State Of Barzakh, Kalam e Iqbal, Book Armughan e Hijjaz - Urdu & English
A revolutionary poem of Iqbal Lahori from book Armughan e Hijjaz .The main message of this truly beautiful and message conveying poem is to wake up sleeping Nation and showing them not to live as a...
A revolutionary poem of Iqbal Lahori from book Armughan e Hijjaz .The main message of this truly beautiful and message conveying poem is to wake up sleeping Nation and showing them not to live as a slave
your comments and opinions are very important to improve our work .
We Hope you will like our effort and most important is to understand it .
Reagrds.
Mark , TauseefAmin , and Tanveer Hussain.
More...
Description:
A revolutionary poem of Iqbal Lahori from book Armughan e Hijjaz .The main message of this truly beautiful and message conveying poem is to wake up sleeping Nation and showing them not to live as a slave
your comments and opinions are very important to improve our work .
We Hope you will like our effort and most important is to understand it .
Reagrds.
Mark , TauseefAmin , and Tanveer Hussain.
Improving One-s Salaat and Dua - English Presentation
Most of us do realize that our performances of ‘salaat’ (prayers) and dua (supplications) are not of quality they should be. However, we do not make attempts to correct the...
Most of us do realize that our performances of ‘salaat’ (prayers) and dua (supplications) are not of quality they should be. However, we do not make attempts to correct the situation. Though Shaitan does play an important role in diverting us from making serious attempts in this regard, we can hardly escape the responsibility of taking concrete steps to correct ourselves.
One of the strangest issues that confounds us and is somewhat unique to our community is the fact the most us ‘recite’ our prayers and supplications rather than ‘pray’ or ‘supplicate’. There is probably no other community in the world, most of whose adherents do not understand what they say in their prayers, supplications or even while reading their holy book. But many in our community reach their ripe old ages diligently reciting their salaat, dua and the Holy Qu’ran without ever understanding a word of it! While there is no denying that there are sawaab (rewards) for mere recitation of these, it is astonishing that it never occurs to us that we should make some attempt to understand what we recite.
If we do make an attempt to understand what we recite surely the spiritual experience of prayer and supplication will be far more refreshing and uplifting.
Here are some tips to improve the quality of one’s salaat (prayers) and dua (supplications) to bring about greater spiritual upliftment and increased rewards in this world and the Hereafter.
1.First and foremost know and realize that you are able to recite salaat and dua due to the supreme sacrifices of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) and the Holy Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) who, to bring to us these Divine Blessings, have faced enormous trials and tribulations and with the exception of the Imam of Our Time (a.t.f.s.) were eventually martyred. Most notably, do remember the supreme sacrifice of the Greatest Martyr of Mankind, Imam Husain (a.s.) and his companions who faced the toughest trials, captivity and martyrdom, without which let alone this blessing of salaat, Islam itself would not have reached us.
2.Keep yourself free of mental and physical fatigue whilst praying. Keep your mind free of worldly worries, evil thoughts, and ideas.
3.Plan what verses/duas you are going to recite.
4.If you do not understand Arabic, learn the meaning of what you recite in your Prayer. Better still, start learning Arabic- it is the language the Almighty Allah (swt) has addressed us in through the Holy Qu’ran. The least we can do is try to understand what the Almighty Allah (swt) is telling us.
5.Remind yourself that engaging in prayers offers you an opportunity to release from the tension of the world. The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) has said that ‘in prayer was placed the comfort of his eyes’. Therefore cherish the opportunity to remove the burdens of the world from your shoulders.
6.Use your prayer to remain focused on your mission in life, which is to bring your entire being to serve only Allah (swt)
7.Use your prayer as a source of strength, inspiration and enthusiasm of your life and activities.
8.Fulfill all your personal needs before you commence your prayer, for e.g., thirst, hunger and calls of nature.
9.Do not procrastinate and do not let the time of salaat lapse without your having performed the obligatory salaat. Know that we pray because Allah (swt) is worthy of and deserves your worship and this is besides the fact that we can earn sawaab (reward) by praying and save ourselves from the azaab (punishment) of avoiding prayers.
10.Pray in pure physical state. Perform wudhu with attention, care and perfection. Although the whole earth is a Masjid or a place of worship, choose a place that is clean.
11.Pray in an environment free of noise and one where there is no distraction.If that is not possible try not allow your attention to be diverted from your prayers.
12.Adorn yourself with clean and respectable clothes.
13.Assess your mental readiness for prayers before its commencement, during the various postures, after each rakaat and ultimately at the end.
14.Pray with humility both in your mental state and in your physical manner. Realize that you are before the All-Powerful and humble your entire being before Him.
15.Pray with hope and awe.
16.Remind yourself continually that you are talking to the most important ‘One’ in your life- your Creator and Sustainer. He is Omnipresent. You are before Him, facing Him and you are involved in a dialogue with Him.
17.Commence your prayer by seeking Allah’s help and protection from the influence of the cursed Shaitan.
18.Lower your gaze while praying and do not allow the physical environment to distract you.
19.On each occasion that you recite the sifat (attributes) of Allah (swt) in ruku and sajdah (prostration), consider how indebted you are and how grateful you should be to Allah (swt) and express your true emotions.
20.Utilize the occasion of sajdah to make additional dua to Allah (swt). The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) said: “A servant is nearest to his Lord when he is in sajdah, so increase your supplication when in sajdah”. There are many duas recommended by the Holy Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) for this purpose.
21.Pray as it is your last prayer. The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) said: “When you stand up to pray, perform your prayer as if it were your last prayer”.
22.After each salaat do ask Allah (swt) for fulfillment of your legitimate desires and wishes. Such a salaat earns the pleasure of Allah (swt). And of course, do not harbor desires and wishes that are not legitimate.
23.It is only an expression of gratitude that you send salutations to Imam Husain (a.s.), the other Martyrs of Karbala and those who suffered the following trials of captivity. Therefore, include and appropriate Ziayarat with your salaat and duas.
More...
Description:
Most of us do realize that our performances of ‘salaat’ (prayers) and dua (supplications) are not of quality they should be. However, we do not make attempts to correct the situation. Though Shaitan does play an important role in diverting us from making serious attempts in this regard, we can hardly escape the responsibility of taking concrete steps to correct ourselves.
One of the strangest issues that confounds us and is somewhat unique to our community is the fact the most us ‘recite’ our prayers and supplications rather than ‘pray’ or ‘supplicate’. There is probably no other community in the world, most of whose adherents do not understand what they say in their prayers, supplications or even while reading their holy book. But many in our community reach their ripe old ages diligently reciting their salaat, dua and the Holy Qu’ran without ever understanding a word of it! While there is no denying that there are sawaab (rewards) for mere recitation of these, it is astonishing that it never occurs to us that we should make some attempt to understand what we recite.
