Al-ray  al – akhar  no 55

«The peace» is an origion and the opposition has to revise «The Armed Action»

His Eminence Al – Shaikh Mohammad Bakir, born in Kerbala 1957, he transferred in many countris in order to spread the Islam mission. he strived for settling the civilized Islamic teachings, calling to peace, denying violence and applying the Islam manners and values in the Islamic unity, freedom, consultation and political multiplicity. He has several puplications such as «The man between the science and the work», «Al – Imam Al – Hussain is a strategy» and «secracy in Islam».

We met him in London as he returned from a working journey in U.S.A. to his missionary headquarters in Beirut, and it was this dialogue:

Al – Ra’ai Al – Akher: The Free Muslim Group raised the slogan of nonviolence, is this a temporary slogan or is it an origin and a base?

Al – Shaikh Mohammad Taqi Bakir: in the name of  God the most Gracious the most Merciful.

What is of benefit from the reported recountings from the Prophet Mohammad (p.u.h) and Al – Imam Ali (p.u.h) and also from Al – Imam Jafar Al – Sadiq (p.u.h) that nonviolence is an origin, and it is a characteristic of the believers and one of the shiite characteristics, as it recited in Al – Hadith: «Nonviolence is one of the believers characteristics».

Peace is the Waq to Safety

Al – Ra’ai: Al Akher: what are the sutibable ways to spread the nonviolence and the peace principle?

Al – Shaikh Bakir: We pat forward a problem for referendum in Al – Salam newspaper the mouth piece of the Group that is: «How can we convince the rulling opinion in the other opinion?»

The rulling opinion most likely become stbborn in its situation that it doesn’t give an opportunity to the other opinion to breathe and this is a paradox which reaches the ruler as he is in power, for people can’t undergo the stubborn of the person, so if the ruller or the rulling party constitutionally gives an opportunity to the other opinion legally and constitutionully, and if the ruller found groups that call to the violence, he has to search for other groups or parties from inside the society which call to peace and nonviolence, then he begins arowing the interest in them and supporting them.

No doubt this positive aperation is a security to the government continuity and permanence and the Society settlement, so the prosperous in the government or in the opposition or in something else is the one who support the opinion of nonviolence in facing the nonviolence in a constitutional and peaceful way.

The organizations of nonviolence can play the role of mediator between the society and the rulling authority between the opponent parties and the rulling authority, and the real parties which wish to live and reach to the power in a peaceful and constitutional way have to support the opinion of nonviolence and contribate in spreading the peace and nonviolence culture, and no doubt that the policy of pigesons and hawks presents in every case.

Look at the Islamic states, you will not find a party or an organization which is specialized in calling to nonviolence, did the society fail in doing that? or did the state fail in doing that? or did the society lack the individuals who believe in the nonviolence opinion? Many beliver in the nonviolence opinion, but the trouble is in find an organization which try hard to spread the peace cultre.

Al – Ra’ai Al – Akher: The nonviolence is a humanistic instinctive matter?

Al – Shaikh Bakir: yes… ofcourse.. and this is the mission of the prophets and it is an instinctive matter.

The rulers who think that they are fari in the government, why don’t they try to establish or support the nonviolence identities or give the opportunity to establish organizations that specialized in nonviolence.

I saw mor than one – hundred organization in America which call to peace and nonviolence, but in America! and there is noni in the Islamic countries, although the westren countries do not usually use violence against their people.

I met a great afficial in the American foreign ministry who is interesting in the Middle East affairs, working int the International peace Institute, during my last visit to America, said that when the conflict about the counting votes of the American voters in Florida occurred, the American congress sent an army of lawyers to Florida, look that the official used  the word «army», to see and observe closely the elections developments and conclude in a constitutional solution to the conflict without aggrieving any of the candidates,  Bush and Al Gore, the same official added in showing the similarity of the elections which took place in Egypt later that the Eggptian government sent an army, do you think that the sending of the Eggptian army is to solve a problem, or for another matter? Here is the problem, in the west they interest in the nonviolence opinion and there are grouping which try to spread this opinion, while we, in the east, ignore the nonviolence opinion, for example, we tried with a part of the Islamic group as tried with them others in order to follow away to keep away from the military action and violence, and follow the way of peace and nonviolence, and we succeedee in doing that, praise be to God..  but I wonder about who supports or receives this part.

