Najaf Friday Prayer Leader:

If not for the Iraqi people, Daesh would be in Kuwait now

Rasa – In response to the insult of a Kuwaiti actor who called Iraq a “country of hypocrisy,” Hujjat al-Islam al-Qubanchi said, “Daesh would be present in Kuwait now if it were not for the people of Iraq.”

News ID: 435899

Date: 19 January 2018 - 23:14

RNA – During his Friday prayer sermon delivered to a large and fervent crowd of believers in the Iraqi city of Najaf’s al-Fatimiyah Husayniyah, Hujjat al-Islam Sayyid Sadruddin al-Qubanchi referred to the upcoming Iraqi parliamentary elections, saying, “Political coalitions before the elections represent the free will of the Iraqi people.”

Parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in Iraq on May 12th, 2018.

The Iraq Shi’ah cleric added that the Iraqi people are assessing the political coalitions contesting for the elections on the basis of their will and honesty to fight against corruption.

He emphasized the necessity of holding elections on their scheduled date to avoid a major constitutional vacuum, saying, “Any delay in holding the elections is illegal and the parliament is not in a position to delay them. The people and the governorates are ready to conduct them, including Nineveh and al-Anbar.”

Hujjat al-Islam al-Qubanchi condemned the twin terrorist attacks in Baghdad which killed at least 38 people and wounded another 105 innocent Iraqi people on January 15th, saying, “Such actions were aimed at retaliating against the people and putting pressure on them in order to delay the holding of the elections.”

His Eminence called for more vigilance in the intelligence and security agencies and stressed, “The remaining elements of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist groups that are secretly operating in the country must be confronted.”

He stated that the people must report to intelligence and security agencies by observing any suspicious movements.

In response to the insult of a Kuwaiti actor who called Iraq a “country of hypocrisy,” Hujjat al-Islam al-Qubanchi said, “This insult upset millions of Iraqis, so the Kuwaiti government must officially apologize to the people of this country.”

He added that these defamatory remarks were made after Iraq’s victory over Daesh and noted, “They must know that Daesh would be present in Kuwait now if it were not for the people of Iraq.”

The Friday prayer leader of Najaf described the Iraqi people as brave people who receive millions of Arab and non-Arab pilgrims every year and were patient during Saddam’s dictatorship.

In other remarks, Hujjat al-Islam al-Qubanchi accused Saudi Arabia of “supporting terrorism, Daesh and separatism” and added, “But the enemies were defeated in all their plans to form a Sunni-Shi’ah bloc with Saudi funds and guidance.”

“We must be careful of Saudi Arabia’s attempts to penetrate the ranks of the Shi’ah and overthrow the political system,” he warned.

Hujjat al-Islam al-Qubanchi added, “We are open and we are advocates of unity but we warn against penetrating our ranks and the exploitation of our good relations in order to overthrow the political system in Iraq.”

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