If we do make an attempt to understand what we recite surely the spiritual experience of prayer and supplication will be far more refreshing and uplifting.
Here are some tips to improve the quality of one’s salaat (prayers) and dua (supplications) to bring about greater spiritual upliftment and increased rewards in this world and the Hereafter.
1.First and foremost know and realize that you are able to recite salaat and dua due to the supreme sacrifices of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) and the Holy Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) who, to bring to us these Divine Blessings, have faced enormous trials and tribulations and with the exception of the Imam of Our Time (a.t.f.s.) were eventually martyred. Most notably, do remember the supreme sacrifice of the Greatest Martyr of Mankind, Imam Husain (a.s.) and his companions who faced the toughest trials, captivity and martyrdom, without which let alone this blessing of salaat, Islam itself would not have reached us.
2.Keep yourself free of mental and physical fatigue whilst praying. Keep your mind free of worldly worries, evil thoughts, and ideas.
3.Plan what verses/duas you are going to recite.
4.If you do not understand Arabic, learn the meaning of what you recite in your Prayer. Better still, start learning Arabic- it is the language the Almighty Allah (swt) has addressed us in through the Holy Qu’ran. The least we can do is try to understand what the Almighty Allah (swt) is telling us.
5.Remind yourself that engaging in prayers offers you an opportunity to release from the tension of the world. The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) has said that ‘in prayer was placed the comfort of his eyes’. Therefore cherish the opportunity to remove the burdens of the world from your shoulders.
6.Use your prayer to remain focused on your mission in life, which is to bring your entire being to serve only Allah (swt)
7.Use your prayer as a source of strength, inspiration and enthusiasm of your life and activities.
8.Fulfill all your personal needs before you commence your prayer, for e.g., thirst, hunger and calls of nature.
9.Do not procrastinate and do not let the time of salaat lapse without your having performed the obligatory salaat. Know that we pray because Allah (swt) is worthy of and deserves your worship and this is besides the fact that we can earn sawaab (reward) by praying and save ourselves from the azaab (punishment) of avoiding prayers.
10.Pray in pure physical state. Perform wudhu with attention, care and perfection. Although the whole earth is a Masjid or a place of worship, choose a place that is clean.
11.Pray in an environment free of noise and one where there is no distraction.If that is not possible try not allow your attention to be diverted from your prayers.
12.Adorn yourself with clean and respectable clothes.
13.Assess your mental readiness for prayers before its commencement, during the various postures, after each rakaat and ultimately at the end.
14.Pray with humility both in your mental state and in your physical manner. Realize that you are before the All-Powerful and humble your entire being before Him.
15.Pray with hope and awe.
16.Remind yourself continually that you are talking to the most important ‘One’ in your life- your Creator and Sustainer. He is Omnipresent. You are before Him, facing Him and you are involved in a dialogue with Him.
17.Commence your prayer by seeking Allah’s help and protection from the influence of the cursed Shaitan.
18.Lower your gaze while praying and do not allow the physical environment to distract you.
19.On each occasion that you recite the sifat (attributes) of Allah (swt) in ruku and sajdah (prostration), consider how indebted you are and how grateful you should be to Allah (swt) and express your true emotions.
20.Utilize the occasion of sajdah to make additional dua to Allah (swt). The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) said: “A servant is nearest to his Lord when he is in sajdah, so increase your supplication when in sajdah”. There are many duas recommended by the Holy Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) for this purpose.
21.Pray as it is your last prayer. The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) said: “When you stand up to pray, perform your prayer as if it were your last prayer”.
22.After each salaat do ask Allah (swt) for fulfillment of your legitimate desires and wishes. Such a salaat earns the pleasure of Allah (swt). And of course, do not harbor desires and wishes that are not legitimate.
23.It is only an expression of gratitude that you send salutations to Imam Husain (a.s.), the other Martyrs of Karbala and those who suffered the following trials of captivity. Therefore, include and appropriate Ziayarat with your salaat and duas.
دیدار مردم آذربایجان با رهبر انقلاب Massive Voter Turnout Harms Enemies - 15Feb12 - Farsi
http://farsi.khamenei.ir/news-content?id=19054
دیدار مردم آذربایجان با رهبر انقلاب
حضرت آیتالله خامنهای رهبر معظم انقلاب...
http://farsi.khamenei.ir/news-content?id=19054
دیدار مردم آذربایجان با رهبر انقلاب
حضرت آیتالله خامنهای رهبر معظم انقلاب اسلامی صبح امروز (چهارشنبه) در دیدار هزاران نفر از علماء، مسئولان و قشرهای مختلف مردم آذربایجان، با اشاره به حضور دهها میلیونی و بسیار پرشورتر و با نشاطتر مردم در راهپیمایی 22 بهمن امسال، چرائی این اعجابآفرینی و عظمت ملت عزیز ایران را، بصیرت و موقعشناسی بینظیر آنان دانستند و تأكید كردند: ملت ایران با این بصیرت، ایستادگی و حضور بههنگام در صحنه، هیچگاه شكست نخواهد خورد و در انتخابات 12 اسفند نیز ملت بار دیگر هوشیاری و موقعشناسی خود را نشان خواهد داد و با حضور پرشور و فراوان خود در انتخابات مجلس نهم، ضربه سخت دیگری به دشمن خواهد زد.
در این دیدار كه در آستانه 29 بهمن، سالروز قیام مردم تبریز بر ضد رژیم ستمشاهی در سال 1356، برگزار شد، رهبر انقلاب اسلامی حوادث مهم انقلاب اسلامی را درسآموز و شاخصهای عمده در مسیر حركت بسوی قلهها و اهداف برشمردند و با اشاره به راهپیمایی عظیم ملت ایران در 22 بهمن افزودند: امسال همه تأكید داشتند كه حضور مردم در راهپیمایی 22 بهمن در سراسر كشور، نسبت به سالهای قبل، پرشورتر و با نشاطتر بوده است اما سؤال مهم این است كه چرا امسال شاهد چنین حضور با عظمتتری بودیم؟
حضرت آیتالله خامنهای خاطرنشان كردند: پاسخ به این سؤال جز به بصیرت و موقعشناسی كمنظیر مردم بر نمیگردد زیرا ملت ایران امسال احساس كرد كه كشور و نظام و اسلام به این حضور نیازمند است.
