Friday speeches 18 Shawal 1423h/12 December 2003AD

God says in His Glorious Book: “While the unbelievers got up in their hearts heat and cant-the heat and cant of Ignorance, Allah sent down His tranquility to His Messenger and to the believers, and made them stick close to the command of self-restraint; and well were they entitled to it and worthy of it. And Allah has full knowledge of all things”48:25.

In this Ayah, Allah wants to clarify the difference, between those who believe and those who don’t, by focusing on the difference in their state of mind towards others and towards issues. They are those who act nervously and fanatically in a way that makes man unable to see clearly but remain attached to one point of view and unable to see anything else. Such people are motivated by their instincts and not their minds while if you rely on the mind you will be able to study any matter from an objective point of view that is independent of any influence whether of those you respect or those you do not.

This is the difference between the emotional excitement of unbelief in the age of ignorance (Jahiliya) and the tranquility of belief that Allah bestowed on the Messenger and the believers, which enabled them to be rational, objective and just when they study any issue… Whenever Muslims study any issue they will think about God since this is the meaning of piety.

And when they think of God they will have to be objective and just, any bias or any surrender to passions, whims or desires would be a breach from piety.

In the quoted verse, as well as several others, Allah, the most exalted, that being a believer is not to act fanatically. Being fanatic involves not seeing the others’ views which could be right just as they could be wrong. It cancels your mind, and confuses your heart... you would be looking at things through one eye only, and not both eyes which Allah not only created in your face but in your mind and heart as well.

They Holy Quran tells us about those who were fanatic in that they could not see the truth in what the prophets brought them. They were so blind and stupid that they only saw their idols and traditions and could not even think that the truth could lie somewhere else... You too can be fanatic in the same sense. Therefore, try to look deep into your feelings and find out what the basis of your hatred and love are … And remember that fanaticism will make you hate everything that does not confirm with your ideas or traditions. It also tells you to despise all those who come with any different ideas even if they were true.

The Holy Quran explains to us the rationale of the unbelievers who confronted the prophets: “And the chiefs of his people, who disbelieved and denied the Meeting in the Hereafter, and on who we had bestowed the good things of this life, said: “He is no more than a man like yourselves: He eats and drinks of what ye drink” “If ye obey a man like yourselves, behold, it is certain ye will be lost”.

They did not think about the content of the message, nor about the personality of the carrier. They reached their convictions offhand, without even discussing what is being presented to them.

Let us see the treatment the Messenger prescribed for fanaticism of all kinds (the personal that is the one that makes you see only yourself and despise the logic and knowledge of others, and the ones that center on the family, the tribe the sect, the political party and even the country). He said: who becomes fanatic or who accepts to be the object of fanaticism would be freeing himself from the tie of belief. Thus if you are a fanatic you are no longer a believer, for belief and fanaticism do not meet.

In another saying the Prophet (p) says: Whoever has even the equivalent of seed of mustard of fanaticism in his heart will be put with the Bedouins of Jahlilya on the Day of Resurrection… He also said: He does not belong to us he who is a fanatic for a certain party, or who fights for a certain party, or who dies as a fanatic for this party.

Imam Zein Al-Abideen (a.s) distinguished between various forms of fanaticism and said: the kind of fanaticism that Allah would punish for is that which makes one” see the evil among his people better than the good in other peoples”.

It is not fanatic to love your own people, but it is surely fanatic to help them in wronging others.

In one of his speeches, Imam Ali (a.s) explains to us that Satan is the leader of all fanatics. He concludes by saying that if you have to be fanatic then let your fanaticism be guided towards principles and not persons.

He felt proud over Adam by virtue of his creation and boasted over him on account of his origin. Thus, this enemy of Allah is the leader of those who boast, and the fore-runner of the vain. It is he who laid the foundation of factionalism, quarreled with Allah about the robe of greatness, put on the dress of haughtiness and took off the covering of humility.

Look what there is in these acts by way of curbing the appearance of pride and suppressing the traces of vanity. I cast my glance and noticed that no one in the world, except you, feels vanity for anything without a cause which may appeal to the ignorant, or a reason which may cling to the minds of the foolish, because you feel vanity for something for which no reason is discernible, nor any ground.

As for Satan, he felt proud over Adam because of his origin and taunted at him about his creation, since he said “I am of fire while you are of clay.” In the same way the rich among the prosperous communities have been feeling vanity because of their riches, as (Allah) said: “And said they: We are more (than you) in wealth and in children, and shall not be chastised.”(Qur’an,34:35).

