Hundreds of Iraqi protesters have stormed the Swedish embassy in the capital Baghdad and set part of it on fire in protest against the second planned desecration of the Holy Quran in Sweden.
The angry protesters, who were reportedly the supporters of prominent Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, stormed the main gates of the embassy building on Thursday, holding up copies of the Qur’an and chanting pro-Sadr slogans.
“We are mobilized today to denounce the burning of the Quran, which is all about love and faith,” a protester told AFP. “We demand that the Swedish government and the Iraqi government stop this type of initiative.”
Iraq’s Foreign Ministry condemned the torching of the Swedish embassy building in a statement, saying the Iraqi government had instructed security forces to carry out a swift investigation, identify the perpetrators and hold them to account.
Following the incident, Sweden’s Foreign Ministry announced that its embassy staff in Baghdad are “safe”.
The ministry further said Iraqi authorities have the responsibility to protect diplomatic missions and staff, adding that attacks on embassies and diplomats “constitute a serious violation of the Vienna Convention.”
The development comes as Swedish authorities have approved an assembly to be held later in the day outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, where organizers plan to burn a copy of Muslims’ holy book as well as the Iraqi flag.
Two people are set to participate in the demonstration, Swedish media reported on Wednesday, adding that one of them is the same person who set a Quran on fire outside a Stockholm mosque in June.
On June 28, Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old Iraqi immigrant stomped on the Quran before setting several pages alight in front of Stockholm’s largest mosque. The insult to the Muslim holy book was made under the authorization and protection of the Swedish police.
The incident, coinciding with the start of the Muslim Eid al-Adha and the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, drew the anger of Muslims from across the world.
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The Swedish authorities decide to lift protection for the burner of the Holy Quran
The Foreign Ministry of Iraq has formally requested that Sweden extradite an Iraqi man who publicly burned a copy of the Quran outside a mosque in Stockholm.
The purpose of the extradition is to subject the individual to the legal proceedings in Iraq, as stated by the country’s laws.
In a phone conversation on Friday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein made this request to his Swedish counterpart, Tobias Billstrom, according to an official statement released by the ministry.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein (photo from archive).
Minister Hussein emphasized that the act of burning the Quran goes beyond the boundaries of freedom of speech. He argued that such actions not only promote violence but also contribute to the rise of Islamophobia. Furthermore, he expressed the global impact of this offensive act, which has deeply hurt the sentiments of Muslims worldwide.
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry urges the Swedish government to take the necessary measures to facilitate the transfer of the Iraqi immigrant to Baghdad, where he will be subjected to legal proceedings in accordance with Iraqi law. Ahmed al-Sahhaf, the spokesman for the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, stated, “The individual who desecrated the Holy Quran is an Iraqi citizen. Therefore, we demand that the Swedish government extradite him to Iraq for trial under Iraqi law.”
The incident occurred on Wednesday when Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old Iraqi immigrant, openly stomped on the Quran and set several pages on fire outside Stockholm’s largest mosque. It is important to note that the act was carried out with the consent and protection of the Swedish police.
This incident, which coincided with the start of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha and the conclusion of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, has sparked outrage among Muslims worldwide.
As a response to the incident, the Swedish Ambassador to Iraq, Jessica Svardstrom, was summoned to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry on Thursday. During the meeting, the ministry expressed a firm protest regarding the incident and emphasized that no legal or freedom of speech justifications can justify the desecration of sacred objects.
Protests in Iraq, Other Muslim Countries
In response to the Quran burning incident, a significant number of Iraqis gathered near the Swedish embassy in Baghdad to express their outrage. They demanded the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador as a form of protest against this disrespectful act.
Similar demonstrations occurred in various Muslim countries as people took to the streets to voice their condemnation of the incident.
The individual responsible for the offensive act stated in an interview with a Swedish newspaper on Thursday that he intends to repeat his protest in July.
It is noteworthy that Sweden has witnessed multiple instances of Quran burnings in recent years. In January, a right-wing extremist from Sweden and Denmark burned a copy of the Quran in close proximity to the Turkish embassy in Stockholm.
EU Strongly Condemns Quran Burning Incident
The European Union (EU) has issued a resolute condemnation of the recent Quran burning outside a mosque in Stockholm, describing it as a “clear act of provocation.”
In a statement released on Saturday, the EU expressed its disapproval of this offensive and disrespectful act, emphasizing that it does not reflect the views of the bloc as a whole. The EU firmly stated that manifestations of racism, xenophobia, and related forms of intolerance have no place in Europe.
The statement reiterated the EU’s commitment to upholding freedom of religion or belief and freedom of expression, both within its member states and on an international scale. It stressed the need for unity, mutual understanding, and respect in order to prevent any further escalation of tensions.
