraq which have been occupied by Daesh. They haven’t just come to the battlefield to engage in religious propagation but they are on the frontlines with other warriors and are working to raise the morale of the warriors and the Iraqi people in general.
The Iraqi scholar said that in this respect, the seminary students are the true leaders in war and the “jihad fatwa” issued by Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Sistani in June 2014 led to the creation of high spirits among the warriors because the warriors saw the seminarians and preachers as those who are following the main path of the religious authorities, who are a role model of those who follow the path of the Ahlul-Bayt.
He added, “In fact, the religious authorities provided a window of confidence for the Iraqi people – for every tribe and not just for the Shi’ahs. In such a sensitive time, they have a critical position and without such efforts, the Iraqi social fabric would be torn apart.”
Hujjat al-Islam Karim noted that accusations against the Popular Mobilization Forces come from many different adversaries and enemies and from time to time, these accusations are heard from some Ba’athists and their supporters.
“These reactions are due to the enlarged role of the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq’s future because they realize that the Popular Mobilization Forces will have an influential role in Iraq’s future and are the true defenders of Iraq and are the enemies of the terrorists and wherever they are, they are fighting these terrorists,” he said.
The Iraqi warrior said that if the Popular Mobilization Forces didn’t exist, Daesh would wouldn’t just be dominant in all of Iraq but rather throughout the whole region, especially in the Persian Gulf monarchies which constantly blame the Popular Mobilization Forces.
He added that such statements remind him of the words of Sayyid Hasan Nasrallah who has addressed the Persian Gulf monarchies saying, “If the Popular Mobilization Forces didn’t exist, political activity wouldn’t remain and the Iraqi government would be powerless and Daesh would be able to rule over Iraq govern and corrupt civilization just as they destroyed humanity in areas under their control in Iraq and Syria.”
Hujjat al-Islam Karim said that the United States and Saudi Arabia have recognized the importance of the role of the Popular Mobilization Forces not only in Iraq but throughout the region, particularly after the speeches and statements of Falih al-Fayyadh, the leader of the Popular Mobilization Forces, who said that the Popular Mobilization Forces are ready to go to Syria if the Syrian government requests this from the government of Iraq.
“They also must know that the Popular Mobilization Forces are the defenders and supporters of the Shi’ahs of the Middle East and with the all of their abilities, they will neutralize all of the enemies’ plots in the future,” he said.
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