The goverments do not receive such as this inclination, because the rulling opinion is not convince in the existence of the other opinion, or else it would receive or call to the establishment, in the civilized countries, the goverments allow establishing the organizations and the parties on condition of their non commitment in the armed action, and I tried in more than five Islamic countries to register «The Free Muslim Group» which calls to nonviolence and I didn’t receive any positive reply.

Islam Spread through an Amialbe Address

Al – Ra’ai Al – Akher: Do you think that Islam spread peacefully or by sword as some oriental studies circulating?

Al – Shaikh Bakir: No doubt that Islam spread peacefully and by the cultural action, and we don’t have evidences argues that Islam spread by sword, and the reported Hadith that Islam spread by Khadija’s money and Ali’s sword, does not signal the matter of spreading by sword as an offensive force, for the Messenger’s wars were for defensive purposes, and Al – Imam Ali used his sword in order to defence Islam and the crude state as the usage of Khadija’s money in spreading Islam and for the enlightenment of the people and as a guidance to the straight way, for the financial and military abilities mentioned in Al - Hadith were from the bases which supported the culturar situation and the Islamic enlightenmental work, and spreading the termination mission that the more honorable prophet introduced.

Al – Ra’ai Al – Akher: we understand from this that the battles that the Messenger fought were all defensive?

Al – Shaikh Bakir: Definitely... Definitely.

Al – Ra’ai Al – Akher: That draw us to talk about what is known in the history «The Islamic conquests», what do we name them? Weren’t these offensive wars?

Al – Shaikh Bakir: Look.. when the Messenger adopted spreading Islam, he sent messeges to the state leaders and offer them Islam idea, he didn’t lead an army, so at the time of the Messenger «p.u.h» the way of the Islamic mission was in a missionary and cultural ways, and every messenger or envoy sending by the prophet was an educated and a virtuous scholar, that the ruler or the tribe he was delegated to, they started with him in a debate, an argument and dialogue to know more about the new religion and the characteristics of the mission and the Messenger.

And all these messeges, correspondences and letters were recorded in the history books, and there isn’t any evidence that these letters consist of any threat or anything would have conceived from that the spreading of Islam was by sword, and the Islamic conquests happened within Al – Khulafa period, where great part of them occurred because other states prevent the Islam culture from reaching other peoples, so the responses which occurred from both sides led to wars and conquests.

The Political Action and the party Action

Al – Ra’ai Al – Akher: You belong to Al – Imam Al – Shirazi school, and his Eminence is one of the propagandists to the religious and national parties creation, so how can we harmonize between your rejection to the political work throughout the power and the parties creation?

Al – Shaikh Bakir: Our belonging to Al - Imam Shirazi school is something certain in our interior system, and every school has its divisions and branchings, so parties are one of the branchings, and from these branchings are the organizations which supervise on the state work and from outside the state framework, and we are one of them.

We are proud that we spare no effort to be supervisors on the applying of the Islamic law which call to peace and nonviolence, so there is no contradiction among the goals which gather us and any group from any school call to the party work and the creation of the Islamic state in any country, so we abate our right in taking over the power until being supervisors on the kind of applying, because the kind of applying needs individuals too, we are paying attention to this side that may be neglected by a great deal of the Islamic activities.

Al – Ra’ai Al – Akher: I understand from your speech, that you have no objection on the creation to an Islamic government during the Twelfth’s Imam Al – Muntadhar Al – Mahdi absence, may God make haste his honorable emergence?

Al – Shaikh Bakir: Absolutely not.. absolutely not.

Al – Ra’ai Al – Akher: Do you think that his Eminence Al – Imam Mohammad Al – Shirazi’s theory concerning the rule and the state, is valid for this time?

