Friday speeches 16 Zu elkoada 1423h/9 January 2003AD

God says in His Glorious Book: “O you who believe! Avoid most of suspicion, for surely suspicion in some cases is a sin, and do not spy nor let some of you backbite others. Does one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? But you abhor it; and be careful of (your duty to) Allah, surely Allah is Oft-returning (to mercy), Merciful”

There are certain Islamic instructions and commands that aim at protecting the Muslim society from certain destruction attitudes that make those who live in this society feel unsafe and waiting for problems to occur whether at work, at home or within the society at large. These problems are abundant for the simple reason that the members of the society do not deal with one another on the basis of the strict law that calls for not passing a judgment on any body except on the basis of solid proof… A society that upholds such a law is a society in which the innocent will feel assure that he will not be harmed, but if rumors become the basis of judgment, there is no way for anybody to feel safe, for rumors can come from all directions, and one is bound to be hit by them.

Let us take many of the phenomena in our society: A man might accuse his wife with sins that might even have to do with honor, just for noticing certain acts that might have several other explanations, but he tends to believe the worst and might even divorce his wife or kill her. Then, if asked about what made him do that, he will not find anything other than suspicion. Once might even lose the respect of the society and his position in it just because an envious person who wants to incite strife or distort the image of a certain symbol has created a rumor.

We, at least in part, have not been educated, not even those who pray and fast, on the necessity of abiding by the Sharia and law, had we been responsible we would have upheld the duty to maintain the unity and cohesion of the society.

Even when it comes to vital, economic, political and security issues, there are those who spread false rumors to undermine the cohesion of the society. This is what intelligence agencies in particular try to do but the problem is that people tend to believe without checking out the authenticity of the source or the rumor.

Islam started by explaining the meaning of suspicion. It is the attitude that is not based on a law or a proof, but rather on psychological obsession, or guessing {Wert thou to follow the common run of those on earth, they will lead thee away from the Way of Allah. They follow noting but conjecture: Thy do nothing but lie} (6:116) {But most of them follow nothing but conjecture: Truly conjecture can be of no avail against Truth. Verily Allah is well aware of all that they do}(10:36) especially on human relations. He also says: O ye who believe! Avoid suspicion as much (as possible): for suspicion in some cases is a sin: And spy not on each other, nor speak ill of each other behind their backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, Ye would abhor it. But fear Allah: For Allah is oft Returning, Most Merciful}. (49:12) Therefore do not pass any judgment relying on your own feelings and demotions. But make sure that they are true first especially that many rumors are initiated by those who are not trustworthy {O ye who believe! If a sinner comes to you with any news, ascertain the truth, least ye harm people unwittingly, and afterwards become full of repentance for what ye have done} (49:6).

This is what we have to educate our children and ourselves on: Not to pass any judgment before we have concrete evidence.

Once the Prophet was asked: “what do I testify on?” The Prophet looked at the sun and said: “On something as evident as this; if not then don’t.

False testimony undermines the integrity of the community starting from the household and ending by issues that affect the destiny of the nation. We have to ensure the stability of the nation. An unstable community is vulnerable and it can be manipulated by the intelligence agencies of the enemy. The Messenger (p.) emphasized the necessity of avoiding suspicion when he said that it is “the most lying” form of talk.. Jesus Christ (p.) told those who used to judge on the basis of suspicion: “People, you blame others on the basis of suspicion while you do not blame yourself on the basis of certainty”. Imam Ali (a.s.) reminded us that Allah has commanded us not to be suspicious, He also said: The most evil among you is the one who does not trust anyone, because of his suspicious, while no one trust him because of his actions...

Our communities are unstable on the family level, as well as the political and social levels. And we might be the ones who hold the responsibility, for we do not depend on solid proof before passing judgments. In any case, an unstable society would be vulnerable for all sorts of foreign interference. Moreover, no one could be sure and safe on the personal level if the society is not safe: When the fire burns the house of your neighbors, the wind will bring it to your house. O you who believe! Avoid most of suspicion, for surely suspicion in some cases is a sin, and do not spy nor let some of you backbite others. Does one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? But you abhor it; and be careful of (your duty to) Allah, surely Allah is Oft-returning (to mercy), Merciful”

As Israel continues its atrocities in Palestine, its army chief of staff threatened Syria by new aggressions if it does not succumb relying in the US support to execute its threats.

Some influential neocons have called on president Bush to change the regime in Syria by using economic , political and even military pressures , since Syria did not yield to the American=Israeli demands that aim to extend their hegemony over the entire Arab and Muslim region.

In this respect, it is ironic that Israel, which possesses advanced American weapons, is supported by the US and Britain in its demand to keep its weapons of mass destruction. It is also interesting that a British high government official that Israel has a unique status since it is the only country whose existence is threatened. We ask this official: Who is occupying Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese territories, killing the Palestinian people and threatening the countries in the region? Is it Syria or Israel?

The Arabs and Muslims have not forgotten Britain's role establishing Israel in Palestine. They also know that America threatens the entire region to ensure Israel’s security. The problem is that both countries do not recognize the Palestinians’ rights of self-determination. They do not respect the Arabs’ human rights, although it is the slogan they resort to in threatening the third world. How many crimes are committed in the name of freedom?

Faced by such a situation, we call on all the downtrodden in the world to be aware of the motives of international arrogance, and deal with it with caution and suspicion studying its schemes and its far reaching objectives. We call on the Palestinians to hold fast and uphold their unity while resorting to playing different but complementary roles. For all those American and Israeli massacres aim at making them surrender, thus ending the dream of a free Palestine in the future.

On another level, we would like to welcome, the ongoing dialogue between the Saudi government and the various Saudi Islamic and political trends, hoping that it will reach positive results of change: The change made by the citizens and not the ones forced from outside.

We also welcome the new developments represented by the objective political dialogue between Egypt and Iran that is melting the ice that has accumulated for years. We believe that these two countries can provide a lot of strength in the battle against the enemy of the nation.

We also welcome the new political cultural and economic relations between Turkey and Syria, which could open a new page in the region, especially with the great challenges the two peoples face, hoping that this dialogue and cooperation will include Iran in the future.

In Iraq, we stress on the need for Iraqis to decide on their own future by means of free elections in which they express their will to build the future, on the basis of national and Islamic unity and the rejection of any kind of geographical and sectarian division.

If certain parties claim that the objective circumstances are not ripe, we call for studying the realistic ways that enable them to accomplish these goals, for we are afraid that talking about difficult conditions is only a pretense to decide on the future away from the will of the Iraqi people.

In Lebanon, additional files are closed, for reasons the Lebanese know nothing of. Certain indications have pointed out to the involvement of senior officials in the UTA plane crash, while the relatives of the victims are still waiting to know what actually happened.

As for the country in general, things are deteriorating in a way that demonstrates the absence of the state, which means that there is a new need everyday for strikes and protests… Corruption, tyranny and sectarian interests seem to be dominant, making any optimist yearning for change unrealistic.

The people are calling for transparency to know what is going on, but the question is: have they planned on how to vote to ensure a responsible leadership, or have they become addicted on political and sectarian corruption.

to hold fast and uphold their unity while resorting to playing different but complementary roles. For all those American and Israeli massacres aim at making them surrender, thus ending the dream of a free Palestine in the future.