| The Gateway Pundit, a must-read for me, provides a translation of a headline and article that appeared on October 27, 2006 in Sot Al-Iraq. It's a tough and courageous letter that was read in a number of mosques at the Friday prayers. Gateway also provides commentary from Haider Ajina. Worth the read. |
Sermon after Friday prayers in Nejaf (Najaf)
By Khuther Elias
After Friday prayers in the Fatima Mosque in Nejaf, Imam Sadir Aldien Alqabanchi delivered a sermon titled "Iraq is a piece of the Arabic fabric".
He said in his sermon, "since the dictatorship was brought down in Iraq, some have said Iraq has left the Arabic fabric because of the following reasons:
1- A free political and governmental system. Which is quite different from the rest of the Arab world, thus they consider it different from the Arabic fabric.
2- The Shiite majority forming a unity government and attaining their proportional rights through elections. They said this is a second reason.
3- Minorities in Iraq have their rights protected. The Kurdish minority have finally received their deserved rights under the unity government. They said this is was the third reason.
The imam then added, "Today the Arab world has been influenced by these statements and there are forces at work to return Iraq to the Arab fabric by destabilizing or annulling the current government and maybe even bringing Saddam back. These reasons are why the Arab world has turned its back on Iraq and created false rumors of division and suspicion of what they call the Shiite crescent etc.
Iraqis reaffirmed that Iraq is a piece of the Arab fabric and will not leave it. No Iraqi wants to leave the Arab world, we want Iraq to be an effective member of the Arab world. Iraqis did this by their free vote for the constitution which affirmed this.
He added, "We must have a policy of mutual openness between us and the other Arabic countries. Iraqis chose the road of freedom from dictatorship and other Arabs thought that to be a step backward, they are wrong. Yes we have our problems but we have the resolve to cure the problems with patience, wisdom and courage. Talk about dividing Iraq is false and no one in Iraq wishes to divide the country.
The USA under the leadership of James Baker is studying choices and options about the Iraqi situation. We Iraqis have three immovable matters:
1- No to the return of the Baathists or dictatorship.
2- No to violence or terrorism.
3- No to foreign interference in Iraqi leadership.
Other than these three immovable points they (the Baker commission) can study any other options they wish.
Alqabanchi then called on the government to take responsibility towards the residence of Balad and save them form the terrorists. He added, "We believe that all of IraqÂ’s provinces must move towards rebuilding and development and avoid internal strife. We hope that the provinces experiencing turmoil will resolve their problems fairly and in a brotherly spirit." |