Sheikh Abdul Mehdi Al-Karbalaei
My brothers, my sisters…
Peace to all of you from the All-Merciful and forgiving God and His mercy and blessings.
I bring to your attention the following matters:-
First Matter:
Tomorrow will mark the commemoration of Imam Hussein (as), members of his household and some of his esteemed companion’s martyrdom with tribute marches that will be crowned in consolation by the ‘Touerij run’, that encompasses great scenery that expresses sympathy of the believers of the Prophet Mustafa and his pure progeny (Peace be upon them) in remembrance of this painful tragedy. It is expected of mourners, may the Almighty God reward them for their efforts in enlivening this sad occasion, to set up the ceremony in order to preserve its sanctity, supervision and organisation and provide security in cooperation with the security authorities, lest any security breach happen God forbid. On this occasion, we reiterate the importance of fulfilling religious duties of believers; including the importance of performing daily prayers, careful not to neglect them and recalling the severity of attention and care by Imam Hussein (as) toward this divine ordinance, as he was always keen to perform prayers on time, even on the afternoon of Ashura – despite the ferocity of the battle at that time.
We also stress the need to draw inspiration from all the principles from Imam Hussein (AS) in his great reform movement and seek to apply them in our personal and social lives. Among the most important of these principles, in a time where the world is plagued by takfiri terrorists, is to strengthen the support and backing of the heroic fighters on the battlefield fronts and raise their spirits to help them to perform their duty, so by the provision of a decent living for their families and treatment for their wounded and provide aid to their needy, including the orphans of the martyrs, and reiterating the commandment for stability and patience, altruism and sacrifice in this way idealised by Imam Hussein (as) the master of martyrs, including his family and his companions on the day of Ashura.
Second matter:
The qualitative victories achieved by our heroic armed forces, and those who supported them in volunteers and sons of the fervent tribes, especially in the city of Biji and its refineries as documented by various media organisations, in spite of the media hype that preceded it that this region is a fortress for the terrorists, confirmed the fact of the competence and moral combat fighters heroes, that illustrated epics of heroism and sacrifice deserve great appreciation, redemption and gratitude by all. We ask Allah the Almighty to bless them with good in this world and the dignity of the afterlife, and gather the righteous martyrs in the Gardens of Eternity with the martyrs of Al Taf, and heal their wounded; since this battle is linked to the fate and future of Iraq and the preservation of its identity and its sanctities and civilizations and its unity, of land and people. Therefore it is necessary to provide all the facilities available to define victory as the final victory so that a foothold does not remain in this pure land for terrorists. For this purpose logistical support to fighters must be increased, in the light of the information and experiences learned from previous battles to develop coordination and joint action in the mechanism among the ranks of fighters from the armed forces, volunteers and sons of fervent tribes in order to achieve better results as noted in the latest fighting fronts.
It is necessary to allocate larger financial amounts in the general budget to secure the needs of volunteers and sons of the tribes contributing to this battle, who bear various large burdens in this fight and suffer from lack of government facilities available to them for most of their support comes from peoples donations, which only partially contribute to their essential needs.
Third matter:
While we call for the achievement of social justice in relation to the salaries of state employees through the reduction of disparities between the salaries and allowances of the higher and lower employment grades, to eliminate or reduce salaries and allowances that are not correctly based on the basis of functional and professionalism, especially in these difficult financial circumstances, for objections posed by important segments of civil servants like university professors on the new ranking as decided by the Government, as they see unfairness in professional entitlements and living requirements that requires reconsideration and study by persons of expertise and competence in a comprehensive manner in order to ensure justice for everyone including important segments of society such as university professors who are relied upon in the preparation of the new generation. Sufficient attention must be paid to these esteemed segments of society to provide a level of decent living for them, despite the current financial crisis, should be offered by officials in the government and the Council of Representatives.
. We ask Allah to hasten the victory of our fighters and heroes as He is the Listener and Responder.