ایشان با اشاره به تبلیغات پرحجم و گسترده رسانهها و دستگاههای تبلیغاتی جبهه دشمن عنود و شریر، تحت هدایت شبكه صهیونیستی جهانی، تأكید كردند: هدف اصلی تبلیغات متراكم، القای این دروغ بزرگ بود كه ملت شجاع، مؤمن و امتحان داده ایران، نسبت به انقلاب، اسلام و اهداف والای خود سست و بیانگیزه شده است.
رهبر انقلاب اسلامی افزودند: تمركز این تبلیغات هم بر روی راهپیمایی 22 بهمن بود تا شاید حضور مردم كمرنگ و بیرونق شود اما ملت ایران با بصیرت و موقعشناسی اعجاببرانگیز ، متوجه این ترفند دشمن شد و با حضور عظیم خود در راهپیمایی 22 بهمن امسال، به دهان دشمن كوبید.
حضرت آیتالله خامنهای با اشاره به گزارشهای موثق درخصوص حضور بسیار پرشور و گسترده مردم در راهپیمایی 22 بهمن در هشتصد و پنجاه شهر كشور خاطرنشان كردند: این ملت ایران است. این ملت با چنین بصیرت و موقعشناسی و حضور در صحنه، شكست نخواهد خورد.
ایشان تأكید كردند: آنهایی كه باید پیام این حضور با عظمت مردم ایران در راهپیمایی 22 بهمن را بگیرند، گرفتند و آنهایی كه در مغزهای الكلی و آفتدیده خود، خیالاتی در سر میپروراندند، متوجه شدند كه در ایران چه خبر است و ملت قهرمان ایران چگونه در صحنه حاضر است.
رهبر انقلاب اسلامی با اشاره به تلاش دستگاههای تبلیغاتی جبهه استكبار برای منعكس نشدن حقیقت و عظمت حضور مردم افزودند: كسانی كه مدعی آزادی اطلاعات و اخبار هستند، اخبار مربوط به این راهپیمایی را سانسور كردند و راهپیمایان میلیونی تهران را هزاران نفر و جمعیت دهها میلیونی كشور در راهپیمایی را صدها هزار نفر عنوان كردند.
حضرت آیتالله خامنهای تأكید كردند: دشمن همواره از ابتدای پیروزی انقلاب اسلامی، انواع شیوههای دروغپردازی، تقلب، خدعه و تزویر را بكار گرفته است اما هنگامی كه پیام صادقانه یك ملت از دل برآید، كار خود را خواهد كرد و احساس حضور و انقلابیگری و حركت همراه با عزم راسخ، همچون هوای خوش بهاری در همه جا نفوذ و همه را بهرهمند خواهد كرد.
ایشان افزودند: نمونه آشكار این واقعیت، تحولات اخیر در شمال آفریقا، و كشورهای عربی و دنیای اسلام و فراگیر شدن شعارهایی است كه روزی ملت ایران، مظلومانه آنها را سر میداد.
رهبر انقلاب اسلامی تأكید كردند: اسلام در حركت عظیم خود به نقطه حساسی رسیده است و نسلهای آینده شاهد حوادث مهمی خواهند بود كه دنیا را دگرگون خواهد كرد و سیاستهای مسلط مادی مستكبرانه را نیز از بین خواهد برد.
حضرت آیتالله خامنهای خاطرنشان كردند: كانون اصلی این حركت، جمهوری اسلامی ایران است و جوشش اولیه آن هم از ایران بوده و ملت ایران همچنان ایستاده است.
ایشان، ایستادگی ملت ایران را رمز موفقیت و دستاوردهای بزرگ نظام اسلامی دانستند و افزودند: هنگامی كه ملتی میایستد و در مقابل شبكه پرهیمنه و پرهیاهو دشمن به خود ترس و واهمه راه نمیدهد، در عرصههای علم و فناوری، اقتصاد، مسائل اجتماعی، سیاستورزی بینالمللی و تأثیرگذاری بر ملتها، پیشرفت خواهد كرد و تفكر، دین و شعارش فراگیر خواهد شد.
رهبر انقلاب اسلامی تأكید كردند: به لطف خداوند و به بركت این ایستادگی و استحكام درونی ملت ایران، جوانان ، با همتها و استقامت خود كشور را همانند دسته گل خواهند ساخت و آن را تبدیل به یك الگوی موفق و پیشرفته برای جهان اسلام خواهند كرد.
حضرت آیتالله خامنهای لازمه پیشرفت و سازندگی كشور را، استمرار حركت در مسیر صراط مستقیم الهی و راه اسلام، دیانت و شریعت و حفظ هوشیاری و بصیرت و عمل به وظیفه دانستند و با اشاره به انتخابات پیش روی مجلس نهم افزودند: دستگاههای تبلیغاتی و رسانههای جبهه استكبار و عوامل همیشگی آنها، تلاش گستردهای را آغاز كردهاند تا انتخابات مجلس، انتخابات بیرونقی باشد اما همه باید بدانند كه حضور مردم در انتخابات، كشور را به پیش خواهد برد و دشمن را در اجرای توطئههایش دچار تردید و تزلزل و وادار به عقب نشینی خواهد كرد. ایشان تأكید كردند: انتخابات پرشور ضربه سختی به دشمن خواهد بود.
رهبر انقلاب اسلامی با تأكید بر اینكه دلهای مردم در دست خدا است، افزودند: با عنایت و كمك خداوند متعال، انتخابات مجلس نهم پرشور و با احساس و همراه با بصیرت و حضور فراوان مردم، برگزار خواهد شد.
رهبر انقلاب اسلامی اظهار امیدواری كردند نتیجه انتخابات دوازدهم اسفند، انتخاب مجلس و نمایندگانی خوب برای ورود به عرصه كار و خدمت باشد.
حضرت آیتالله خامنهای در بخش دیگری از سخنان خود با اشاره به نقش و جایگاه آذربایجان و بویژه تبریز در حوادث و تحولات یكصد سال گذشته كشور، افزودند: مهمترین ویژگی قهرمانان و نامآوران تبریز همچون ستارخان و باقرخان، تدین و حركت در مسیر دین و پیروی از علمای دین بوده است.
ایشان همچنین با اشاره به نقشآفرینی علما و مردم آذربایجان و تبریز در نهضت اسلامی و حوادث مربوط به پیروزی انقلاب اسلامی و بعد از آن، خاطرنشان كردند: تقدیم دو شهید محراب از میان پنج شهید محراب، و شجاعت و خطشكنی لشكر دلاور و قهرمان عاشورا در دوران دفاع مقدس نمونههایی از كارنامه درخشان و برجسته مردم آذربایجان است.