Al – Shaikh Bakir: If a man contempluted a little in His Eminence books, he would see that the theory is perfect and the arguments are a lot and irrefutable which go to the rightness of this theory, and it eas not the outcome of a specific political circumstances, and his  Eminence was putting them forward for more than three decades, for example, my books «Al – Shura in Islam» and «The Islamic Freedom» I saw them in Al – Imam Al – Shirazi handwriting in a school notebooks since Abdulkareem Kasim reign (1958 – 63), for it was something custmarty during the Monarchy and the republican regime, placing the photograph of the king or the leader at the head of the school notebook.

Also,  the book «Islam word» which is considered a perfect viewpoint about Islam and the reign to His Eminence the martyr Al – Imam Al – Sadiq Hassan Al – Shirazi – His Eminence Al – Imam Mohammad Al – Shirazi brother, was assassinated in Beirut in the year 1980 – was written nearly since thirty years, and it didn’t happen as a response to a contemporary incidents.

The Free Muslim Group Identity

Al – Ra’ai Al – Akher: To which community or country does «The Free Mulsim Group» belong?

Al – Shaikh Bakir: The Free Muslim Group, as the research centres said is a unique Islamic group, it has two characteristics, first,, all of his main members are Imami: shiite clergymen.

Al – Ra’ai Al – Akher: Is this a condition of the membership?

Al – Shaikh Bakir: No.. but the establishment took this form, for the Shiism is not a condition of the membership, and we accept the membership and putting forward the nonviolence ideas and staying away from the political work throughout the government departments, and if he joined the government hou ought to resign, because we fear that the group members would avoid putting forward the nonviolence and peace idea, if he became a figure from the state figures, but we want him be a observer on the government and an uide to Islam and the nonviolnce ideas.

Al – Ra’a Al – Akher: Does the group member have the right to join another political party out of the government or in the opposition; i, e; believing in the dualism?

Al – Shaikh Bakir: Joining the group means the commitment to the nonviolence principle, so the membership of the group doesn’t contradict with joining any other party, and the man is free in being a member in any party or several parties.

Al – Ra’a Al – Akher: The party outside the publicly approved government action; and you assume the role of obseving, where do you meet?

Al – Shaikh Bakir: The opponent party assumes the role of the observer on the regime, and we assume the role of the obsever to apply the non violence and peaceful action, and observing the human rights from all its aspects.

The peace and Al – Qqsa Intifadha

Al – Ra’a Al – Akher: It reported in a paragraph from anluncement to his eminence Al – Imam Al Shirazi about «Al – Aqsa intifadha» an appeal to change the violent demonstrations into a peaceful ones, because they approach the triumph way, do I understand from this phrase that this eminence appealing the Palestinians even to abandon the stone in their demonstrations?

Al – Shaikh Bakir: One day, I was a messenger by His eminence Al Imam Al – Shirazi to Mr Arafet in the year 1981 before the Israeli invasion to Beirut in the year 1982, and I submit him a message when I met him in Beirut, and His eminence refered to in his book «Fikhal siyasa», and the significance of his message apeals every palestinian to help his sons, family or parents, and joining absolute peaceful demonstrations lunching to their occupied houses to take over their rights, but Mr Arafat refused this offer.

In our conception if the Palestinian people was interesting from the beginning in claiming, his occupied rights occompanied by an extentive informational and political action to inform the international public opinion the real form of the oppression that afflicted the Palestinians, and the violence instruments that israelians using, thus the situation would be differed from what we are seeing today.

If the Palestinians headed as a complete families in a crowder peaceful demonstations towards their occupied houses, it would be unlikely that the Israelies have the ability to use the suppression means that they used today, they would probably kill no more than one – hundred or two hundred of the Palestinians, therefore the Palestinians would gain an International support to achieve their goals, but they refused this offer, and they interested in the military action, and a lot of them sold the Palestinian issue, and today, for instance, in the time when the Intifadha about reaching in its way a fruitful stage, there is at the same time a sale to the issue throughout unfruitful negotiations.

