Rasa News Agency reports - Ayatollah Naser Makarem-Shirazi has condemned the recent terrorist attacks made by a notorious Takfiri group which calls itself “The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)” in the Iraqi holy city of Samarra, which is located 125 kilometres north of Baghdad. Samarra lies in the Sunni heartland of Iraq infamously known as the “Sunni Triangle,” and thus has been a major scene of Takfiri fighting and terrorism since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Samarra is holy to Shi’ite Muslims because it is home to the al-Askariayn Shrine. It is one of the most important Shi’ite mosques in the world as it contains the burial sites of the 10th and 11th Imams, Ali al-Hadi and Hasan al-Askari. On one of the bitterest days for Shi’ite Muslims, the dome of the holy shrine was destroyed in a bombing by Takfiri terrorists on February 22, 2006 and its two remaining minarets were destroyed in another bombing on June 13, 2007.
In recent days, more than 18 people have been killed and dozens injured during sporadic fighting in Samarra after Takfiri terrorists took control of several districts of the city. Fortunately, Iraqi forces have foiled an effort by a notorious al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group to wage an attack on one of the holiest sites of Shi’ite Muslims.
“We have heard that barbarians have attacked Samarra but fortunately their attack has been repelled. We must pray for victory against these evil-doers,” Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi told his students in his message of condemnation made during his jurisprudence class in the holy city of Qom.
His Eminence condemned the brutal crimes of the Takfiri terrorists, and emphasized that they have no support among any people because their crimes against humanity. He said their cruel crimes have no precedent in history and that the peaceful and just religion of Islam condemns these crimes. These terrorists are not considered Muslims.
“I am hopeful that God removes their evil and that God protects Islam, Muslims and Shi’ites from their evils and also that God returns their evil back on them,” His Eminence prayed.
At the end of his jurisprudence lesson, Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi led his students with the recitation of verse 27:62 of the Holy Quran five times. This verse is effective in the removing of unmanageable distress and hardships by the grace of God.
Is He who answers the call of the distressed [person] when he invokes Him and removes his distress?
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