Sheikh Abdul-Mahdi Al-Karbalai
Dear Brothers and Sisters, A few days ago, it was officially announced the liberation of the last part of the Iraqi territory from the control of the terrorist organization, and on this occasion, we have the following comment:
Noble Iraqis, after more than three years of fierce fighting, precious efforts and challenges, you have victory against the most powerful terrorist force that targeted Iraq in its past, present and future. You were victorious with your firm will and firm determination to preserve your country, your dignity and your holy places. You were victorious with your tremendous sacrifices of yourselves and all that you hold precious for the dear homeland, you have established the highest images of heroism and altruism and you have written the history of modern Iraq with letters of dignity and nobility, and the world stood in astonishment at your determination and patience and heroism and faith in the justice of your cause until this victory was achieved, which many thought was out of reach.
But you made it a tangible reality during a relatively short period, you have preserved the dignity of the country and its pride and maintained the unity of land and people. How great a people you are, the veteran fighters the heroes of the armed forces of all types and classifications. The supreme religious authority, which gave the fatwa of the sufficient defence which harnessed all its capabilities and energies in order to support the fighters and provided them with the best of its sons from the professors and students of the Hawza to the fronts in support of the fighting forces and provided dozens of them as martyrs in this way, does not see anyone having a hand in the same way you do nor glory to your glory in achieving this important historical achievement.
Without your wide response to the fatwa of the religious authority and its appeal and your heroic rush to the fronts of the fighting and your heroic steadfastness for more than three years this victory would not be achieved, so the victory is from you, for you, to you, and you are its cause so congratulations to you on it and congratulations to your people for you and blessed are those precious hands that you fought with and blessed are those pure homes you were raised in, you are our pride and what we celebrate to other nations, Iraq is so happy with you, you have sacrificed your lives and gave yourselves for your country and your people and your sanctities, we cannot even repay some of that debt, but God Almighty will reward you the most, and we can only call Him to increase the blessings on you and reward you the best reward.
Dear brothers and sisters, today we recall with great reverence our righteous martyrs, who reared the land of the nation with their pure blood, and they were great examples of sacrifice and redemption, and remember with them their families, the dignified parents and mothers and wives and children and their brothers and sisters those dear people who were saddened by the loss of loved ones and met the pain of separation with more patience and endurance, and we recall with pride and dignity our dear injured ones, especially those who have suffered permanent disabilities and they are the living martyrs who God willed to stay among us as witnesses to the heroism of the people as they faced the evil of the world by the sacrifices their sons. We recall in greatness and gratitude all the citizens who contributed to the support of their sons, fighters on the fronts, in order to strengthen their steadfastness, as they were their best supporter and backer in one of the finest images of the cohesion of a people with all its parts and components in defending its dignity and honour. We recall with gratitude all those who had an active and supportive role in this great epic of thinkers, intellectuals, doctors, poets, writers, journalists and others. We also extend our thanks and appreciation to all the brothers and friends who have stood with Iraq and its people in their ordeal with the terrorism of Daesh and supported it and offered it help and assistance, asking God Almighty to push away from them all evil and give them all peace and security.
There are several points that need to be mentioned:
1. The victory over a Daesh does not represent the end of the battle with terrorism and terrorists, but this battle will continue as long as there are people who have embraced extremist ideology that does not accept the peaceful coexistence with others who disagree with him in opinion and doctrine, and does not hesitate to kill innocent civilians and enslave children and women and the destruction of the country to reach its malicious targets and aims to become closer to God Almighty through that. So be cautious of dealing in a lax way with this constant and volatile threat of hidden terrorist elements and sleeper cells, which waits for opportunities to undermine the security and stability of the country. The fight against terrorism must be done through addressing its intellectual and religious roots and to drain its human, financial and media sources. This requires working according to well-thought-out professional plans to achieve the required results, and though security and intelligence efforts form the basis in the fight against terrorism, this must be accompanied by awareness work to uncover the falsity and deviation of terrorist thought from the true religion of Islam, together with the publication and promotion of the discourse of moderation and tolerance in societies that could fall under the influence of this deviant thought. In addition to the need to work to improve the living conditions in the liberated areas and reconstruction and enable displaced people to return to with dignity and pride and to ensure no erosion of their constitutional rights and to avoid repeating past mistakes in dealing with them.
2. The Iraqi security system is still in dire need of many of the heroic men who supported the federal army and police forces during the past years and fought with them on various fronts and did well in the most rugged and harsh conditions and proved to be the right people for the defence of land and honour and holy places and achieved amazing results surprised everyone, both internationally and domestically, especially the young people who participated in various military and intelligence operations and gained important combat and technical expertise. They were an example of discipline and courage and national and ideological surge and they did not weaken, retreat or abandon. It is necessary to make continued use of this important energy within the constitutional and legal frameworks that restrict arms to the state, and draws the right path for the role of these heroes to participate in the preservation of the country and enhance the security of the present and future, and to stand against any new attempts by terrorists to undermine Iraq and its people and sanctities.
3. The righteous martyrs who poured into the land of Iraq their pure blood and ascended to the highest heavens, are not in need of anything from us, but the minimum amount of loyalty we can show to them is the care of their families and widows and orphans and others. Caring for them and providing a decent life for them in terms of health and education, living expenses and others, is a national and moral duty and right upon us all and no nation can succeed if it does not care for the families of martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the sake of dignity and honour, and this task is primarily the duty of the government and the Council of Representatives to provide adequate financial allocations to secure a decent living for families of martyrs, as a priority in advance of many other items of the general budget.
4. The war with the terrorists left behind the tens of thousands of wounded and injured participants in combat operations, many of them need medical care and others suffered permanent disability, and some have severe disabilities such as quadriplegia and loss of limbs and blindness, and these dear people are the most in need of care than others because of their deeds for all Iraqis in the liberation of the land and the defeat of terrorism and the preservation of their honour and sanctities. Hence, providing decent living for them and delivering their means of comfort to alleviate their suffering is a duty and obliges the government and the Council of Representatives to provide the necessary financial allocations ahead of the other expenses which are less important.
5. Most of those who participated in the sufficiency defence during the past years did not participate to gain worldly rewards, they have come to the front lines in response to the appeal of the religious authority and the performance of religious and national duty, out of their love for Iraq and Iraqis and their honour in protecting the women of Iraq from being enslaved by Daesh to prevent their holy sites from being violated by the terrorists and their intentions were devoid of any worldly gains. Hence, they enjoyed great respect in the hearts of all and various components of the people, which cannot be reached by the status of any party or political trend. It is necessary to maintain this high prestige and good reputation and not to try to exploit it to achieve a political goal that will eventually lead this honourable title to be done to it as was done with other respectable titles as a result of the mistakes and sins committed by those who claimed to be a part of it.
6. The movement in a serious and effective way to confront corruption and the corrupt is one of the priorities of the next phase. It is necessary to combat financial and administrative corruption firmly and forcefully by activating legal frameworks and practical and realistic plans away from superficial procedures. The fight against corruption that is long overdue is no less important than the battle against terrorism if not more severe and fierce, and the honourable Iraqis who have been caught up in the battle of terrorism, are able, with the help of Allah, to fight the battle of corruption and win it if they are well managed in a professional and firm manner.
We ask God Almighty to take everyone to what is good and beneficial.
