RNA – In a meeting with a group of Iraqi Shi’ahs living in Switzerland at the Imam al-Mahdi Association in Zürich, Hujjat al-Islam Sayyid Murtadha al-Ridhawi al-Kashmiri, the representative of Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Sistani in Europe, congratulated Ayatollah al-Sistani, the Iraqi people and the armed forces on the liberation of the city of Mosul from the Daesh Takfiri terrorist phenomenon and added, “This victory is a great step to clear all the occupied lands of Iraq from terrorism.”
The renowned cleric said, “True victory occurs in overcoming one’s personal desires and the Prophet Muhammad called fighting against one’s desires as the ‘greater jihad.’”
He argued that moral problems in Iraq are greater than economic problems, saying, “Self-respect and love for political posts and positions makes it impossible for some officials to pay attention to national interests and they don’t notice the dangers around them.”
Hujjat al-Islam al-Kashmiri stressed that if Ayatollah al-Sistani did not issue his June 2014 “obligatory fatwa” in which he 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, all Islamic and Arab countries, especially Iraq’s neighbours, would now be struggling against Daesh.
His Eminence referred to the road map for Ayatollah al-Sistani for his post-Daesh period in Iraq, saying that the use of violence and the ethnic and sectarian conflict have resulted in nothing but the killing of innocent people and the destruction of the country and this violence has laid the groundwork for the intervention of other countries in Iraq and all political groups will suffer and thus, they should abstain from such activities.
The representative of Ayatollah al-Sistani said that giving the laws their due consideration will solve many of the problems facing Iraq and said, “The Iraqi people are equal before the law, and none of the ethnicities, religions and sects are superior to each other and they are the standard of law.”
Hujjat al-Islam al-Kashmiri described the fight against administrative and financial corruption and overcoming sectarian, factional and party affiliations in Iraq as extremely important for the future of Iraq.
He called for the attention to be given to the families of the martyrs and the wounded and said, “Supporting the wounded, the wounded, the martyrs, providing decent living conditions and granting them their monthly salaries are the least of the rights that the government, parliament and people must provide.”
In conclusion, Hujjat al-Islam al-Kashmiri examined some of the problems facing the Shi’ah Muslims living in Switzerland, such as the lack of space and the lack of cultural and religious identity among the youth, and said, “Due to the lack of appropriate places and an insufficient number of Shi’ahs to gather, the Shi’ahs face various problems holding religious ceremonies in this country.”
112/930/470