The EU also acknowledged the timing of the incident, noting that the act was particularly offensive as it occurred during the celebration of Eid al-Adha, also known as the Feast of Sacrifice, observed by Muslims worldwide.
Two men impudently burning a copy of holy Quran outside a mosque in Stockholm (Wednesday, June 28, 2023).
Hezbollah firmly denounced on Thursday burning of the holy Quran in Stockholm, lashing out at Swedish authorities for being “complicit in such crime.”
In a statement, Hezbollah Media Relations stressed that continuous desecration of Quran in Sweden and other countries is unacceptable, warning that the Lebanese resistance group won’t keep mum on such violations.
“Swedish authorities are complicit and partners in this crime as they greenlighted such move despite the fact that they previously knew about the perpetrators’ intention to desecrate the holy Quran.”
Hezbollah flags raised in south Lebanon (photo from archive).
“Swedish Government has to stop this grim downward trajectory instead of arguing about the so-called ‘freedom of speech’ and other bombastic mottos,” read the Hezbollah statement, carried by Al-Manar.
The Lebanese resistance group, meanwhile, called on Muslim governments and bodies to take all appropriate moves “in order to prevent the repetition of such follies and to put an end to hatred speech.”
Earlier on Wednesday, two men and burned a copy of the Quran outside the Swedish capital of Stockholm’s central mosque, in a repeated and state-authorized instance of sacrilege against the Muslim holy book.
The move came following a go-ahead given to them by a Swedish court. It also coincided with the Muslim festivity of Eid al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice), which marks the conclusion of the annual Hajj pilgrimage that is partaken by millions of Muslims from across the world.
Muslim Countries Decry Desecration of Quran
The Quran burning in Stockholm drew wide condemnations by Arab and Muslim countries.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has condemned the desecration of the Holy Quran outside Stockholm Central Mosque.
The OIC warned on Thursday in a statement about the dangers and consequences of such actions, which are in contradiction to current efforts to develop coexistence and moderation.
Emphasizing the need to stick to international charters and regulations concerning respect for human rights, the OIC called on nations and governments to take the necessary measures to prevent repetition of such hideous actions.
According to the OIC statement, fundamental freedoms must be respected, regardless of religion, language, race, and nationality.
On Wednesday, an extremist protected by the Swedish authorities and police tore and burned a copy of the Holy Quran in front of nearly 200 Muslims outside the main mosque in the Swedish capital.
Certain European countries have been the scene of violations and desecration of Muslim sanctuaries in recent years.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Thursday, in which it strongly condemned the move as unacceptable.
#بيان | تعرب وزارة الخارجية عن إدانة واستنكار المملكة العربية السعودية الشديدين لإقدام أحد المتطرفين بحرق نسخة من المصحف الشريف عند مسجد ستوكهولم المركزي في السويد بعد صلاة عيد الأضحى المبارك pic.twitter.com/NtdRevqSoN
“These hateful and repeated acts cannot be accepted with any justification, as they clearly incite hatred, exclusion, and racism, and directly contradict international efforts seeking to spread the values of tolerance, moderation, and rejection of extremism, and undermine the necessary mutual respect for relations between peoples and states,” the statement read.
For its part, Iran lashed out at the government of Sweden for granting consent to desecration of the Muslim holy book.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani denounced in the strongest terms the Swedish government’s “move to authorize the repetition of such act of sacrilege by Sweden-based Islamophobes, who have similarly insulted the holy book on several occasions in the past.”
Nasser Kanaani, spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
“Acts of insult against holy books serve as an instance of inclination towards aggression and hatemongering, and counter authentic human rights values,” the spokesperson noted, as quoted by Tasnim news agency.
Stockholm, he concluded, “is advised to prevent the repetition of acts of insult against international sanctities in the future, and pay serious attention to the principles of responsibility and accountability in this regard.”
Turkey also denounced the desecration of holy Quran, with speculations that Stockholm’s move to greenlight the anti-Islam move may jeopardize Sweden’s bid to join NATO before the bloc’s key summit in July.
Turkey’s foreign minister condemned the protest on Wednesday, calling it a “heinous act.”
“It is unacceptable to allow these anti-Islamic actions under the pretext of freedom of expression. To turn a blind eye to such heinous acts is to be complicit in them,” Hakan Fidan said in a statement.
The Turkish government’s Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun added in a tweet: “We are sick and tired of enabling of Islamophobia and continued instances of hatred for our religion on the part of European authorities especially in Sweden.”
There has occurred yet another disgusting and despicable act of Quran burning in Sweden on our most holy day.