In case you cannot avoid vanity, it should be for good qualities, praiseworthy acts, and admirable matters with which the dignified and noble chiefs of the Arab families distinguished themselves, as attractive manners, high thinking, respectable position and good performances. You too should show vanity in praiseworthy habits like the protection of the neighbor, the fulfillment of agreements, obedience to the virtuous, opposition to the haughty, extending generosity to others, abstention from rebellion, keeping aloof from blood-she, doing justice to people, suppressing anger and avoiding trouble on the earth. You should also fear what calamities befell peoples before you on account of their evil deeds and detestable actions. Remember, during good or bad circumstances, what happened to them, and be cautious that you do become like them.

Thus, Allah wants the Muslim to be a man who thinks and studies all aspects to ensure that his move will be just and objective.

Therefore, to adhere to what we believe in, means that before believing in anything we should study the issues and listen to all points of view, we have to listen to the other and discuss his views, for this is the only way that makes the society a better one. We are living all these social political, economic and security raptures, because fanaticism has drawn us away from one another, and created hatred instead of love among us, as we began to accuse each other of unbelief with incredible ease… If fanaticism is in Hell as the Prophet said, how could we seek Heaven through it? No one will enter Heaven with a heart full of hatred or malice. Let us reject fanaticism to unite our society and gain the strength needed to fight for Allah’s cause.

The Palestinian children whom the occupation is denying their rights of learning, and even eating, are still victims of the daily killings of the Zionist forces… their houses too are demolished and those who remain alive have to be constantly dislocated.

Yet, we did not hear any objection in the face of these brutal and barbaric crimes, especially by the human rights’ committees on the international day for human rights. We only hear about the death of some Jewish children. It is a plot to dislocate the Palestinians which enjoys America’s support although it pretends to call for a Palestinian state. But this state has to await the presidential elections, and by then, the process of eradicating the Palestinians would have made a big leap forward creating a new de facto situation.

In this climate, we have heard about the proposed meeting between the Palestinians and the enemy prime minister, but with the Palestinians not carrying any demands to make the meeting worthwhile… Meanwhile, this tragic comedy continues with additional stalling and pressures that aim at forcing the Palestinians to present additional concessions to prove that they are serious…

The resumption of the Quartet Committee efforts is a part of this game that aims at gaining more time to allow America to execute its plans that aim at accomplishing all the goals of Israel that will leave no land or security to the Palestinians and turn them into nothing but a cheap labor force to the Israelis.

On the other hand, we believe that the Palestinian dialogue has a positive aspect because it will allow them to draw closer, meeting on what they agree on and continuing to discuss the controversial issues.

As the last round of Palestinian dialogue did not reach conclusive results in all matters of dispute, we hope that this dialogue will turn into an institution that will keep on playing its role in all circumstances, so as to thwart the plans of those who wish to fish in dirty waters and prevent them from executing their plots and incite internal strife.

In Iraq, we are wary of the security complications that seek to prepare for a sectarian conflict. And this is what we noticed in the comments regarding the security role party militias would play. This is also what we noticed when the mosque Ahiba’ al-Mustapha was exploded which was exploited to incite sectarian strife.

In our capacity as a religious authority we wish our folk and beloved ones in Iraq to secure their national and Islamic unity, by being vigilant and cautious from any such incitation… They should engage in an objective dialogue about all the issues they have not agreed on... Iraq is God's trust to all Iraqis. The future expects you to dedicate all your efforts to build a civilized and prosperous Iraq.

As for the Israeli presence in Iraq, the media has reported that the Israeli security presence in Iraq is expanding, as a result of a growing American demand that believes that the Israeli experience in Palestine has been successful and wishes to imitate it in Iraq. Israel on its part has begun to implement its plans regarding its future role in Iraq especially that the undersecretary of state for intelligence has declared: "America and Israel are not engaged in an official dialogue, they work together.”

Israeli intelligence coordinates with American intelligence and Israel is trying hard to penetrate the Iraqi future and society… with similar efforts to enter the market of reconstruction and trade… But where is the Arab world? Why is this total absence and political decay, which could create a huge problem, for the region especially that the American - Israeli alliance plans to make Iraq an American outpost in the region, but one that has an Arabic cover.

In Lebanon, Israel has recently committed the killing two Lebanese civilians, while on the internal level the effort to weaken the national university continues. This university should be one of the best because it is the University of the poor as well as the University of All Lebanese. Moreover, the economic situation is worsening… corruption and violations of human rights are increasing with the politicians seeking only to score points in the futile sectarian strife that blows up the little national reconciliation that has been achieved.

To those politicians and to all sectarians, we say: What do you want? Do you want this country that hosts intellectual and human rights conferences to be lost in the darkness of political feuds and economic collapse? Or do you want it to remain as it has always have been known: a country of enlightenment?