Update: 19/07/2016 Following from my post providing some analysis of Muqtada al-Sadr’s recent appearance in military garb, @toaf kindly forwarded some fascinating photos he recently took in Iraq. These photos indicate a strategy of integrating a military, nationalist-secular symbology alongside images of Sadr’s religious heritage (Baqir and Sadeq al-Sadr) in […]
Mustafa Al-Khaqani @Khaqani_M shared the an interesting picture (below) showing the guidance on battlefield rules issued a few days ago by Shi’i marja’ Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani spreading amongst fighters engaged in the Fallujah operation. What follows is a rough translation of this guidance with the original Arabic text below: “So […]
Dated: 15 May 2015 Original source (Arabic): http://imamhussain.org/fri/4723vie.html 15 May 2015 Sayyid Sistani condemns the aggression in Adhamiya and calls for the rebuilding of the institutions of the Iraqi army according to international standards and rules. The Marja’iya [al-Sistani] condemned the attacks which happened in the area of Adhamiya […]
Dated: 26 June 2015 Original source (Arabic): http://imamhussain.org/fri/4730vie.html Translation starts here: The Marja’ Sistani calls for the necessity of military leaders to coordinate with the groups participating in the fight against Da3sh and for medical staff to treat the injured cadres. (Friday Sermon – Sistani representative). Representative of the […]
Dated: 12 Feb 2015 Original source (English): http://www.sistani.org/english/archive/25036/ and Arabic source: http://www.sistani.org/arabic/archive/25034// Advice and Guidance to the Fighters on the Battlefields In the Name of God, Ever-Merciful, Ever-Compassionate In the Name of God, Ever-Merciful, Ever-Compassionate Praise belongs to God, Lord of the Cosmos, and ever-lasting peace be upon the best […]
Dated: 02 July 2014 Original source (Arabic): http://www.sistani.org/arabic/archive/24921/ Translation starts here: Text of statement on the current situation in Iraq from Friday sermon held by His Eminence, Sayid Ahmed Safi, representative of the Grand Marja’iya, 02 July 2014. In the name of God the Compassionate and the Merciful. […]
Dated: 14 June 2015 Original source (Arabic): http://www.sistani.org/arabic/in-news/24909/ Nun News Agency Translation starts here: The Office of the Marja’ al-Sistani clarifies what was reported in the Friday sermon (that defence is a wajib kafai [collective duty]) The Office of the Marja’ya representing Grand Ayatollah al-Sayyid Ali Al-Sistani has clarified […]
Dated: 22 May 2015 Abu Azrael is a commander in the Iranian supported Kataib al-Imam Ali (battalion), itself part of al-hashd al-sha’bi (the Popular Mobilization).
Dated: 13 June 2014 Original source (Video, Arabic): This is my attempt at translating the fatwa that initiated al-hashd al-sha’bi in June 2014. Delivered by Sistani’s representative Sheikh Abdul Mahdi al-Karbalai. Translation starts here: Oh brothers and sisters… The situation that Iraq and its citizens are going through is […]
The purpose of this blog is begin to build up enough source material to make possible a comparative analysis of the discourse on political identity constructed by key figures in the Iraqi-Shi’a religious field. Consequently, finding fatwas, bayans or articles from different figures addressing the same political events […]
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