We are sick and tired of enabling of Islamophobia and continued instances of hatred for our religion on the part of European authorities especially in Sweden.
Lebanese Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, condemned the move in strongest terms, stressing that this “repeated act is an aggression on Muslim sanctities and a provocation to their feelings.”
Morocco, for its part, summoned the Chargé d’Affairs of the Embassy of Sweden in Rabat, and the Ambassador of the Moroccan King in Stockholm for consultations in the wake of the provocative move in Stockholm.
“This act of hostility is irresponsible and shows disregard to the feelings of more than a billion Muslims in this holy period that coincides with the Hajj season and Eid Al-Adha,” a circular distributed by the Embassy of Morroco in Lebanon stated on Thursday.
Syria has condemned in the strongest terms the disgraceful act of insulting the Holy Quran on the morning of Eid al-Adha by an extremist with the permission and approval of the Swedish government.
“The Syrian Arab Republic condemns in the strongest terms the disgraceful act of insulting the Holy Quran in the morning of the holiest day for millions of Muslims by an extremist with the permission and approval of the Swedish government,” an official source at the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said in a statement to SANA.
“This crime, apart from offending the feelings of millions of Muslims and the sentiments of love and respect between religions, unequivocally illustrates the immoral level to which Western governments have descended, and the hypocrisy and lies of the values they claim, which have not been reached even by the most extreme groups that are very far from the humanitarian and spiritual values”, the sources added.
The source added that “Western governments, which suffer from the complex of civilizational superiority, must stop spreading and fueling feelings of hatred among peoples, and know that the freedom of some stops at the limits of others’ freedom and the respect for their feelings, and therefore they cannot in any way justify their crime by attacking the Holy Quran.”
The Russian State Duma voted on Thursday to condemn the Swedish authorities’ permitting of a demonstration in Stockholm at which the Quran was burned on the major Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.
“State Duma members resolutely condemn yet another act of desecration, which was approved by the Swedish authorities, and call on them to take measures to prevent any human rights violations or insults to the religious feelings of Muslims,” the lower house of Russia’s parliament said in a statement.
According to the statement, such actions “may incite extremist manifestations as they grossly violate the goals and principles of the United Nations Charter.”
Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin had previously initiated the drafting of such a statement. The senior Russian lawmaker expressed the opinion that parliamentarians should not refrain from discussing the issue, as long as European nations “infringe on fundamental human rights.” He denounced the violation of believers’ rights on the festive day for Muslims, calling it inadmissible. “Can you imagine this happening in enlightened Europe, as they are so fond of calling it?” he asked rhetorically.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians take part in the Eid Al-Adha prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque in defiance of all Israeli measures.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians performed, this morning, Eid Al-Adha prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Islamic Endowments Department in Al-Quds estimated the number of worshippers at about 100,000.
On Wednesday morning, tens of thousands of Palestinians defied all Israeli restrictions and arbitrary measures to take part in the prayer.
Following the #Eid al-Adha prayer, Israeli occupation forces detain several Palestinian youths at al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards in Jerusalem. pic.twitter.com/g0h44e238z
The Islamic Endowments Department in Al-Quds estimated the number of worshippers at about 100,000, who flocked to Al-Aqsa Mosque since dawn only to fill its courtyards at the start of the prayer.
Families from occupied Al-Quds, including men, women, and children, who joined since the early morning hours from all the neighborhoods, towns, and villages surrounding Al-Quds, in addition to the cities of the West Bank, took part in the prayer
Palestinians chant for Palestine after performing Eid Al-Adha prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem. pic.twitter.com/NE5RUkrOvx
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian considered that the apartheid “Israeli” entity to be “the biggest threat to the region and the international Muslim Nation.”
Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks on Thursday in a phone call with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi.
The Iranian top diplomat also laid emphasis on the necessity for the existence of unity across the Muslim world in the face of the occupying regime, the need to cut the regime’s hands off the al-Aqsa Mosque’s compound in the holy occupied city of al-Quds’ Old City — which is Islam’s third holiest site, and the importance of complete restoration of Palestinians’ rights.
Turning to the issue of the bilateral ties, Amir-Abdollahian pointed to his visit earlier this year to Amman, and announced the Islamic Republic’s readiness for expansion of the level of relations and cooperation between the countries.
For his part, Safadi stressed his country’s support for regional peace and stability, and defense of the holy sites in Al-Quds in the face of the Zionists’ acts of aggression.
He further hailed Iran to be “an important country in the region”, pointing out that Amman attached “great importance” to further development of its ties with Tehran.
Safadi, meanwhile, welcomed the recent reconciliation agreement reached between Iran and Saudi Arabia under the auspices of China in Beijing.
