RNA – In his Friday prayer sermon delivered to a large and fervent crowd of believers in the Iraqi city of Najaf’s al-Fatimiyah al-Kubra Husayniyah, Hujjat al-Islam Sayyid Sadruddin al-Qubanchi offered his congratulations to Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Sistani on the liberation of Mosul from the Daesh Takfiri terrorists, stressing that the due to his June 2014 “obligatory jihad” fatwa, the revered scholar was the flagbearer of the victory and added, “We kiss the hands of this source of emulation.”
In this fatwa, Ayatollah al-Sistani called on all Iraqi citizens to defend the country, its people, the honour of its citizens, and its sacred sites against the threats posed by the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.
The Iraqi cleric also thanked the armed forces, the Popular Mobilization Forces and the families of the martyrs for the success of the operation to liberate Mosul, and said, “The Iraqi people were able to achieve victory over Daesh through unity and solidarity. The Daesh terrorist phenomenon sought to achieve the goals of the Zionist regime and the Iraqi people demonstrated their courage and power to the world by conquering Daesh.”
After eight months of grinding urban warfare, on June 27 Iraqi government troops captured the ruined Grand al-Nouri Mosque in Mosul from where Daesh proclaimed its self-styled caliphate three years ago and the Iraqi military has declared victory over the Takfiri terrorist group and issued a statement that the reign of the extremists’ so-called caliphate has ended in their country.
Hujjat al-Islam al-Qubanchi said, “Creating preparedness to play a role in the international arena and solidarity and domestic construction are among of the most important issues in the post-Daesh era. The decision of the Iraqi Cabinet of Ministers to designate this country in 2018 as the ‘capital of Arab-language media’ represents its international role.”
Referring to the decision of the Sunni leaders to hold a summit in Baghdad this month, he said, “It is likely that this conference will not be held because of differences. Such a conference would be appropriate if it is in line with the interests, progress and construction of Iraq, otherwise this conference should not be held.”
In response to the efforts of some officials from the Kurdistan Region to hold a referendum on the separation of Kurdistan from Iraq, he said that given the current situation, the Iraqi people should maintain solidarity and work to reduce the problems facing the country.
“Various countries, such as Iran and Turkey, oppose the referendum and the Iraqi constitution does not give the authorities of the Kurdistan Region permission to hold such a referendum,” he noted.
In the portion of his Friday prayer sermon on religious affairs, Hujjat al-Islam al-Qubanchi commemorated the death anniversary of Hujjat al-Islam Ahmad al-Waeli a prominent Iraqi Shi’ah cleric, lecturer and poet who died on July 14, 2003.
His Eminence also expressed concern over the increase in the age of marriage among women throughout the world, saying, “Marriage is the consolidation of the foundations of the family and the facilitation of marriage is one of the ways to cure these social problems.”
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