در ابتدای این دیدار آیتالله مجتهد شبستری نماینده ولی فقیه و امامجمعه تبریز در سخنانی ضمن گرامیداشت قیام 29 بهمن در سال 1356، به پیشگامی مردم آذربایجان در عرصههای مختلف انقلاب اسلامی اشاره كرد و گفت: مردم غیور و بابصیرت آذربایجان، در انتخابات 12 اسفند نیز حماسهای فراموشنشدنی خلق خواهند كرد.
http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1587
Supreme Leader: Massive Voter Turnout Harms Enemies
15/02/2012
Ayatollah Khamenei the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution met today with thousands of religious scholars, government officials and ordinary citizens from East Azerbaijan. At the meeting, His Eminence referred to the upcoming parliamentary elections and said that the enemies are making widespread efforts to discourage the people from taking part in the elections. He added that massive presence of the people in the elections will harm the enemy and force him to back down.
Ayatollah Khamenei said that the enthusiastic and massive presence of the people in the demonstrations marking the victory of the Islamic Revolution is indicative of the extraordinary insight of the Iranian people. \"With this insight, the Iranian nation will never be defeated. In the elections that will be held on March 2, the people of Iran will once again prove their vigilance and their awareness of the requirements of time. And they will deal another serious blow to the enemy with their enthusiastic and massive presence in the 9th parliamentary elections.\"
Ayatollah Khamenei added: \"This year everybody was stressing that the people had a more enthusiastic presence in the nationwide demonstrations marking the 22nd of Bahman, but the important question is: why were the demonstrations so massive this year?\"
Ayatollah Khamenei said: \"The answer to this question is related to nothing but the extraordinary insight of the people and their awareness of the requirements of time because the people of Iran felt that our country, our government and Islam need their presence in the demonstrations.\"
His Eminence referred to the widespread propaganda by the enemies, led by the network of global Zionism, and stressed that the main goal of this propaganda is to promote the lie that the courageous and pious people of Iran are disappointed at the Revolution and Islam.
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution added: \"These propaganda efforts were focused on the demonstrations of the 22nd of Bahman in the hope that they would discourage the people from participating in the demonstrations, but the Iranian nation discovered this plot thanks to its insight and its awareness of the requirements of time. With their massive presence in the demonstrations marking the 22nd of Bahman, the people of Iran kicked the enemy in the mouth.\"
His Eminence stressed: \"The message of this massive presence of the Iranian people in the demonstrations was delivered to those who should have received the message.\"
He added that those who were cherishing illusions regarding Iran realized the nature of the events that are happening in Iran.
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that the propaganda machines of the arrogant powers tried to impose a news blackout on the great and massive presence of the people in the demonstrations. He added: \"Those who claim to support free flow of information censored the reports related to these demonstrations.\"
Ayatollah Khamenei stressed: \"Since the beginning of the Islamic Revolution, the enemy has utilized different methods to deceive and to promote lies, but when the people of a nation express a message from the bottom of their heart, that message proves effective.\"
His Eminence said that the slogans which used to be shouted by the Iranian nation are spreading to other parts of the world of Islam, further adding: \"Islam has reached a sensitive point in its great movement and future generations will witness important events which will transform the world of Islam and annihilate the dominant and materialistic policies of the arrogant powers.\"
Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the wave of Islamic Awakening in the world and added: \"The Islamic Republic of Iran was the original source of this movement.\"
His Eminence said that the resistance of the Iranian nation is the secret behind the success and achievements of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He added: \"When a nation stands up against the enemy\'s fearsome network without feeling afraid, it makes progress in science, it makes progress in economic areas, it makes progress in social matters, its youth become vigilant, it gains influence over other nations, and its ideas, religion and slogans spread to all parts of the world.\"
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http://farsi.khamenei.ir/news-content?id=19054
دیدار مردم آذربایجان با رهبر انقلاب
حضرت آیتالله خامنهای رهبر معظم انقلاب اسلامی صبح امروز (چهارشنبه) در دیدار هزاران نفر از علماء، مسئولان و قشرهای مختلف مردم آذربایجان، با اشاره به حضور دهها میلیونی و بسیار پرشورتر و با نشاطتر مردم در راهپیمایی 22 بهمن امسال، چرائی این اعجابآفرینی و عظمت ملت عزیز ایران را، بصیرت و موقعشناسی بینظیر آنان دانستند و تأكید كردند: ملت ایران با این بصیرت، ایستادگی و حضور بههنگام در صحنه، هیچگاه شكست نخواهد خورد و در انتخابات 12 اسفند نیز ملت بار دیگر هوشیاری و موقعشناسی خود را نشان خواهد داد و با حضور پرشور و فراوان خود در انتخابات مجلس نهم، ضربه سخت دیگری به دشمن خواهد زد.
در این دیدار كه در آستانه 29 بهمن، سالروز قیام مردم تبریز بر ضد رژیم ستمشاهی در سال 1356، برگزار شد، رهبر انقلاب اسلامی حوادث مهم انقلاب اسلامی را درسآموز و شاخصهای عمده در مسیر حركت بسوی قلهها و اهداف برشمردند و با اشاره به راهپیمایی عظیم ملت ایران در 22 بهمن افزودند: امسال همه تأكید داشتند كه حضور مردم در راهپیمایی 22 بهمن در سراسر كشور، نسبت به سالهای قبل، پرشورتر و با نشاطتر بوده است اما سؤال مهم این است كه چرا امسال شاهد چنین حضور با عظمتتری بودیم؟
حضرت آیتالله خامنهای خاطرنشان كردند: پاسخ به این سؤال جز به بصیرت و موقعشناسی كمنظیر مردم بر نمیگردد زیرا ملت ایران امسال احساس كرد كه كشور و نظام و اسلام به این حضور نیازمند است.
ایشان با اشاره به تبلیغات پرحجم و گسترده رسانهها و دستگاههای تبلیغاتی جبهه دشمن عنود و شریر، تحت هدایت شبكه صهیونیستی جهانی، تأكید كردند: هدف اصلی تبلیغات متراكم، القای این دروغ بزرگ بود كه ملت شجاع، مؤمن و امتحان داده ایران، نسبت به انقلاب، اسلام و اهداف والای خود سست و بیانگیزه شده است.
رهبر انقلاب اسلامی افزودند: تمركز این تبلیغات هم بر روی راهپیمایی 22 بهمن بود تا شاید حضور مردم كمرنگ و بیرونق شود اما ملت ایران با بصیرت و موقعشناسی اعجاببرانگیز ، متوجه این ترفند دشمن شد و با حضور عظیم خود در راهپیمایی 22 بهمن امسال، به دهان دشمن كوبید.