Also on Thursday, Amir-Abdollahian talked on the phone with his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan.
The officials described as positive the process of underway work by the technical teams that have been exchanged mutually to lay the groundwork for the reopening of each country’s Embassy and Consulate on the other’s soil.
The Iranian official expressed hope that the Iranian Embassy in Riyadh and its Consulate General in the port city of Jeddah be opened in time before this year’s Hajj Pilgrimage.
The Saudi official said the kingdom would do its part to contribute to the prospect, and also hoped that the top diplomats would meet each other in the countries’ respective capitals in the near future.
The mother of the two martyrs, Ibrahim and Imran al-Masri, never forgot the moment when she separated from her two sons. She relives it even during Eid, especially since they passed away during the days of Eid al-Fitr. On that day, she left the house and headed to the market of Beit Hanoun to buy Ibrahim’s Eid clothes. Her husband was supposed to take care of Imran’s after breakfast.
“Ibrahim was my friend. He followed me on my way to the market, so I asked him to go back where his fate was awaiting him,” the grieving mother recalls.
“I still feel that I am in a dream. The years that Ibrahim and Imran spent in my arms are short, but the incident of their martyrdom is quick, and their farewell is quick as well. Everything went away in a blink of an eye.”
“Until this moment, I feel that Ibrahim and Imran will return to my house, knock on the door, and enter.”
Alaa Abu Hatab is the only survivor of a massacre in which ten members of the Abu Hatab and Al-Hadidi families perished. The feeling of loss prevented him from buying Eid clothes and toys for his daughter Maria, the only survivor of his family. However, he had to prepare a big pot of coffee to receive mourners on the the first day of Eid al-Adha. This family, whose house was bombed in Al-Shati Camp, greets the Eid with double the heartache – it lost several children on the second day of Eid al-Fitr as they played with other kids. This was an attempt by their families to help the children take their mind off the aggression.
Abu Hatab remembers that night all too well.
Just after midnight, four Al-Hadidi children were being accompanied by their mother to visit their relatives from the Abu Hatab family.
“On that day, we gathered the children with their parents to provide them with a playful atmosphere that would make them forget the horrors of war. After midnight, I left the house to buy them dinner. Moments after I left, huge explosions struck the area,” Alaa said.
“I came back, and I thought the explosion was from our neighbors’ house, but I was surprised that bombs from the warplane fell on our entire house.
“Everyone who was in the house, ten people, including eight children and two sisters, perished. And I stayed with little Maria.”
The man and his only daughter aren’t thinking about visiting his family’s graves on the first day of Eid, hoping to postpone this heavy task until the third day.
Meanwhile, Alaa Abu Al-Awf, who lost 14 members of his family, including his wife and two daughters, in the Al-Wahda Street massacre, decided to spend the morning of the first day of Eid visiting his family’s graves.
“I find no other place to comfort my loneliness today but to be close to them,” the bereaved man said.
Abu Al-Awf’s mind wanders off as he talks in his destroyed house.
“We used to mark the morning of Eid with our special tradition: Eid prayer, the slaughter of a sacrifice [livestock], warm family quarrels – mostly between those who like to eat the liver of the sacrifice and those who cannot stand the smell of it cooking, the eidiyah, then the journey of distributing the sacrifice rations to the relatives.”
His eyes fill with tears as he continues, “Everything has become a memory. May God have mercy on them and give us patience.”
In addition to the families of the martyrs, the families whose homes were destroyed live in a similar atmosphere.
“The house in Gaza is a homeland, the homeland of memories and the warm details,” says Muhammad al-Madhoun.
“Every year, we’d prepare a place in front of the house door where we slaughtered the sacrifice. The young men if the family would gather in front of the house before going in groups to visit relatives,” he adds.
Today, however, the seven-member al-Madhoun family, lives in a rented house.
The young man in his twenties says, “Eid will pass as a stranger, not only because our house was destroyed, but because there are no prospects for reconstruction.”
Al-Madhoun’s pessimism stems from “Israel’s” procrastination. The “Israelis” have tied the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip to demands for concessions from the resistance on the issue of captured soldiers and a long-term armistice understandings in exchange for easing the siege, which the resistance categorically rejects.
