{"id":1683,"date":"2018-09-07T14:16:59","date_gmt":"2018-09-07T14:16:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bayancenter.org\/en\/?p=1683"},"modified":"2018-09-07T14:16:59","modified_gmt":"2018-09-07T14:16:59","slug":"friday-prayer-sermon-in-imam-hussains-holy-shrine-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bayancenter.org\/en\/2018\/09\/1683\/","title":{"rendered":"Friday Prayer Sermon in Imam Hussain\u2019s Holy Shrine"},"content":{"rendered":"

His Eminence Sheikh Abdul Mahdi<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Dear Brothers and Sisters, I would like to draw <\/span><\/span>your <\/span><\/span>attention to the contents of the second sermon.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In the name of <\/span><\/span>Allah,<\/span><\/span> the Merciful<\/span><\/span>, the Compassionate<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span><\/span><\/a>Supreme Religious <\/span><\/span>Authority<\/span><\/span> is following with <\/span><\/span>grave<\/span><\/span> concern the <\/span><\/span>unfolding events<\/span><\/span> in the beloved city of Basra. It expresses its deep sorrow and regret at the consequences of what <\/span><\/span>has <\/span><\/span>happened there, which <\/span><\/span>it <\/span><\/span>warned <\/span><\/span>about<\/span><\/span> more than once. Unfortunately<\/span><\/span>, however,<\/span><\/span> its warnings<\/span><\/span> fell on deaf ears and today we renew our concerns on several <\/span><\/span>fronts<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

1. We <\/span><\/span>re<\/span><\/span>affirm our absolute rejection and condemnation of the blatant attacks on the peaceful demonstrators, especially the <\/span><\/span>use of live ammunition against them<\/span><\/span>, which led to the loss of many of <\/span><\/span>lives<\/span><\/span>and the wounding of many others. We <\/span><\/span>also <\/span><\/span>strongly condemn the attack<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span> on the security forces<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> charged with protecting government buildings and facilities<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>by <\/span><\/span>the <\/span><\/span>throwing <\/span><\/span>of <\/span><\/span>stones, Molotov cocktails, <\/span><\/span>and the like; causing injury to d<\/span><\/span>ozens of them<\/span><\/span>. W<\/span><\/span>e also condemn the attacks on <\/span><\/span>both <\/span><\/span>public and <\/span><\/span>private <\/span><\/span>property, such as burning, breaking, looting, <\/span><\/span>and the like.<\/span><\/span> These <\/span><\/span>acts<\/span><\/span>, in addition to being unjustified <\/span><\/span>under our laws and <\/span><\/span>religious edicts<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>give rise to<\/span><\/span> new crises and <\/span><\/span>aggravate the<\/span><\/span> very <\/span><\/span>problems <\/span><\/span>which the <\/span><\/span>citizens <\/span><\/span>are complaining about right now. T<\/span><\/span>herefore<\/span><\/span>, we<\/span><\/span> appeal to everyone to stop these practices and <\/span><\/span>not to resort to <\/span><\/span>violence, especially <\/span><\/span>the use of <\/span><\/span>excessive <\/span><\/span>force<\/span><\/span> when<\/span><\/span> dealing with protests and <\/span><\/span>not to trespass on either<\/span><\/span> public <\/span><\/span>or<\/span><\/span> private property.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

2<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span> The oppressed people<\/span><\/span> of Iraq<\/span><\/span>, who<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>after the fall of the former regime<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> have had to endure untold suffering<\/span><\/span> as a result of <\/span><\/span>terrorist attacks, <\/span><\/span>which <\/span><\/span>have left <\/span><\/span>behind<\/span><\/span> them <\/span><\/span>hundreds of thousands of victims, <\/span><\/span>widows<\/span><\/span> and orphans<\/span><\/span>; and of course, not forgetting how Iraq <\/span><\/span>offered <\/span><\/span>its <\/span><\/span>precious sons<\/span><\/span> in <\/span><\/span>the <\/span><\/span>defence<\/span><\/span> of its land <\/span><\/span>and its sanctities in <\/span><\/span>the<\/span><\/span> long war<\/span><\/span> against the Daesh terrorists<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span>Large sections of the population have endured<\/span><\/span> pain and <\/span><\/span>deprivation for fifteen <\/span><\/span>long <\/span><\/span>years in the hope that the new <\/span><\/span>order<\/span><\/span> will <\/span><\/span>deliver<\/span><\/span> for them <\/span><\/span>a different <\/span><\/span>reality <\/span><\/span>from the <\/span><\/span>old one<\/span><\/span> in which they enjoy a dignified and stable life<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