حضرت آیتالله خامنهای با اشاره به گزارشهای موثق درخصوص حضور بسیار پرشور و گسترده مردم در راهپیمایی 22 بهمن در هشتصد و پنجاه شهر كشور خاطرنشان كردند: این ملت ایران است. این ملت با چنین بصیرت و موقعشناسی و حضور در صحنه، شكست نخواهد خورد.
ایشان تأكید كردند: آنهایی كه باید پیام این حضور با عظمت مردم ایران در راهپیمایی 22 بهمن را بگیرند، گرفتند و آنهایی كه در مغزهای الكلی و آفتدیده خود، خیالاتی در سر میپروراندند، متوجه شدند كه در ایران چه خبر است و ملت قهرمان ایران چگونه در صحنه حاضر است.
رهبر انقلاب اسلامی با اشاره به تلاش دستگاههای تبلیغاتی جبهه استكبار برای منعكس نشدن حقیقت و عظمت حضور مردم افزودند: كسانی كه مدعی آزادی اطلاعات و اخبار هستند، اخبار مربوط به این راهپیمایی را سانسور كردند و راهپیمایان میلیونی تهران را هزاران نفر و جمعیت دهها میلیونی كشور در راهپیمایی را صدها هزار نفر عنوان كردند.
حضرت آیتالله خامنهای تأكید كردند: دشمن همواره از ابتدای پیروزی انقلاب اسلامی، انواع شیوههای دروغپردازی، تقلب، خدعه و تزویر را بكار گرفته است اما هنگامی كه پیام صادقانه یك ملت از دل برآید، كار خود را خواهد كرد و احساس حضور و انقلابیگری و حركت همراه با عزم راسخ، همچون هوای خوش بهاری در همه جا نفوذ و همه را بهرهمند خواهد كرد.
ایشان افزودند: نمونه آشكار این واقعیت، تحولات اخیر در شمال آفریقا، و كشورهای عربی و دنیای اسلام و فراگیر شدن شعارهایی است كه روزی ملت ایران، مظلومانه آنها را سر میداد.
رهبر انقلاب اسلامی تأكید كردند: اسلام در حركت عظیم خود به نقطه حساسی رسیده است و نسلهای آینده شاهد حوادث مهمی خواهند بود كه دنیا را دگرگون خواهد كرد و سیاستهای مسلط مادی مستكبرانه را نیز از بین خواهد برد.
حضرت آیتالله خامنهای خاطرنشان كردند: كانون اصلی این حركت، جمهوری اسلامی ایران است و جوشش اولیه آن هم از ایران بوده و ملت ایران همچنان ایستاده است.
ایشان، ایستادگی ملت ایران را رمز موفقیت و دستاوردهای بزرگ نظام اسلامی دانستند و افزودند: هنگامی كه ملتی میایستد و در مقابل شبكه پرهیمنه و پرهیاهو دشمن به خود ترس و واهمه راه نمیدهد، در عرصههای علم و فناوری، اقتصاد، مسائل اجتماعی، سیاستورزی بینالمللی و تأثیرگذاری بر ملتها، پیشرفت خواهد كرد و تفكر، دین و شعارش فراگیر خواهد شد.
رهبر انقلاب اسلامی تأكید كردند: به لطف خداوند و به بركت این ایستادگی و استحكام درونی ملت ایران، جوانان ، با همتها و استقامت خود كشور را همانند دسته گل خواهند ساخت و آن را تبدیل به یك الگوی موفق و پیشرفته برای جهان اسلام خواهند كرد.
حضرت آیتالله خامنهای لازمه پیشرفت و سازندگی كشور را، استمرار حركت در مسیر صراط مستقیم الهی و راه اسلام، دیانت و شریعت و حفظ هوشیاری و بصیرت و عمل به وظیفه دانستند و با اشاره به انتخابات پیش روی مجلس نهم افزودند: دستگاههای تبلیغاتی و رسانههای جبهه استكبار و عوامل همیشگی آنها، تلاش گستردهای را آغاز كردهاند تا انتخابات مجلس، انتخابات بیرونقی باشد اما همه باید بدانند كه حضور مردم در انتخابات، كشور را به پیش خواهد برد و دشمن را در اجرای توطئههایش دچار تردید و تزلزل و وادار به عقب نشینی خواهد كرد. ایشان تأكید كردند: انتخابات پرشور ضربه سختی به دشمن خواهد بود.
رهبر انقلاب اسلامی با تأكید بر اینكه دلهای مردم در دست خدا است، افزودند: با عنایت و كمك خداوند متعال، انتخابات مجلس نهم پرشور و با احساس و همراه با بصیرت و حضور فراوان مردم، برگزار خواهد شد.
رهبر انقلاب اسلامی اظهار امیدواری كردند نتیجه انتخابات دوازدهم اسفند، انتخاب مجلس و نمایندگانی خوب برای ورود به عرصه كار و خدمت باشد.
حضرت آیتالله خامنهای در بخش دیگری از سخنان خود با اشاره به نقش و جایگاه آذربایجان و بویژه تبریز در حوادث و تحولات یكصد سال گذشته كشور، افزودند: مهمترین ویژگی قهرمانان و نامآوران تبریز همچون ستارخان و باقرخان، تدین و حركت در مسیر دین و پیروی از علمای دین بوده است.
ایشان همچنین با اشاره به نقشآفرینی علما و مردم آذربایجان و تبریز در نهضت اسلامی و حوادث مربوط به پیروزی انقلاب اسلامی و بعد از آن، خاطرنشان كردند: تقدیم دو شهید محراب از میان پنج شهید محراب، و شجاعت و خطشكنی لشكر دلاور و قهرمان عاشورا در دوران دفاع مقدس نمونههایی از كارنامه درخشان و برجسته مردم آذربایجان است.
در ابتدای این دیدار آیتالله مجتهد شبستری نماینده ولی فقیه و امامجمعه تبریز در سخنانی ضمن گرامیداشت قیام 29 بهمن در سال 1356، به پیشگامی مردم آذربایجان در عرصههای مختلف انقلاب اسلامی اشاره كرد و گفت: مردم غیور و بابصیرت آذربایجان، در انتخابات 12 اسفند نیز حماسهای فراموشنشدنی خلق خواهند كرد.
http://english.khamenei.ir//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1587
Supreme Leader: Massive Voter Turnout Harms Enemies
15/02/2012
Ayatollah Khamenei the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution met today with thousands of religious scholars, government officials and ordinary citizens from East Azerbaijan. At the meeting, His Eminence referred to the upcoming parliamentary elections and said that the enemies are making widespread efforts to discourage the people from taking part in the elections. He added that massive presence of the people in the elections will harm the enemy and force him to back down.
