Sheikh Al-Korani Al-Ameli was born in Jabel Amel in South Lebanon close to Tyre in 1944. After studying religion at a very young age in his home town of Yader, he moved to the holy city of Najaf at the age of 18 to continue his studies. He studied under many of Iraq's most prominent scholars, including Ayatullah Mohsen Al-Hakim, Sayyid Ala Al-Bahreluloom, Ayatullah Abul-Qasim Al-Khoei and then Ayatullah Mohammed Baqer Al-Sadr. He was a strong opponent of communism and was a representative for both Ayatullah Mohsen Al-Hakim and after he died, Ayutallah Abul-Qasim Al-Khoei in Kuwait. In 1974 he returned back to Lebanon where he built amongst other things, a mosque and hospital. (picture from his official website)
In 1979, an attempt on his life was made in Beirut, and the failed assassination attempt was blamed on Iraqi agents. He then moved to Iran where he now lives.
He has been in London for quite some time now giving lectures and speeches at various centers, institutions and mosques. Yesterday, he was invited at a friends house and gave a 5 minute talk because the main speaker was late (typical).
He told us about an interesting conversation he had with members of Hizbollah in Lebanon. Although this was recorded, I didn't manage to get hold of the tape, but from what I remember this is more or less what he said. Members of Hizbollah came to him and asked "Why don't the Iraqi Shia fight against the US-led forces in Iraq?'...His reply was "If a burglar was to come to my house, what gives you the right to pick up a gun and come into my house to fight him, or even order me to do it...it is my house and I know how to deal with it better than you do...You tell the Palestinian people and groups like Hamas that they have your full support and backing in what ever decision they make...why? Because you know that they know what is happening in Palestinian better than you do...so why cant you give the same credit to the Iraqi people? They are in Iraq and they know how to deal with their own country better than you do. Just like you support the decisions the Palestinian people make in Palestine, support the decisions the Iraqi people make in Iraq".
Of course, he is from South Lebanon and he had to be diplomatic with Hizbollah, but its clear as daylight he is speaking about their double standards. That's not really news for most of us, but I was surprised that such a high ranking and respected Lebanese cleric would give members of Hizbollah such an answer.
I dont usually post other peoples work on my blog, but this is a great piece written (before Saddam's exectution) by a 19 year old Iraqi student in London. Posted here with his permission.
Saddam's Sentence
What Iraqi Londoners think?
“The court has decided to sentence Saddam Hussein al-Majid to be hanged until he is dead for crimes against humanity”
These words did not only shake the walls inside the improvised court in central Baghdad, its impact also registered around the entire world with prominence.
The death sentence brought joy to the majority of the citizens of Iraq however the question must be asked then, why were there marches of protest against the ruling? If Saddam’s reign on Iraq was entrenched in fear then why are there those who are opposed to his death? Ridha Al Khazraji an administrator for a major Iraqi youth web based forum in London answers this question. “Surely there were some who benefited from Saddam’s regime; a minority of Iraqis were elevated during his time, especially the districts that Saddam originated from” This can be seen from Iraqis Government figures that stated that the majority of army recruits were from Tikrit and Mosul, so-called Saddam hotspots.
It must be remembered also that Saddam gathered orphan boys from impoverished towns throughout the land and raised them as his own to love and adore him. These youth grew into what’s now known today as his Fedayeen Army, hence his ongoing support.
So what exactly is he being tried for? Some of his crimes include; upon assuming power, he had political opponents assassinated including high level government officials, and political murders were a familiarity in his rule, he had approximately 40 members of his family murdered including two son-in-laws and 3 young grandchildren.
He openly used chemical weapons against Iranians during 1980-1988 Iraq Iran War, a war that left over 600,000 dead, 75% of casualties Iranian. In March of 1988 he used chemical weapons again to slaughter Kurds over 12,000 in a 3 day period in Halabja. A two year campaign against the Kurds from 87-88 killed approximately 75,000. He allowed the starvation of approximately 400,000 children in the several years before his removal in refusal to execute oil-for-food program.
