Najaf Friday Prayer Leader:

Kurdish independence referendum threatens national unity

Rasa – Hujjat al-Islam al-Qubanchi said that the planned Kurdish referendum threatens national unity and added that differences should be resolved through dialogue.

News ID: 431761

Date: 19 August 2017 - 12:56

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 said, “The Iraqi people are waiting for a zero hour to begin the operation to liberate Tal Afar from the clutches of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist movement and we hope that we won’t witness a lot of damage in this operation.”

Referring to the visit of several officials from Iraqi Kurdistan to Baghdad, the Iraqi cleric said, “Holding a referendum on the separation of the Kurdistan region from Iraq is against to the constitution and threatens national unity. Officials on both sides must resolve to solve the problems of the country through negotiation.”

Iraqi Kurds have scheduled an independence referendum on September 25th.

In another part of his Friday prayer sermons, Hujjat al-Islam al-Qubanchi criticized officials for carelessness in carrying out their obligations and said, “In some governorates, we have seen an accumulation of garbage and a lack of cleanliness in the cities and the responsible bodies and local administrations, especially those in al-Najaf Governorate, must deal with this problem as soon as possible.”

Referring to the request of the people of Baghdad’s al-Karradah district regarding the ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages, His Eminence said, “Government officials must prohibit the selling of alcoholic beverages in Baghdad as soon as possible.”

Hujjat al-Islam al-Qubanchi commended and praised the religious summer programs and classes held by the Holy Shrine of Imam al-Husayn for youths between the ages of 14-18.

He expressed concern over the rising age of marriage among the youth and reminded them, “There are various narrations from the Infallible Imams regarding the recommendations for young people to marry. The most important way to solve the crisis of the rising age of marriage is through the efforts of the authorities and families to marry young people.”

Hujjat al-Islam al-Qubanchi said that the authorities should establish institutions and marriage centres in Iraq to reduce the age of marriage.

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