Ayatollah Khamenei said that the enthusiastic and massive presence of the people in the demonstrations marking the victory of the Islamic Revolution is indicative of the extraordinary insight of the Iranian people. \"With this insight, the Iranian nation will never be defeated. In the elections that will be held on March 2, the people of Iran will once again prove their vigilance and their awareness of the requirements of time. And they will deal another serious blow to the enemy with their enthusiastic and massive presence in the 9th parliamentary elections.\"
Ayatollah Khamenei added: \"This year everybody was stressing that the people had a more enthusiastic presence in the nationwide demonstrations marking the 22nd of Bahman, but the important question is: why were the demonstrations so massive this year?\"
Ayatollah Khamenei said: \"The answer to this question is related to nothing but the extraordinary insight of the people and their awareness of the requirements of time because the people of Iran felt that our country, our government and Islam need their presence in the demonstrations.\"
His Eminence referred to the widespread propaganda by the enemies, led by the network of global Zionism, and stressed that the main goal of this propaganda is to promote the lie that the courageous and pious people of Iran are disappointed at the Revolution and Islam.
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution added: \"These propaganda efforts were focused on the demonstrations of the 22nd of Bahman in the hope that they would discourage the people from participating in the demonstrations, but the Iranian nation discovered this plot thanks to its insight and its awareness of the requirements of time. With their massive presence in the demonstrations marking the 22nd of Bahman, the people of Iran kicked the enemy in the mouth.\"
His Eminence stressed: \"The message of this massive presence of the Iranian people in the demonstrations was delivered to those who should have received the message.\"
He added that those who were cherishing illusions regarding Iran realized the nature of the events that are happening in Iran.
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that the propaganda machines of the arrogant powers tried to impose a news blackout on the great and massive presence of the people in the demonstrations. He added: \"Those who claim to support free flow of information censored the reports related to these demonstrations.\"
Ayatollah Khamenei stressed: \"Since the beginning of the Islamic Revolution, the enemy has utilized different methods to deceive and to promote lies, but when the people of a nation express a message from the bottom of their heart, that message proves effective.\"
His Eminence said that the slogans which used to be shouted by the Iranian nation are spreading to other parts of the world of Islam, further adding: \"Islam has reached a sensitive point in its great movement and future generations will witness important events which will transform the world of Islam and annihilate the dominant and materialistic policies of the arrogant powers.\"
Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the wave of Islamic Awakening in the world and added: \"The Islamic Republic of Iran was the original source of this movement.\"
His Eminence said that the resistance of the Iranian nation is the secret behind the success and achievements of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He added: \"When a nation stands up against the enemy\'s fearsome network without feeling afraid, it makes progress in science, it makes progress in economic areas, it makes progress in social matters, its youth become vigilant, it gains influence over other nations, and its ideas, religion and slogans spread to all parts of the world.\"
1:50
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Iranians celebrate fifteenth of Shaban birthday anniversary of Twelfth Imam - English
Fifteenth of Sha’ban, a time for devotion and celebration. The fifteenth day of the eighth month of the Islamic lunar calendar also known as Mid Shaban has special significance for Muslims...
Fifteenth of Sha’ban, a time for devotion and celebration. The fifteenth day of the eighth month of the Islamic lunar calendar also known as Mid Shaban has special significance for Muslims throughout the world and it is celebrated in Islamic countries such as Iraq, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, and Iran. The day marks the birth anniversary of twelfth Shiite Imam, Imam al-Mahdi. One of the significant aspects of this day is that Muslims believe prayers are answered on the night of the 15th.
This is an important event for the people
Some people have already got their wish
Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi is an important figure for all Muslims and they believe that he did not die but rather was hidden by God and when he emerges from occultation he will free the world from injustice and tyranny.
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Description:
Fifteenth of Sha’ban, a time for devotion and celebration. The fifteenth day of the eighth month of the Islamic lunar calendar also known as Mid Shaban has special significance for Muslims throughout the world and it is celebrated in Islamic countries such as Iraq, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, and Iran. The day marks the birth anniversary of twelfth Shiite Imam, Imam al-Mahdi. One of the significant aspects of this day is that Muslims believe prayers are answered on the night of the 15th.
This is an important event for the people
Some people have already got their wish
Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi is an important figure for all Muslims and they believe that he did not die but rather was hidden by God and when he emerges from occultation he will free the world from injustice and tyranny.
32:01
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اجلاس زنان وبیداری اسلامی Women & Islamic Awakening - 11JULY12 - Farsi
11/07/2012 - In a meeting with more than a thousand outstanding Muslim women from 85 countries who had participated in the International Conference on Women and Islamic Awakening, Ayatollah...
11/07/2012 - In a meeting with more than a thousand outstanding Muslim women from 85 countries who had participated in the International Conference on Women and Islamic Awakening, Ayatollah Khamenei the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that the conference is a good opportunity for women throughout the world of Islam to become acquainted with each other. He urged the participants to use the conference as a tool to launch an effective and permanent movement to revive the [Islamic] identity of Muslim women.
Ayatollah Khamenei said that the west has been making comprehensive efforts over the past 100 years to isolate Muslim women from their Islamic identity, further stressing: \"The efforts by outstanding women of the world of Islam to revive this identity are the greatest service to the Islamic Ummah. This is because sense of identity, awareness and insight among Muslim women will have a major effect on Islamic Awakening and the dignity and honor of the Islamic Ummah.\"
Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the western view of women as insulting and stated: \"Westerners consider women as a product and an instrument that men can benefit from and they have employed all their instruments and facilities to reach this goal, but in a hypocritical move, they have named this degenerate, flawed and misleading view \"freedom\", just as they choose deceptive names like freedom, human rights and democracy for crimes such as murder, plundering national sources of wealth, military operations and the waging of wars.\"
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that the Islamic view of women is the opposite of the western view and stressed that Islam brings about dignity and growth for women by giving them an independent identity.
Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the successful experiences of faithful Iranian women in different scientific, political and managerial areas and added: \"In an Islamic environment, a woman achieves scholarly, personal, ethical and political growth and she is a pioneer in essential social issues, but she remains a woman.\"
His Eminence said that the western view of women has resulted in the breakup of the family and an increase in the number of abandoned children in western societies. He added: \"The west will be harmed most on this front and it will collapse as a result of the social consequences.\"
Ayatollah Khamenei said that from an Islamic point of view, men and women enjoy the same human characteristics and added: \"Allah the Exalted has bestowed different physical characteristics on men and women. And each of them plays a particular role in the growth and transcendence of mankind, but women\'s role is more important.\"
Ayatollah Khamenei said that the most important responsibility of outstanding Muslim women is to highlight the role of women from an Islamic point of view. Referring to the essential role that Iranian women have played after the Islamic Revolution, he said: \"Women play a determining role in social developments, in revolutions and in Islamic Awakening because wherever women take part in a social movement with awareness, the progress and victory of that movement is guaranteed and this truth makes it absolutely necessary to preserve and strengthen women\'s presence in the developments of Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen and other parts of the world of Islam.\"
Ayatollah Khamenei described Islamic Awakening as an amazing and unparalleled movement and stressed that it can change the course of history.
