Najaf Friday Prayer Leader:‎

The arrest of Popular Mobilization Forces officials is a dangerous and unacceptable act

Hujjat al-Islam al-‎Qubanchi condemned the arrest of officials of the Popular Mobilization ‎Forces and called on the Iraqi government to take responsibility for economic problems and ‎perform their duties.‎

News ID: 450322

Date: 27 June 2020 - 20:19

RNA – In his Friday prayer sermon delivered to a large and fervent crowd of believers in the ‎‎Iraqi city of Najaf’s Fatimah al-Kubra ‎Husayniyah, Hujjat al-Islam Sayyid Sadruddin al-‎‎Qubanchi condemned the mass arrests of officials of the Popular Mobilization Forces by ‎American terrorists and the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service and described the move as ‎‎“dangerous and unacceptable.”‎

On the 22nd anniversary of the martyrdom of Allamah Sayyid Muhammad-Sadiq al-Sadr, the ‎Iraqi Shi’ah scholar said, “The martyrdom of Allamah al-Sadr has many messages such as the ‎active presence of religious scholars in the political and cultural fields, the clear enmity of the ‎Ba’athist regime toward the scholars and the Iraqi people’s connection and acceptance of ‎wilayah (guardianship) of the religious leaders and scholars.”‎

Hujjat al-Islam al-‎Qubanchi added, “The arrest of nineteen officials and members of the ‎Popular Mobilization Forces by the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service is unprecedented. The ‎duty of this organization is to fight Takfiri terrorism and the hidden nuclei of the Daesh group ‎and isn’t to attack our children in the Popular Mobilization Forces.”‎

His Eminence noted that the government must address the people’s problems, solve the ‎economic crisis and fight the Coronavirus and added, “Government officials know that the ‎Popular Mobilization Forces have waited but will not sell out the homeland.”‎

He also referred to the issue of Coronavirus, “The importance of the health staff work ‎against the Coronavirus is no less than that of the warriors, who are at the forefront of the ‎battle, and anyone who sacrifices his life to serve Coronavirus patients will certainly have the ‎reward of a martyr on the battlefield.”‎

Hujjat al-Islam al-‎Qubanchi praised the medical staff and security forces for serving the ‎Coronavirus patients and honouring the status of the martyrs of the healthcare system and ‎spoke about the issue of the selling of narcotics among the youth and said, “By solving the ‎country’s economic situation, creating job opportunities and raising awareness among young ‎people, the roots of narcotics in the country can be dried up.” ‎

Yesterday, American forces surrounded the headquarters of the 45th Popular Mobilization ‎Forces Brigade in the al-Bu’aythiyyah neighbourhood in southeastern Baghdad with forty ‎armoured personnel carriers and with the support of Iraqi special forces and arrested a ‎number of its members.‎

Rasa News Agency

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