The Islamic and the humanitarion offer is the Peaceful one, so when Ghandi started the peaceful action in India, thus when bows to the Brithish army raising his head, to tell them within his submission: Iam not fighting you by sword, and to tell them raising his head: I am demanding for a right and I am defending it, so the nonetrance in the conflict do not mean not demanding for a right, and the contlict has its phases and ways, and instead of the coflict even when holding a stone, we follow a serious and strong political, informative and deplomatic ways to expose the other face of the Israelies, and it is a face which has a beautiful characteristic in the global conception, therfore most of the European states and peoples it not all of them think through the scence of holding the stone that the Palestinian field using the violecne, so we find that all the International declarations claiming Mr Yasir Ararat and appealing him ceasing the violence, and do not claim Barak ceasing killing and violence, while Israel considers the base of the violence in the middle east, and they don’t claim it doing that because Israel has pursued an informative and a diplomatic policy which created in the Public opinion a general conception that the Israelies are oppressed people today, and the tyrant is the one who is holding the stone.  

The international public opinion do not think that tyrant is the occupies who takes up arms but not the one who hols the stone, and the international public opinion is in favour of Ihod Barak, because it doesn’t know his real face, and the Palestinian parties and the Islamic activities as a whole were able to reveal to the world the other and the real face of the Israelies and expose Barak, but we foget this side and committed to the stone throwing.

The Peace in the Period of Al – Imam Al - Mahdi

Al – Ra’a Al – Akher: Some think that the anticipated Al – Imam Al Mahdi at his honorable appearance will rise sword, and plenty of blood will be shed?

Al – Shaikh Bakir: We think that the anticipated Al – Imam Al Mahdi will not rise by sword, and our evidence in that is «Al – Iftitah suplication», and Al – Ziyarat which related to Al – Imam Al – Huja, and the available right tales, all of them provided that under Al – Imam Al – Mahdi state, the state will flourish and the brains will become perfect, and the people before this appearance are in need to a man saving them from the evils.

The versions that existed in «Al – Iftitah supplication» concerning Al – Imam Al – Mahdi state don’t have even a simple signal to the sword, and according to the versions existed in the divine religions whether the Christianity or Jewish or Islamic, the appearance of Al – Imam Al Mahdi and after the emergence of evidences about his mission truthfulness, they will become Muslims and will come surrenders to the existed situation believing in him.

We have no evidences that Al – Imam will fight in a bloody wars, but ther are ramous which some oppressive individual thoughts have concluded that shedding blood is a natural result to save them from injustice and oppression, and according to Al – Hadith which   recited from the Messenger that Al – Imam Al – Mahdi works according to my «Sunna», and we don’t have in the Sunna of the prophet a blood shedding, so those verions are in need to a close investigation, contemplation and radical debate, did it issue from an infallible Imam, are they are just explanations and interpretations as we think.

The Islamic Movements and the Military Action legitimacy

Al – Ra’a Al – Akher: Some religious and patriotic movements offer the military action emblem, and some or them feel proud of the assassination operations and the booby – trapped cars, do you think as you call to the nonviolence that the military action is positive all along the line?

Al – Shaikh Bakir: There are two stages, the defence stage and the attack stage, and most of the Islamic parties which don’t believe in the violence, believe in defending the Islamic entity, and believe in «Al – Jihat» as something fundamental. Al – Jihad according to the Shiite conception is not permitted unless with the presence of an infallible Imam and he is Al Imam Al Hujja and anything else is a defensive matters, if an aggresor army attacked my home, therefore it would be an obligation to defend my home, family and country, and the defence to hold off the attacker is a natural matter which do not achieve by tissue (towels and handker chief), God said: «prepare for them what you are capable of force», and the force is obsolute that is not limited to weapons, there are many days and all of them are opplied on them the force term.

In Al – Hadith: «The scholars is better than the martyrs blood» and the preference do not mean disparaging from the martyr blood and diminution to it, but the scholar uses his ink in a different ways and pursues various ways and reaches the goal quicker then the blood reaching, so the martyr is something sacred who sacrified and shedding his blood for the sake of the Islam tree and the scholar ini crowns the blood and gives it crystalization for reaching the carrying out of the God law in the earth.

The history and the experiment proved that the diplomatic, political, peaceful and informative is the fruitfull not the military action, and I don’t want to put other parties which pursue the military action in the wrong, but I invite them to hold debates, dialogues and symposiums circle in order to spare no effort to work according to the «Sunna» and the recited Hadihs, and supported the nonviolence idea, and Al – Imam Ali said: «One who treats ohters in violence would be repented», or of the believers characteristics is the nonviolence, and the matters explain that Islam do not prefer the miltitary action opinion, but as I said obove that the cautery is the last part of medicine.