He was a torturer as well as murderer and this is seen by the 250 mass graves that have been uncovered recently with over 400,000 execution-style corpses found packed tightly in burial sites going on for hundreds of meters.
When you see the crimes, you then begin to understand why you get such passionate responses.
This major historical moment also brought mixed emotions here in London most were personally affected by the actions of the former leader and perceive the ruling as a personal release for them and their families who were oppressed, tortured and exiled from their beloved homeland. There are others however that are disgusted that an Iraqi court has ruled against who they see as their divine leader. There are also some Iraqis currently living in London that are indifferent, but at the same time more against the verdict due to situation in Iraq presently.
Ghada Omar is one that falls into the last category due to the situation current of instability. A 30 something year old waitress who when asked about her opinion, she replies with tears in her eyes. She does not see the issue as simply black or white, she does not distinguish it to be a question of Saddam being an evil man or not; rather she claims that in a way she wished he was still in power, not because he was an honest leader, rather the increasingly painful times Iraq is currently going through. “There were times when we would be roaming the streets of Baghdad till four in the morning not a care in the world, now everyone is in by sunset and you have to cope with an hour of electricity a day. What sort of a life is that?” She questions the change in leadership in stabilising the country and she claims that the executions of the former president will only make more of struggle to regain the glory days back to Iraq.
Ola Hussein from the Iraqi Welfare Association gave this response. “How does it feel as an Iraqi that the person who destroyed my country is going to be hanged like the hundreds of thousands he has hanged for no reason? Worst yet, people who he has tortured, humiliated, driven to insanity for no other reason they were from a background or religious belief that he did not like?” As an Iraqi who was forced to move out of the place we call "Home", I'm overjoyed!”.
When asked why the death was so important rather then life imprisonment, Miss Hussein replied “No Iraqi blood will rest unless Saddam is humiliated and dies slowly in public”.
Khadem Al-Hairi left Iraq at the age of 19 over 23 years ago with nothing more then the cloths on his back. After years of personal struggle in neighbouring Iran he now lives peacefully in West London with his wife and four sons. His view is more logical “As long as Saddam is alive the Ba'this (Saddam’s political supporters) will remain to have hope that one day he may be again the head of state”.
Incidentally this is not an unheard story. In the 1980s and 90s, Iran and Syria were full of Iraqi refuges who left Saddam’s torture and persecution. An estimated two million fled.
It has been argued that the bulk of Iraqis youth did not live under Saddam and hence have no idea how life was like under his leadership and Sara Hussain a first year university student can relate to this and explains how she sees it “People like me don’t actually fully understand what it was like to have him as a leader but at the same time when you see the reactions from the majority of people who actually had to live under his rule, I can appreciate that it is to most a immensely pleasing outcome”.
Iraqis are very passionate people and alternative methods on his death have been discussed. Rida Al Tamimi a 25 year old Marketing Administrator said “As an Iraqi I agree hanging is just too little of a punishment for him. I think a firing squad should take their positions and show it live on TV”. Sara agrees “I hope they make his execution public and that he can be an example for leaders to come”. Ma'ab Najem a 19 year old biomedical sciences student feels that “One death sentence isn’t enough; I wish that he could wake up to be hanged again and again and again”.
During my research I met a girl, Huda Ali, only 18 who is one of the millions that was personally effected by Saddam’s iron rule, certain close family members were sent away by his secret police and never seen again. “There are so many things to mention about his cruelty and evilness that we can sit here for the next 500 years, every Iraqi more or less was hurt by this blood-thirsty ruler ship in someway ever since he became president in 1979”.
Iraqi youth worker Mustafa Field, 24, had a more conventional approach, “I think they should let Saddam go free in the middle of Sadr City”.
These views are the views of the majority of Iraqi Londoners. It’s difficult to find an Iraqi in London that has one good thing to say about the former leader. Why? Maybe because if they did, they wouldn’t be exiled here, rather they’d be in the cherished homeland beside the President.
