According to al-Shammari, at the height of the attacks by Daesh, in which large parts of Iraq fell and the holy shrines were endangered, Haj Qasem attended the offices of the religious authorities and explained the situation in full detail, helping to have the ‘obligatory jihad’ fatwa to fight against terrorism issued.
According to al-Shammari, at the height of the attacks by Daesh, in which large parts of Iraq fell and the holy shrines were endangered, Haj Qasem attended the offices of the religious authorities and explained the situation in full detail, helping to have the ‘obligatory jihad’ fatwa to fight against terrorism issued.
According to the Communication and Media Affairs Centre of al-Nujaba in Iran, Nasr al-Shammari, the spokesman of the al-Nujaba Islamic Resistance movement, spoke via video conference at an academic webinar entitled “The Role of the Islamic Resistance in Defending the Shi’ah Shrines” hosted by the University of Religions and Denominations in Qom, Iran on December 30, 2020.
Al-Shammari addressed the topic of his speech as “The Role of Martyr General Qasem Soleimani in Defending the Holy Shrines of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) in Iraq,” and recalling the deplorable situation in neighbouring Syria and the subsequent occupation of large areas of Iraq by Takfiri terrorists, he said, “Major governorates such as Nineveh, Salah al-Din and al-Anbar fell within a day and Daesh quickly reached the threshold of Baghdad, Najaf, Karbala governorate and Samarra was also completely besieged.”
He continued, “In that situation, Haj Qasem Soleimani entered Iraq on the night of the fall of Mosul and implemented a two-stage plan that, in the first step, would remove the danger from Baghdad, Najaf and Karbala, and in the next step, would open the way for the security forces to reach Samarra so that the catastrophic tragedy of 2006 (the destruction of the Holy al-Askari Shrine) is not repeated.”
Referring to the numerous meetings of Martyr Soleimani with Islamic Resistance commanders, government officials and influential Iraqi figures, the al-Nujaba spokesman noted, “It was Haj Qasem who, by attending the offices of the religious authorities and explaining in full detail the prevailing conditions, helped to have the ‘obligatory jihad’ fatwa issued against Daesh.”
Al-Shammari further mentioned the general panic that had gripped Iraq in those days, the flight of many government officials from the capital, the collapse of the army and security forces, the emptying of the treasury and weapons depots and added, “Major General Soleimani held a meeting in those days and he warned that we should not allow these dangers to threaten the holy shrines under the pretext of these problems.”
Referring to Haj Qasem’s bravery in the operation to prevent the fall of Samarra, he added, “He was on the verge of martyrdom many times there and in addition to being a high-ranking and experienced combatant, his humane and ideological personality strengthened the morale of the warriors defending the shrines.”
According to the deputy secretary-general of al-Nujaba, in the bloody operation “Jurf al-Sakhr” (later called “Jurf al-Nasr”), Daesh also openly attacked with the slogan of destroying the holy shrines of al-Kadhimayn, Karbala and Najaf. Therefore, Haj Qasem Soleimani kept telling the warriors, ‘You are now like the companions of Imam al-Husayn and you must defend the holy shrines.’”
al-Shammari stated in this regard, “I heard from Haj Qasem that he said ‘this war is the most honourable war and I am ready to be martyred in defence of the shrines of the Ahl al-Bayt (a).’ So it was. By following Hadhrat Aba al-Fadhl al-Abbas (a), his hands were cut off and he was torn to pieces in defence of the holy shrines in this land.”
In the continuation of this video speech, he described Martyr Soleimani as a man who melted in Islam and the love of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) and added, “Haj Qasem’s efforts beyond Iran and Iraq were as great as the Islamic ummah. He considered himself the defender of all Muslims in the world.”
The official spokesman of al-Nujaba referred to the toughness, tact and martyrdom-seeking nature of Martyr Soleimani and noted, “With his presence on the scene of the operation, problems were solved and the fighters rushed to the battlefield with double speed and force because they saw that this beloved elder was standing on the front line before all others.”
al-Shammari emphasized in conclusion, “The will of God Almighty was such that this great warrior achieved his eternal dream of martyrdom and left great and lasting effects by sacrificing his blood.”
It is worth mentioning that Ayatollah Reza Ramazani, the secretary-general of the Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly (a.s.), Hujjat al-Islam Sayyed Abolhasan Navvab, the president of the University of Religions and Denominations, Shaykh Nabil al-Halbawi, the custodian of the Holy Shrine of Lady Ruqayyah, and Hujjat al-Islam Mahdi Farmanian, the vice-chancellor for research at the University of Religions and Denominations, were the other speakers at this academic webinar.
The Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) that was established by a group of Shiite elites under the supervision of the great Islamic authority of the Shiites in 1990 to identify, organize, educate and support the followers of Ahl al-Bayt.