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution praised the Muslim nations that have carried out a revolution and added: \"The arrogant powers - headed by America and Zionism - are astounded by this great movement and they are trying their best to curb this movement and ride its waves.\"
His Eminence said that the arrogant powers try to discourage the people of the regional countries from continuing their presence and keep them busy with internal conflicts in order to curb Islamic Awakening. He stressed: \"If Muslim nations resist in the face of this plot and continue their presence on the scene, they will definitely defeat the arrogant powers because the sword of all the arrogant powers is blunt and ineffective against the people\'s presence and piety.\"......
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that the enemies of Islam and Iran have been hatching plots since the victory of the Islamic Revolution and added: \"There is a lot of western hype these days, but they do not understand that with the sanctions they have imposed over the past 30 years, they have vaccinated the Iranian nation against any sanctions.\"
Ayatollah Khamenei added: \"Sanctions do not harm us. The people of Iran resisted. They resisted in the face of the enemy\'s machinations by sacrificing their wealth, their life and the life of their loved ones. Today we are a hundred times more powerful and more advanced than we used to be thirty years ago.\"
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution referred to the advances that Iran has made in different areas and addressing outstanding Muslim women throughout the world of Islam, he said: \"Today faithful Iranian women are proudly present in different areas of progress. The educated and outstanding women of our country are among the most pious and revolutionary Iranian women. The west is trying to distort this truth with thousands of propaganda tools.\"
Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the failed efforts by the west to discourage the Islamic Republic from supporting the Palestinian nation and stressed that the Islamic Republic will continue supporting the Palestinian nation and other Muslim nations.
He added: \"By Allah\'s favor, we will stand by the Palestinian nation. We will stand by the Muslim nations that have carried out a revolution. We will stand by the oppressed people of Bahrain. We will stand by all those who are opposed to America and Zionism. We are standing firm and we support them. And in this regard we will not take the interests of any individual or any power into consideration.\"
More...
Description:
11/07/2012 - In a meeting with more than a thousand outstanding Muslim women from 85 countries who had participated in the International Conference on Women and Islamic Awakening, Ayatollah Khamenei the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that the conference is a good opportunity for women throughout the world of Islam to become acquainted with each other. He urged the participants to use the conference as a tool to launch an effective and permanent movement to revive the [Islamic] identity of Muslim women.
Ayatollah Khamenei said that the west has been making comprehensive efforts over the past 100 years to isolate Muslim women from their Islamic identity, further stressing: \"The efforts by outstanding women of the world of Islam to revive this identity are the greatest service to the Islamic Ummah. This is because sense of identity, awareness and insight among Muslim women will have a major effect on Islamic Awakening and the dignity and honor of the Islamic Ummah.\"
Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the western view of women as insulting and stated: \"Westerners consider women as a product and an instrument that men can benefit from and they have employed all their instruments and facilities to reach this goal, but in a hypocritical move, they have named this degenerate, flawed and misleading view \"freedom\", just as they choose deceptive names like freedom, human rights and democracy for crimes such as murder, plundering national sources of wealth, military operations and the waging of wars.\"
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that the Islamic view of women is the opposite of the western view and stressed that Islam brings about dignity and growth for women by giving them an independent identity.
Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the successful experiences of faithful Iranian women in different scientific, political and managerial areas and added: \"In an Islamic environment, a woman achieves scholarly, personal, ethical and political growth and she is a pioneer in essential social issues, but she remains a woman.\"
His Eminence said that the western view of women has resulted in the breakup of the family and an increase in the number of abandoned children in western societies. He added: \"The west will be harmed most on this front and it will collapse as a result of the social consequences.\"
Ayatollah Khamenei said that from an Islamic point of view, men and women enjoy the same human characteristics and added: \"Allah the Exalted has bestowed different physical characteristics on men and women. And each of them plays a particular role in the growth and transcendence of mankind, but women\'s role is more important.\"
Ayatollah Khamenei said that the most important responsibility of outstanding Muslim women is to highlight the role of women from an Islamic point of view. Referring to the essential role that Iranian women have played after the Islamic Revolution, he said: \"Women play a determining role in social developments, in revolutions and in Islamic Awakening because wherever women take part in a social movement with awareness, the progress and victory of that movement is guaranteed and this truth makes it absolutely necessary to preserve and strengthen women\'s presence in the developments of Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen and other parts of the world of Islam.\"
Ayatollah Khamenei described Islamic Awakening as an amazing and unparalleled movement and stressed that it can change the course of history.
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution praised the Muslim nations that have carried out a revolution and added: \"The arrogant powers - headed by America and Zionism - are astounded by this great movement and they are trying their best to curb this movement and ride its waves.\"
His Eminence said that the arrogant powers try to discourage the people of the regional countries from continuing their presence and keep them busy with internal conflicts in order to curb Islamic Awakening. He stressed: \"If Muslim nations resist in the face of this plot and continue their presence on the scene, they will definitely defeat the arrogant powers because the sword of all the arrogant powers is blunt and ineffective against the people\'s presence and piety.\"......
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution said that the enemies of Islam and Iran have been hatching plots since the victory of the Islamic Revolution and added: \"There is a lot of western hype these days, but they do not understand that with the sanctions they have imposed over the past 30 years, they have vaccinated the Iranian nation against any sanctions.\"
Ayatollah Khamenei added: \"Sanctions do not harm us. The people of Iran resisted. They resisted in the face of the enemy\'s machinations by sacrificing their wealth, their life and the life of their loved ones. Today we are a hundred times more powerful and more advanced than we used to be thirty years ago.\"
The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution referred to the advances that Iran has made in different areas and addressing outstanding Muslim women throughout the world of Islam, he said: \"Today faithful Iranian women are proudly present in different areas of progress. The educated and outstanding women of our country are among the most pious and revolutionary Iranian women. The west is trying to distort this truth with thousands of propaganda tools.\"
Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the failed efforts by the west to discourage the Islamic Republic from supporting the Palestinian nation and stressed that the Islamic Republic will continue supporting the Palestinian nation and other Muslim nations.