يتأثر ملف إعادة إعمار القطاع باشتراطات إسرائيل تقديم المقاومة تنازلات (أ ف ب )
غزة | لا تحتفظ والدة الشهيدَين، إبراهيم ومروان المصري، باللحظات الأولى لفراق ولدَيها فحسب، إنما تعيشها واقعاً، حتّى في أجواء العيد، ولا سيّما أنهما رحلا خلال أيام عيد الفطر. يومها، كانت قد غادرت البيت، وتوجّهت إلى سوق مدينة بيت حانون، لكي تشتري ملابس العيد لإبراهيم. وكان من المفترض أن يتكفّل زوجها بمهمّة «كسوة» عمران، بعد الإفطار. تقول الأم المكلومة: «كان إبراهيم صديقي، لحق بي وأنا في طريقي إلى السوق، فطلبْت منه أن يعود، فكان قدره ينتظره». وتُكمل: «ما زلت أشعر بأنني في حلم، السنوات التي قضاها إبراهيم وعمران في حضني قصيرة، وحادثة استشهادهما سريعة، ووداعهما سريعٌ أيضاً، كلّ شيء مضى بلمح البصر». وتضيف: «حتى هذه اللحظة، أشعر بأن إبراهيم وعمران سيعودان إلى بيتي، يطرقان الباب، ويدخلان».
علاء أبو حطب، الناجي الوحيد من مجزرةٍ قضى فيها عشرة أقارب من عائلتَي أبو حطب والحديدي، منعته أجواء الفَقد من شراء ملابس العيد والألعاب لطفلته ماريا، الناجية الوحيدة من عائلته. ومع ذلك، تَعيّن عليه أن يجهّز قدراً كبيراً من القهوة، ليستقبل المعزّين في صبيحة أوّل أيّام عيد الأضحى. فهذه العائلة، التي قُصف منزلها في مخيّم الشاطئ، تستقبل أجواء العيد بحسرة مضاعفة، كونها كانت قد فقدت أطفالها في ثاني أيام عيد الفطر، أثناء تجمّعهم مع أطفال آخرين للعب، في ظلّ محاولة ذويهم جعلهم يتجاوزون ظروف العدوان. يستذكر أبو حطب تفاصيل تلك الليلة جيداً. بعد منتصف الليل تحديداً، كان أربعة أطفال من عائلة الحديدي برفقة والدتهم، في زيارة لأقاربهم من عائلة أبو حطب. يقول علاء: «يومها، جمعْنا الأطفال مع ذويهم، لكي نوفّر لهم أجواء اللعب التي تنسيهم أهوال الحرب، وبعد منتصف الليل، خرجْت من المنزل لأشتري لهم العشاء، وبعد لحظات من خروجي، دوّت انفجارات هائلة في المنطقة». ويتابع: «عدت، وكنت أظنّ بأن الانفجار في بيت جيراننا، ولكن فوجئت بأن قنابل الطائرات سقطت على منزلنا بالكامل». وينهي حديثه قائلاً: «قضى كلّ مَن كان في المنزل، وهم عشرة أشخاص، كان بينهم ثمانية أطفال وسيّدتان شقيقتان، وبقيت أنا برفقة الصغيرة ماريا». لا يفكّر الرجل وابنته الوحيدة في زيارة قبور عائلته في أوّل أيّام العيد، مشيراً إلى أنه سيؤجّل هذه المهمّة الثقيلة على نفسه إلى اليوم الثالث.
إلى جانب عائلات الشهداء تعيش الأُسَر التي دُمِّرت منازلها أجواءً مماثلة
أمّا علاء أبو العوف، الذي فقد 14 شخصاً من عائلته، من بينهم زوجته وابنتاه، في مجزرة شارع الوِحدة، فقد قرّر أن يقضي صبيحة أوّل أيّام العيد في زيارة قبور عائلته. يقول الرجل: «لا أجد مكاناً آخر يؤنس وحشتي اليوم، سوى أن أكون قريباً منهم». يسرح أبو العوف بعيداً، أثناء حديثه في منزله المدمَّر، ويقول: «كُنّا في صبيحة يوم العيد نحافظ على أجوائنا الخاصة: صلاة العيد، ثم ذبح الأضحية، ثمّ خلافات العائلة الدافئة، بين من تَحب أن تأكل من كبد الأضحية، ومن لا تُطيق رائحة طهوها، ثمّ العيديّة، ثمّ رحلة توزيع حصص الأضاحي على الأقارب». ويتابع الرجل، وقد امتلأت عيناه بالدموع: «كلّ شيء أصبح ذكرى… الله يرحمهم ويصبرنا بعدهم».