As for the assassinations, they are wrong doing, and there are tales and legal opinions, and the case of Muslim Bin Akeel which happened on the year 60 B.C. in Kufa a clear conception, thus when he arrived at Kufa as a messenger from Al – Hussain, then the Ummmayad ruler Ubaiclullah Bin Ziyad entered it, and when Ibn Ziyad entered Hani Bin Urwa house in search of Muslim to arrest or kell him, Muslim resorted to one corner of the house, and when Ibn Ziyad entered the house and sat, Shuraik (one of Hani’s fellows) claimed from Muslim drawing his sword and a Hacking Ibn Ziyad to kill him, and made some gestures and voices to let Muslim know about the readiness of the operation, but Muslim Bin Akeel disobeyed Shuraik’s claim, and after Ibn Ziyad departure, they blamed Muslim, and when he was asked about the case behind not venturing and relieving the countries and people from his evil, he said, I did not do that because I heard the Messenger of God says: «The belief restrains the murder», so the believer do not murder or betray.

As for the booby – trapped cars, this belongs to the armed action theory, so it must be supported by an infallible Imam, and during the absence period, our conception is that the jurist doesn’t have the right alone to issue such as these orders unless obtaining the gathering of the jurists opinions on like this matter, what we call it today the authorities jurists counsel.

The Iraqi Movements and the Armed Struggle

Al – Ra’ai Al – Ahker: In the light of your previous reply, where do you place the military action in the opponent Iraq: movements action?

Al – shaikh Bakir: As I mentioned above, I respect all the Islamic activities whatever they were, but I think that ond day those whom they agreed on such these matters have to answer on the blood which has been shedding in Iraq.

When the action theory was not perfect and the politics sell the case in every conference and at every meeting, do you think that we can, under these circumstances, sacrifice our sons bloods, or there are other ways, I think there are other ways more usefull than the military action.

Al – Ra’ai Al – Ahker: Is the following Al – Hassaniya line of conduct one of these ways?

Al – shaikh Bakir: Al 0 Hassaniya line of conduct was a matter of the Muslims blood – preservation, we are not here about that subject and there is similarity, for instance, there is a ruler who opperss, dissipate and kill, so we have to deal with him by using tne violence, this is one way, and there is a peaceful or political ways, for example, if the efforts are combined to present a documented protest against the ruler in a specific country and bring him to a fair trial in another countries, and prevent him from travelling from his country, where he couldn’t acquire safety at any country he tried tavelling to, is this way mor usefull or using the armed action which don’t produce anything. There is a tale which Ibn Shu’uban Al – Harrani mentioned in «Tuhfulikool» book which reported from Al – Imam Al – Sadiq, i – e: «one who opposed a tyrant ruler and afflicted with calumity he wouldn’t be recompenced and wouldn’t be endowed with patience on him».

The problem is only in explaining the word «oppose» some say that oppose means offer his services to the ruler, while others say that «oppose» means become reckless in his opposition the ruler, it is right that my purpose is an Islamic one, and I don’t aim but the right to myself and my society, but fi my action was reckless which leads to my murder and my family and my relations murder and shedding the blood of innocents, with out noticing the other side of the action and the size of negative effects which located on the Islamic work, so here is the intention, and one to the results of reck (essness, as Al – Imam Al – Sadiq says, he wouldn’t be endowd with patience on him and he wouldn’t be compensed.

It we have an integral program perhaps it would fruit, or eve we will obtain just failure, so the programs available about Iraq in particular according to my conception are not integral, but they were just imaginations, I think they were primitiveness with my repect to all the existed activities.

Al – Ra’ai Al – Ahker: How do we harmonize between your speech and the well know Hadith: A word of right or a tyrant ruler is the grentest Jihad?

Al – shaikh Bakir: That is right.. a word of right at a tyrant ruler.. this will true when you see that you can convey your speech to the tyrant ruler and you can .