T<\/span><\/span>h<\/span><\/span>is<\/span><\/span> so far <\/span><\/span>patient and <\/span><\/span>expectant <\/span><\/span>people can no longer bear <\/span><\/span>to stand by <\/span><\/span>and <\/span><\/span>watch<\/span><\/span> the indifference<\/span><\/span> of those in power<\/span><\/span> to <\/span><\/span>their plight and to their ever spiralling <\/span><\/span>problems and intractable crises, <\/span><\/span>who are instead <\/span><\/span>preoccup<\/span><\/span>ied <\/span><\/span>with <\/span><\/span>fighting amongst themselves<\/span><\/span> for <\/span><\/span>the political gains and the spoils of <\/span><\/span>power<\/span><\/span> and government <\/span><\/span>appointments<\/span><\/span>. These same people have also <\/span><\/span>allow<\/span><\/span>ed<\/span><\/span> foreigners to <\/span><\/span>interfere<\/span><\/span> in the <\/span><\/span>internal <\/span><\/span>affairs of the country and <\/span><\/span>to turn <\/span><\/span>it<\/span><\/span> into <\/span><\/span>a<\/span><\/span>n<\/span><\/span> arena<\/span><\/span> for regional and international <\/span><\/span>score settling<\/span><\/span>and <\/span><\/span>a forum for <\/span><\/span>foreign interests and <\/span><\/span>agendas.<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

3<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span> The suffering of <\/span><\/span>the <\/span><\/span>citizens <\/span><\/span>of <\/span><\/span>Basra and <\/span><\/span>the <\/span><\/span>other governorates from the lack of basic services and the spread of poverty and unemployment and the <\/span><\/span>p<\/span><\/span>roliferation<\/span><\/span> of corruption in <\/span><\/span>the <\/span><\/span>institutions of the state is a natural result of the poor performance of senior officials and <\/span><\/span>those <\/span><\/span>in<\/span><\/span> sensitive positions in successive governments<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> which ha<\/span><\/span>ve<\/span><\/span> been built <\/span><\/span>on political quotas and <\/span><\/span>nepotism<\/span><\/span> and <\/span><\/span>an <\/span><\/span><\/a>abject failure to<\/span><\/span>select officials <\/span><\/span>based on their professionalism and merit, <\/span><\/span>especially <\/span><\/span>in <\/span><\/span>the <\/span><\/span>appointment for<\/span><\/span> important <\/span><\/span>positions<\/span><\/span> and services<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span> T<\/span><\/span>his tragic reality <\/span><\/span>will not change <\/span><\/span>if the next government <\/span><\/span>is formed along the same lines <\/span><\/span>and criteria <\/span><\/span>as <\/span><\/span>previous governments<\/span><\/span>. H<\/span><\/span>ence<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> the pressure <\/span><\/span>is on <\/span><\/span>to <\/span><\/span>form a <\/span><\/span>new government <\/span><\/span>which is <\/span><\/span>d<\/span><\/span>ifferent from <\/span><\/span>its<\/span><\/span> predecessors <\/span><\/span>and which <\/span><\/span>take<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span> into <\/span><\/span>consideration<\/span><\/span> the merits<\/span><\/span>, integrity, courage, <\/span><\/span>determination<\/span><\/span> and loyalty <\/span><\/span>to<\/span><\/span> the country and <\/span><\/span>its<\/span><\/span> the people <\/span><\/span>in<\/span><\/span> the selection of senior officials.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