إلى جانب عائلات الشهداء، تعيش الأُسَر التي دُمِّرت منازلها أجواءً مماثلة، فـ»المنزل في غزة وطن، وطن الذكريات، والتفاصيل الدافئة»، كما يقول محمد المدهون. ويضيف: «على باب البيت، كُنّا نجهّز كلّ عام مكاناً نذبح فيه الأضحية، وأمام المنزل يتجمّع شباب العائلة قبل التوجّه في جماعات لزيارة الأقارب والأرحام». أمّا اليوم، فتعيش عائلة المدهون، المكوّنة من سبعة أفراد، في منزل استأجرته. ويقول الشاب العشريني: «سيمرّ العيد غريباً، ليس لأنّ منزلنا قد دُمّر فقط، ولكن لأن آفاق إعادة الإعمار تبدو غائبة». تشاؤم المدهون مردّه مماطلة إسرائيل. فملفّ إعادة إعمار القطاع بالذات، يتأثّر باشتراطات هذه الأخيرة تقديم المقاومة تنازلات في ملفّ الجنود الأسرى، والدخول في تفاهمات هدنة طويلة الأمد، في مقابل تخفيف الحصار، وهو ما ترفضه المقاومة بشكل قاطع.
Eid is the usual occasion during which people, mainly children, celebrate. It is the day they wait and dream of, often sleeping over the Eid’s eve hugging their new clothes, shoes, and perhaps toys.
The unusual is the case some dear nations are passing through… War, famine, blockade and insecurity! In Palestine, the nation of the free people and the occupied land has been around the past week through the bloodiest attack by ‘Israeli’ aggressors. Likewise, Yemen has been in a state of war and blockade for the seventh year in a row.
Palestinians and their Yemeni counterparts are the contemporary oppressed nations in our region. Their Eids are the ones marred by blood and the smell of death.
The US-Saudi blockade and the inhumane practices against Yemenis can best be described through the tight siege targeting airports and seaports, especially Sanaa Airport and the Hudaydah Seaport. It is a matter that makes it almost impossible to get containers of food, clothes and Eid equipment into the country. Prices hence skyrocketed, reflecting negatively on the children’s requirements of ‘joy’.
Meanwhile, the Coronavirus spread played another negative role in reducing visits that usually take place between relatives in times of Eid.
Traditionally, when life was normal, Yemenis used to hold Eid prayers in the early morning, before starting to exchange visits. Children, who accompany their parents, receive a symbolic financial treat from their visited relatives. They also eat some Eid delights such as raisins, nuts, sweets and juice.
They also used to exchange congratulations in gatherings of men and woman apart.
Since the war broke out, however, Yemenis started remembering theirs beloved ones whom they lost due to this war. Their sorrow, nevertheless, does not affect their determination and will to survive and confront this aggression.
Since March 2015, until May 2021, the Saudi-led and US-funded war on Yemen has killed, injured and maimed more than 40,000 civilians. Among the martyrs there are 3000 children and 2000 women. The injured are more than 20,000, not to mention the thousands of displaced citizens
Um Abdul Salam, a housewife, says the Eid under the aggression isn’t like before. Social relationships have changed and been affected by the hard livelihoods among most of the people.
“The impacts of war pushed many to send congratulations via phone instead of visiting each other, as visits would definitely mean more expenses.”
For his part, Hamza, a shop owner in Sabaa Neighborhood in the capital Sanaa, who buys some food, sweets and toys for kids, says:” People’s financial situations are very bad. Most of them cannot afford the basic needs, how would they be able to pay for the Eid requirements?” Then he assures that Yemenis are to stay solid and steadfast without submitting any to the criminal aggressors.
Meanwhile, Mr. Amin Ahmad, a citizen who has been enduring like his nationals a brutal and bloody war, underscores that neither the blockade nor the aggression would prevent the Yemenis from practicing their Eid rituals. “The war would rather push us for more determination to fight and support with money until achieving the greatest victory.”
Another testimony was from the young Um Abdullah [26 years] who said: “I don’t feel the Eid joy ever since my parents and siblings were martyred in a Saudi bombing that targeted our home in Saawan Neighborhood eastern Sanaa. However, despite the pain, I try to spread the joy among my little children.”
Salaries’ cut due to the aggression has also marred the Eid’s joy. It was very challenging for the tireless employees who remained patient amid this harsh circumstance.
Nu’man, a governmental employee, said: “We are able to tolerate this. As a Yemeni proverb says {Eid is the wellbeing.} We will endure this as long as we are confronting the aggression. We will remain steadfast for the sake of the nation.”
Another colleague, Khaled, commented on the matter as saying: “They wanted to break our will and humiliate us by delaying our salaries. They wanted us to submit but we will keep enduring and confronting the aggression. It is enough to buy the children’s clothes and the basic needs.”
The same issue is for Um Ousama [50 years], ana academic who describes the Eid as featureless and lacks the true meaning of joy.
“We, the unpaid employee, didn’t buy new clothes or good sweets. I just bought new outfits for my little children so that they can feel some happiness,” she said.