Mustafa Mitib a second year economics and investment student disagrees with these petty views “Everyone is going about the different method of killing him and how to torture him before killing him. If you actually think like that then I’m sorry but that’s a real low. That's what he used to do, think of ways of killing and torturing people until it became normal that he didn’t even need to think of ways of doing it". As for a TV execution “It should not be shown live on TV as it wrong and immoral”.
Personally as an Iraqi myself when I see the probable execution of a man who’s crimes against humanity rank only behind Hitler's Holocaust, it's difficult not to feel a sense of relief. Iraqis have lived for 30 years in a cage, and they still are living in one now due to this man. All you need to do is look at the happiness in a mother's eye in Iraq - a mother whose life has been destroyed because of a man who craved power, to the point that he would destroy his own country for it.
Yesterday was the 1333rd anniversary of the death of Imam Zaynul Abideen a 7th century-born Shia Imam, and I attended one of the "majalis" to commemorate his death, the speaker was Sayyid Mortadha Al-Kishmiri (2nd from left), the official representative of the Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani for the UK and USA.
He is a well spoken man fluent in Arabic, Persian and Urdu. With most "religious" speeches, the scholars normally cant help themselves but talk about politics (not that I mind), and Sayyid Al-Kishmiri was no exception. He talked about his recent visit to Najaf, saying "You will cry when you see the state of Najaf, I hadn't seen Najaf for over 2 decades, and the buildings were still the same, the roads were the same, everything was either the same or had gone worse". He was quick to blame this on the government. "Why is the government not doing anything about this?" and complained about the government neglecting one of the oldest cities in Iraq. He said "the people put their trust in the government, but the government has done nothing".
He made it pretty clear that "If it wasn't for the marja'iya in Najaf, no one would have voted for the Shia party (555)...If it wasn't for Sayyid Al-Sistani no one would have voted for SCIRI e.t.c". (555 had put pictures of Sistani on their election posters but still many people at the time denied that he was personally involved...I guess this clears everything up now). In the end he said "I am not against the government, I just hope it does more for the people, and I pray to Allah to make it successful". What I find rather interesting is that this is one of those win-win situations for the marja'iya in Najaf, when ever the government does anything good, the marja'iya can jump up and down claiming credit because they are the ones who "put the government in power". When the government fails, they can take a step back and say 'Hey, were not directly involved in the government, its your fault and we take no responsibility'.
They can show themselves as the people who put the government in power when it suits them, and then disown the government when it doesn't. But hey im not complaining, at least they are not controlling the government like they do in Iran...oh but wait...
p.s the food was fantastic, rice with black lentils, meatballs and dates. I've Never eaten rice with dates before, but it was delicious!
Another classic video, seriously any more and they can make a DVD...forget about Bushisms...this is hilarious, Bush may have problems with the English language but Moqtada has some serious mental issues.
Here he is talking about federalism:
"Some of the Iraqi MP's...one of them is supposed to be important and high ranking, he shivers, saying 'im scared of America...im scared to speak'...come on man speak, who are you scared of?...Is this another Saddam? He says 'no im scared im scared'...Who are you scared of?"
"The other day they (MP's) came to me to sign a paper in favour of federalism, because S.Sistani 'may Allah prolong his life' agrees with it...then they heard news that he isnt in favour and said 'yeah we dont want federalism anymore'...but didnt you want me to sign simply because S.Sistani agreed? Now you say federalism is bad because he doesnt agree, is this a decision you are making or a game you are playing? What about the Muslim blood that is being shed? Where do the Iraqi people go? One time you sign and one time you dont, and after we actually came out and declared our opposition to federalism"
"This isnt a game, shouldnt you first make sure that S.Sistani actually agrees or doesnt agree? huh...this is our future, in the hands of children habibi..."
Only God knows what this guy smokes before making statements like these...The best thing about his "speeches" is that his style and manner is the kind you hear in sheesha joints, none of the leaders speak like him, he even makes Ahmedinijad look sophisticated.
