The First Sermon

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful  

Man's freedom

In one of his sayings, the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (a.s.) asserts: O people: Adam did not have any slave children, whether boys and girls. And all people are free. In another saying he says: "Don't be a slave of other to others while Allah has made you free, and also "do not be enslaved by greed, while Allah has make you free”. Through these sayings Ali (a.s.) wants to emphasize the element of freedom in Man. Man should not enslave his thought, his life or position to any other man or party. Being free means that your positions should he led by what your mind accepts and rejects.

You will should reflect your commitment to good in both lives, you should not fall victim of your greed.

This is what realizes man's humanity. When you submit to others, you are not living life in the way Allah wanted you to: to be free.

In the light of this, a man who respects himself and his freedom should study everything from the point of view of worshipping God. When you say there is no god but Allah you are talking about two things: First that you are not free with respect to God. He is the master and you are His servant. But you are free and equal and sovereign with respect to all humans. You are free and you refuse to submit to any one except Allah.

Thus, the issue of freedom is associated with the issue of the oneness of Allah. It is also linked with patience. When others want you to submit to them, threatening you with many pains or problems if you don not yield, your freedom tells you that you have to endure and tolerate these pains to be free. This is what Imam Hussein said when he was asked to yield. I will not give you with any hand the way a humiliated person would, no would I submit like a slave does". I am free and to refuse all what Yazid represents, I am free to stay with the right and keep aloof from falsehood, and to uphold my responsibilities in reform and changing the unjust reality and rule. He also said: 'Verily the illegitimate (person) (i.e. 'Ubaidullah bin Ziad), son of the illegitimate (person) (i.e. Ziad bin Abih), has given me only two choices: fighting or humiliation and subservience; humiliation and subservience is certainly far from us!

When the enemy tried to launch an offensive on his camps he told them: If you are not afraid of the Hereafter, why don't you be free in this world. And do not let your own greed enslave you.

Freedom is dignity

When you study the meaning of dignity in the Holy Quran, you will find that it is equivalent to freedom. To respect your dignity means not to submit to those who want to humiliate you. Imam Ali (a.s.) says: "A free man is free even when stricken by harm, and a slave remains a slave even if circumstances help him". You are free even if you are plagued with problems, pains and wrongdoing, and you are a slave even if you have enormous resources, since you do not have you willpower.

Imam Al-Sadiq(a.s.) says that: a free man will remain free, regardless of all changes in his status, He would be free for example even in prison all as long as he does not yield to the occupier. Prophet Joseph(a.s.) is a case in point. He remained free he was thrown in the well, and when he was imprisoned, for he clung to his will power, and he was armed by patience.

Moreover, freedom springs from the inside especially in the modern conditions of life. Imam Ali says: "Who does not pursue his desires will be free". He also says: He who sells himself to liberate it is different then the one who sells it to dirty it.

Islam wants us free

Islam wants us to be free, especially in our thinking, which should strive to support the right, based on our free choice. We should not sell our thought, nor accept that others will think for us. Confer with others, but do not yield to what they want. Do not accept that others will think for you.

Do not accept to walk with your eyes closed not knowing where they are taking you to. Allah will hold us responsible for the thought we adhere to and for any stand we take. He will not accept the notion that others have asked us to do this or that.

We have to be free in our fight of the unjust, the tyrants and the deviators; Allah has created the mind and gave us the will power. He made us responsible for our choices, and asked us to confront all challenges and reject any attempt to enslave us.,. Let us be free and let our freedom emerge from the inside to face all the challenges that face us in the outside world.

The Second speech

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful  

An American – Zionist scheme

In the Muslim World, with the Arab World in its heart, the vast majority of our people live under the line of poverty, while most of the rulers and the privileged live in an incredible state of luxury, with billions of Dollars left in the banks of the superpowers that would then impose the most severe and humiliating conditions on any loan they would give to the downtrodden countries.

In this Muslim and Arab Worlds the savage occupation dominates several countries, including Palestine, which the Jews have officially taken over most of its lands, while they are trying to tear up the lands that remain to prevent the emergence of a viable and strong Palestinian state.

In this respect, steps are being taken to Judaize Jerusalem, and dislocate its Muslim and Christian population. Any attempt to question the legend of Palestine as a national state for the Jews is being thwarted, by accusing it of being an act of anti-Semitism

We are facing a Zionist plot to end any Arab and Muslim existence in Palestine, and to ensure the success of the Jewish plan to liquidate the Palestinian liberation movement that is described as a terrorist movement. This situation has became more and more dangerous with the European and American West turning into a party that fights the Palestinian aspirations for independence, considering any effort for freedom and human rights to be a terrorist act.

If the West talks about certain solutions as the Road Map, it's doing so in a hypocritical and lingering way that allows for putting pressures on the Palestinians to force them to yield to the Israeli demands, based on the claim that the issue is not political but one of security.

Thus, the West did not proceed one step forward towards forcing the enemy to withdraw.

On the other hand, there are many internal Palestinian problems that destabilize the Palestinian reality, as well as certain complications in the relations between the authority and the militant organizations, with several Arab and foreign parties trying to complicate things further.

Thus we feel that we have to appeal to the Palestinian people that they have to be aware of the seriousness of the situation, and seek to consolidate national unity problems, to be able to face the international conspiracies, that are being pursued with an insulting Arab silence, and a fearful Islamic quietness.

Failure of Occupation

In Iraq, blood is still being spilled by the soldiers of the occupation and the terrorism of the apostatizers, as well as the political anarchy that is trying to incite sectarian fanaticism when it talks about quotas in formulating the constitution, and a plan for federalism that could turn into a force of racial separation, as in the Kurdish question.

The American occupation in Iraq has begun to disturb the American public opinion. Due to the increasing number of casualties and the state of chaos that prevails in the country voices are calling - form within the Congress as well – for a withdrawal. The Americans who claimed that they are presenting a democratic model in Iraq have made a model of anarchy and destabilization.

This is what we would like the Iraqis to understand, so that they will enhance their internal unity and demand the withdrawal of occupation. The Iraqis should determine their own destiny, they are mature enough to run their own affairs, and do not need any guardians…They should know that their internal coherence constitutes a guarantee not only for the Iraqis themselves but for the entire nation as well, since they would be thwarting the occupation strategic plan to dominate the entire region.

Lebanon: Foreign Plans

In Lebanon the foreign powers have began to plan for the Lebanese future after the elections, imposing the new speaker and the new cabinet, as well as implementing resolution 1559 that calls for disarming the resistance and the Palestinian camps, thus sinking the country in a state of political anarchy, under the pretence of what the American President calls "constructive chaos".

We call on those whose alliances are based a national or Arab foundations to bear their responsibility in protecting their country and preventing any foreign tutelage. We also ask them to turn their parliamentary position into a center that studies the problem of the national dept and that plans projects of development that would secure political and economic stability.