However, she noted that despite everything, Yemenis are determined to feel the Eid, draw a smile, and continue the path for achieving victory and liberating Yemen from the Al Saud and the US grip that is abusing the country’s wealth and resources. Only then, Eid’s joy will be doubled.
Gaza… A test to the conscience of humanity!
Meanwhile in central Gaza, a young girl received her Eid treat. Unlike other places, where in the background children hear songs and laughter, she went to spend her treat playing with the swing, with bombardment in the background. An ‘Israeli’ rocket hit the place. Yes, the rocket targeted the place where she was swinging with her fellows.
While people prepare for Eid by cleaning their houses for visitors to come and bake Eid delights, another heartbreaking scene showed a few-years-old boy cleaning stains of thick blood from the floor… Why on earth would children experience such monstrous incidents while the rest of the world is busy with the most superficial lifestyles!?
When an adult die, we usually avoid letting children be present at the scenes of funerals, but in Palestine the children are the ones that bid farewell to their martyred parents. The Palestinian children acquire the concept of death even before they learn to speak. But they are also the ones who lecture the world how on earth dignity is felt, nations are protected, and blood can be an offering they willfully sacrifice.
Like Yemen like Palestine, the lands where mothers give birth to heroes and heroes not only make history but also shape the crystal-clear future: Justice to prevail, injustice to fade forever…
International peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who represents the UN and the Arab League, will soon leave Damascus after urging the Syrian government and the rebels to observe a four-day truce over the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, which this year begins at dusk on October 25th.
Also called the Feast of the Sacrifice, Adha is a Muslim holiday which commemorates Prophet Ibrahim’s (Abraham’s) willingness to sacrifice his eldest son Ismael, in obedience to a command from God.
On Sunday morning, I was in the lobby of my hotel, where it turns out UN envoy Brahimi was also staying, chatting with one of the remaining three United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) members still in town. The affable trio is all that remains of the roughly 300 UN Observers who spent months here (40 stayed at this Dama Rose secured Hotel) trying to help with a separation agreement that never really got off the ground.
There were also in the lobby perhaps a hundred reporters and cameramen who were busy setting up for the news conference the Brahimi staff announced would begin immediately following the envoys meeting with Syrian president Bashar Assad.
No sooner had envoy Brahimi entered the hotel than he rushed to his room calling over his shoulder that he would be right back. As we waited, a somewhat unkempt, rather zany lady approached me. It turned out she was an Italian reporter and she wasted no time stating her business. She said, “I know you’re Franklin Lamb and you’re staying on the executive floor. What are you doing in Damascus?” Nonplused, I replied, “Ma’m I’m here for a couple of appointments at Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp and looking into the current political situation.”
She gave me one of those scowling “give me a break buddy!!” looks and got straight to her point, drawing hard on her cigarette and blowing the smoke sideways. “Mr. Lamb, do I look naïve to you or what?” she demanded to know, a bit aggressively. Before I had a chance to utter a stammering syllable, the lady lit into me with:
“I happen to know from a reliable source that you, an American, are staying on the executive floor and also on that floor are Russians, Iranians, and Hezbollah. That’s no accident Mr. Lamb is it? What are you all doing up there? What are your meetings about? Don’t worry I won’t quote you but are you gentlemen going to arrange for an Eid ceasefire?”
Mercifully, as I closed my, by then, gaping mouth, envoy Brahimi appeared from the elevator with his entourage to begin his news conference and I haven’t seen the dear lady since, as she rushed front and center to shout a question and then, following the short news conference, followed Mr. Brahimi out the front door as he left for another appointment.
My point is that there are plenty of wild speculations and conspiracy theories around this town as elsewhere, concerning Brahimi’s important mission.
Envoy Brahimi didn’t reveal much about his mission but spoke about his hope of reaching a ceasefire and mentioned his meetings with government officials including Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem, and President Bashar Assad.
In this observer’s opinion, his body language revealed more than his words and reflected his resignation that there will be no ceasefire as he told us,
“If we achieve this ceasefire during the al-Adha holiday and maintain it, we can try and build on it. If it does not happen, then we will keep trying and we hope we can find another way to bring relief to the Syrian people.”
UN envoy Brahimi seems to know that his noble mission will come to naught, at least this time. However, aides say he will persevere until the US, Russia and Iran agree on a diplomatic solution. He told reporters that some members of the opposition whom he had met were open to the idea of a ceasefire only if the Syrian government committed to it.
In a statement after the talks with Mr. Brahimi, President Assad said,
“Syria is open to any sincere efforts for a political solution to the Syrian crisis based on respect for Syria’s sovereignty and the rejection of outside intervention.”