4. <\/span><\/span>By<\/span><\/span> monitoring <\/span><\/span>the water <\/span><\/span>situation<\/span><\/span> in Basra<\/span><\/span>, t<\/span><\/span>he representative<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span> of the <\/span><\/span>Supreme Religious Authority <\/span><\/span>n<\/span><\/span>o<\/span><\/span>w discern the full extent <\/span><\/span>of<\/span><\/span> the government’s failure <\/span><\/span>in<\/span><\/span> deal<\/span><\/span>ing<\/span><\/span> with this <\/span><\/span>issue<\/span><\/span>. It has <\/span><\/span>become evident<\/span><\/span> that it was possible with some effort and <\/span><\/span>with relatively modest sums<\/span><\/span> compared <\/span><\/span>to the spending<\/span><\/span> potential <\/span><\/span>at the disposal of<\/span><\/span> the government to alleviate the crisis to a large extent, but the inefficiency of some officials and the lack of interest of others and the <\/span><\/span>stifling <\/span><\/span>administrative routine <\/span><\/span>and t<\/span><\/span>he <\/span><\/span>discontinuity between <\/span><\/span>the responsible branches of government<\/span><\/span> and <\/span><\/span>other such<\/span><\/span> obstacles have exacerbated the problem and <\/span><\/span>turned it<\/span><\/span> into <\/span><\/span>a<\/span><\/span>overwhelming crisis<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It is <\/span><\/span>absolutely <\/span><\/span>necessary <\/span><\/span>for <\/span><\/span>the decision makers in the executive authority <\/span><\/span>to monitor with <\/span><\/span>due<\/span><\/span>diligence<\/span><\/span> the <\/span><\/span>progress of<\/span><\/span> strategic projects, especially <\/span><\/span>those <\/span><\/span>relat<\/span><\/span>ed<\/span><\/span> to infrastructure<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> and <\/span><\/span>to <\/span><\/span>take quick <\/span><\/span>decisive steps based on the advice of<\/span><\/span> experts and not to leave <\/span><\/span>matters in limbo and at the mercy of<\/span><\/span> the ebb and flow of<\/span><\/span> officials or <\/span><\/span>to rely<\/span><\/span> on<\/span><\/span> routine mechanisms<\/span><\/span> which inherently <\/span><\/span>impede the completion of project<\/span><\/span>s, which<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> for instance<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> instead of <\/span><\/span>tak<\/span><\/span>ing<\/span><\/span> six months<\/span><\/span> to complete,<\/span><\/span> t<\/span><\/span>ake<\/span><\/span> several years.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

5. In view of the fact that many of the existing problems <\/span><\/span>take time to<\/span><\/span> be <\/span><\/span>resolved and <\/span><\/span>because<\/span><\/span> they <\/span><\/span>are not capable of being<\/span><\/span> resolved <\/span><\/span>within <\/span><\/span>a short period of time, it is essential that officials <\/span><\/span>demonstrate a <\/span><\/span>clear earnestness<\/span><\/span> in taking the <\/span><\/span>initiative<\/span><\/span> in this regard<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> so that the citizen<\/span><\/span> can<\/span><\/span> have some <\/span><\/span>degree of <\/span><\/span>confidence and <\/span><\/span>reassurance <\/span><\/span>that there is a real will to end their suffering<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>which<\/span><\/span> will <\/span><\/span>help to calm <\/span><\/span>nerves<\/span><\/span> and <\/span><\/span>to <\/span><\/span>reduce tensions<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span> W<\/span><\/span>hat <\/span><\/span>is likely to <\/span><\/span>contribute to <\/span><\/span>this sense<\/span><\/span> is the <\/span><\/span>personal attendance by<\/span><\/span>senior officials<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> such as <\/span><\/span>ministers<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> at<\/span><\/span> the workplace and <\/span><\/span>their<\/span><\/span> personal follow-up of the way things are <\/span><\/span>progressing <\/span><\/span>and <\/span><\/span>to <\/span><\/span>listen to the demands of citizens and <\/span><\/span>to do their best <\/span><\/span>to meet them, <\/span><\/span>by whatever means that<\/span><\/span> bypass routine administrative procedures.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We <\/span><\/span>beseech<\/span><\/span> Allah <\/span><\/span>to aid <\/span><\/span>us <\/span><\/span>in our hour of need<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

His Eminence Sheikh Abdul Mahdi Dear Brothers and Sisters, I would like to draw your attention to the contents of the second sermon. In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate The Supreme Religious Authority is following with grave concern the unfolding events in the beloved city of Basra. It expresses its deep sorrow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":409,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[60],"class_list":{"0":"post-1683","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-friday-prayers","8":"tag-friday-prayers"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.bayancenter.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/FR.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Y2nv-r9","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bayancenter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bayancenter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bayancenter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bayancenter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bayancenter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1683"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bayancenter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1683\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1684,"href":"https:\/\/www.bayancenter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1683\/revisions\/1684"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bayancenter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bayancenter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bayancenter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bayancenter.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}