AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Following the heinous and ungracious act of the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat in disrespecting Grand Ayatollah Sistani, the supreme source of Shiite emulation in Iraq, Ahlulbayt World Assembly (AS) denounced the action and called on the authorities, parties and political groups to be united and vigilant.
The full text of the statement is as follows:
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
“They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His light, although the disbelievers dislike it.” (61:8)
The Wahhabi rulers of Riyadh, whose efforts to create chaos and divisions among the Iraqi Muslim brothers have failed by wise and unifying fatwas of the Shiite source of emulation, after insulting the symbol of the glorious Iraqi resistance, the martyr Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, in a shameful act, they disrespected Grand Ayatollah Sistani, the great religious and national figure of Iraq and Islamic world, who is respected by all Iraqi tribes and Islamic schools of thought.
The recent insult of the media body of the child-killing regime of Saudi to religious and national symbols of Iraq has proved more and more their divisive anti-Shiite approach. This heinous act, which is part of the regime’s macro-policies and consistent strategy of insulting and humiliating any religion other than the Wahhabi sect, is a clear service to the enemies of Islam, and in particular to the great devil (the United States) and the Zionist regime in the region.
The divisive positions of the Al Saud regime, which are mercenaries of the United States and the Zionist regime, are not new and strange. Because they are the ones who unjustly shed the pure blood of innocent Muslims from Parachinar to Yemen and Iraq and Syria and shake hands with the occupiers of the holy land of Palestine. This outrageous act clearly demonstrates the bitter sense of defeat in the face of the wise and strong actions of the Shiite Source of Emulation, which has defeated all Takfiri plots, led to the downfall of Daesh and the Takfiri project, played a pivotal role in liberating Iraq from Saudi mercenary terrorists and became a key element in maintaining Iraq’s national integrity and political stability. More than ever, they have understood the high position of the Source of Emulation among the beliefs and emotions of the Iraqi Shiite and Sunni brothers so they are working to extinguish this light.
Riyadh has played and continues to play an influential role in terrorist activities in the region and Iraq, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is considered one of the most important supporters of terrorist approaches. This sinister move, which is an important factor in recognizing the friend from the enemy, marks the beginning of a new round of Riyadh’s seditionist actions in Iraq, which are perfectly coordinated with the US plan to target Iraqi popular resistance forces and popular hero Al-Hashd al-Shabi (Popular Mobilization Forces). Therefore, strongly condemning this unwise action and expressing disgust from it, the Ahlulbayt World Assembly call on the great Iraqi nation, who are lovers and followers of the Ahlulbayt (family of the prophet Muhammad), and Iraqi officials from all political parties and factions with all religious belief to be unified and vigilant more than ever and move forward in the path of achieving real freedom and independence of great Iraq and thwart the conspiracies of their evil enemies as they had done before and never allow enemies of Islam to infiltrate their country.
Ahlulbayt World Assembly