The reason, and perhaps it’s impolite, since Eid is still days away and UN envoy Brahimi might still pull a rabbit out of the hat, for this observer to reluctantly conclude that he has failed in his mission is substantial evidence garnered from discussions here over the past several days. Would that I be mistaken.
But, for this observer, being here makes all the difference, as I learned in Libya, in getting a more accurate picture than offered from the main stream media on the one hand and some of the more chronic conspiracy theorists on the other. The key to learning what is happening seems quite simple: listening, listening and listening to a cross section of the Syrian population and moving around the neighborhoods as much as possible.
Perhaps the most often heard argument one hears in Damascus from the general population, military types and even officials involves mistrust and doubts across much of Syria that the opposition would honor a ceasefire.
One Syrian army officer I met who is a liaison with the remaining three UN observers, freely answered my questions including one focusing on what he would propose to President Assad if he was presenting his professional and personal advice to the Syrian leader.
He replied:
“For sure I would advise our President to oppose a ceasefire at this time. For these main reasons: First it would dishonor the hundreds of our brothers in the military who have sacrificed for their country with their lives. To me it would be almost traitorous not to press on with the military momentum that we now have achieved after hard months of conflict. We need to finish with these foreign terrorists and our fellow citizens agree. We are currently in the strongest military position because of those among our ranks who died defending our country. Second, a ceasefire, even for 96 hours, will allow our enemies to relax, re-group, bring in more supplies of heavy weapons funded by Persian Gulf countries with the blessing of yours who are offering ‘non-lethal’ assistance such as night vision devices and related equipment. As a military person I can assure your government that there is no such thing as non-lethal aid when it’s the type they are furnishing including ‘non-lethal communication’ equipment. Having state of the art communications equipment is more important than rifles in some instances.
“Why should we give them these gifts? Do you think al Qaeda and these North African and Persian Gulf jihadists will observe the Eid al Adha holiday? Do you think they will pass Eid praying and sacrificing lambs and camels and distributing the meat to poor people as a gift? Or, by celebrating the end of the Haij Pilgrimage and asking God for forgiveness? No my dear, I assure you they will not. They will use a ceasefire to rebuild their ranks to prolong the chaos and terror. Our president is very wise and he knows this as well.”
He continued:
“We will defeat this western project to destroy the [anti-Israeli] regional Resistance but we won’t do it by stopping our momentum. We are making advances on the ground that you don’t hear about from media outlets like al Jazeera and al-Arabiya but it’s true. We can take you to have a look if you like. Of course, you can find some of our military leadership who favor a ceasefire, but the big majority agrees with the views I expressed and I would give to our President. I think our leaders would face criticism from the military and the public if they ignored our views. I expect there will be no Eid ceasefire unless the international community can convince us that they would be a ‘freeze in place’ which means no fighter on either side could move and take advantage of the calm. Trust is the big problem for us. Who will guarantee a ceasefire?”
“Let me give you an example,” he said going on to explain that there are now eight Syrian army checkpoints between Damascus and Homs, so the road is usually secure. He continues,
“The opposition has the habit of using terror and hit and run tactics. They set up checkpoints for pro-western media outlets to film to demonstrate that they are gaining support and then they quickly run away before the Syrian army attacks them. It’s kind of a psychological war, but as a military man I can tell you psychological tactics with one’s enemy are very important. Their aims are to impress the western media and to weaken the confidence of our people, soldiers and leaders. They will eventually fail but an ill-considered ceasefire for Eid will not help.”
This officer’s views appear to be widely held here.
Dr.Nabil Toumeh, a historian and CEO of Toumeh International in Damascus supports the regime yet, like many, even officials is also critical and emphasizes the need for reforms. Dr. Toumeh, hosted me in his office a few nights ago and spoke frankly and he explained to this observer that a growing number, probably around 65 percent of Syrians support the government and its efforts to end the crisis, they also demand three major reforms, being the economy, security agencies and the military.
I am not finding here the fear of criticizing the government that I found in Libya under Gaddafi and which persists there, if to a lesser extent, today.
One Damascene, a 24-year old graduate who eschews politics, but who is still angry at having his car hijacked by an armed gang three weeks ago, told me that,
“You can speak pretty freely, but its best not to act or get involved with street groups. But, you know, increasingly people are losing their fear of the security services. We just want the killing to stop. We want to get on with our lives. Enshallah it will happen soon.”
River toSeaUprooted Palestinian The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!
International peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who represents the UN and the Arab League, will soon leave Damascus after urging the Syrian government and the rebels to observe a four-day truce over the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha, which this year begins at dusk on October 25th.
UPROOTED PALESTINIANS: SALAM ALQUDS ALAYKUM 