He added: \"By Allah\'s favor, we will stand by the Palestinian nation. We will stand by the Muslim nations that have carried out a revolution. We will stand by the oppressed people of Bahrain. We will stand by all those who are opposed to America and Zionism. We are standing firm and we support them. And in this regard we will not take the interests of any individual or any power into consideration.\"
1:49
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Beetles who fast too - Animal Instincts episode - English
Visit our website for more episodes! http://ramadhan4u.com to make your ramadhan a productive Ramadhan.
SUBHANALLAH.. Animals fast too!!
Check out our new series..
Animal Instincts...
Visit our website for more episodes! http://ramadhan4u.com to make your ramadhan a productive Ramadhan.
SUBHANALLAH.. Animals fast too!!
Check out our new series..
Animal Instincts
Mountain Peak Insects Fast:
Beetles spend the winter season on peaks of mountains in the freezing temperature.
The peaks of mountains are very cold and snowy, the temperature roughly being up to thirty degrees centigrade below zero. These insects need extra energy in the winter in order to tolerate the cold weather.
During the cold winters insects fast. Whilst migrating to the mountains, an important process takes place to make sure these insects are filled with fatty substances to keep them warm during the winter and provide energy whilst they fast.
During the migration they abstain from drinking water so that the ratio of water reduces in their bodies and the free-water changes form into bound-water.
The conversion of water to bound-water is really important because if it were not bound then at low temperatures the water content in their bodies would freeze and their bodies would also freeze. The bound-water is gradually released over time as a water-source and source of energy for the insects.
Eltemas Dua :) R4U Team
For more information visit www.ramadhan4u.com
More...
Description:
Visit our website for more episodes! http://ramadhan4u.com to make your ramadhan a productive Ramadhan.
SUBHANALLAH.. Animals fast too!!
Check out our new series..
Animal Instincts
Mountain Peak Insects Fast:
Beetles spend the winter season on peaks of mountains in the freezing temperature.
The peaks of mountains are very cold and snowy, the temperature roughly being up to thirty degrees centigrade below zero. These insects need extra energy in the winter in order to tolerate the cold weather.
During the cold winters insects fast. Whilst migrating to the mountains, an important process takes place to make sure these insects are filled with fatty substances to keep them warm during the winter and provide energy whilst they fast.
During the migration they abstain from drinking water so that the ratio of water reduces in their bodies and the free-water changes form into bound-water.
The conversion of water to bound-water is really important because if it were not bound then at low temperatures the water content in their bodies would freeze and their bodies would also freeze. The bound-water is gradually released over time as a water-source and source of energy for the insects.
Eltemas Dua :) R4U Team
For more information visit www.ramadhan4u.com
33:34
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[English Translation] Interview Bashar Al-Asad - President Syria on current situation - 30 May 2013
DAMASCUS, (SANA)-President Bashar al-Assad gave an interview to al-Manar TV broadcasted on Thursday,
Following is the full text of the interview:
Al-Manar: In the name of Allah, the...
DAMASCUS, (SANA)-President Bashar al-Assad gave an interview to al-Manar TV broadcasted on Thursday,
Following is the full text of the interview:
Al-Manar: In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Assalamu Alaikum. Bloodshed in Syria continues unabated. This is the only constant over which there is little disagreement between those loyal to the Syrian state and those opposed to it. However, there is no common ground over the other constants and details two years into the current crisis. At the time, a great deal was said about the imminent fall of the regime. Deadlines were set and missed; and all those bets were lost. Today, we are here in the heart of Damascus, enjoying the hospitality of a president who has become a source of consternation to many of his opponents who are still unable to understand the equations that have played havoc with their calculations and prevented his ouster from the Syrian political scene. This unpleasant and unexpected outcome for his opponents upset their schemes and plots because they didn’t take into account one self-evident question: what happens if the regime doesn’t fall? What if President Assad doesn’t leave the Syrian scene? Of course, there are no clear answers; and the result is more destruction, killing and bloodshed. Today there is talk of a critical juncture for Syria. The Syrian Army has moved from defense to attack, achieving one success after another. On a parallel level, stagnant diplomatic waters have been shaken by discussions over a Geneva 2 conference becoming a recurrent theme in the statements of all parties. There are many questions which need answers: political settlement, resorting to the military option to decide the outcome, the Israeli enemy’s direct interference with the course of events in the current crisis, the new equations on the Golan Heights, the relationship with opponents and friends. What is the Syrian leadership’s plan for a way out of a complex and dangerous crisis whose ramifications have started to spill over into neighboring countries? It is our great pleasure tonight to put these questions to H. E. President Bashar al-Assad. Assalamu Alaikum, Mr. President.
President Assad: Assalamu Alaikum. You are most welcome in Damascus.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, we are in the heart of the People’s Palace, two and a half years into the Syrian crisis. At the time, the bet was that the president and his regime would be overthrown within weeks. How have you managed to foil the plots of your opponents and enemies? What is the secret behind this steadfastness?
President Assad: There are a number of factors are involved. One is the Syrian factor, which thwarted their intentions; the other factor is related to those who masterminded these scenarios and ended up defeating themselves because they do not know Syria or understand in detail the situation. They started with the calls of revolution, but a real revolution requires tangible elements; you cannot create a revolution simply by paying money. When this approach failed, they shifted to using sectarian slogans in order to create a division within our society. Even though they were able to infiltrate certain pockets in Syrian society, pockets of ignorance and lack of awareness that exist in any society, they were not able to create this sectarian division. Had they succeeded, Syria would have been divided up from the beginning. They also fell into their own trap by trying to promote the notion that this was a struggle to maintain power rather than a struggle for national sovereignty. No one would fight and martyr themselves in order to secure power for anyone else.
Al-Manar: In the battle for the homeland, it seems that the Syrian leadership, and after two and a half years, is making progress on the battlefield. And here if I might ask you, why have you chosen to move from defense to attack? And don’t you think that you have been late in taking the decision to go on the offensive, and consequently incurred heavy losses, if we take of Al-Qseir as an example.
President Assad: It is not a question of defense or attack. Every battle has its own tactics. From the beginning, we did not deal with each situation from a military perspective alone. We also factored in the social and political aspects as well - many Syrians were misled in the beginning and there were many friendly countries that didn’t understand the domestic dynamics. Your actions will differ according to how much consensus there is over a particular issue. There is no doubt that as events have unfolded Syrians have been able to better understand the situation and what is really at stake. This has helped the Armed Forces to better carry out their duties and achieve results. So, what is happening now is not a shift in tactic from defense to attack, but rather a shift in the balance of power in favor of the Armed Forces.
Al-Manar: How has this balance been tipped, Mr. President? Syria is being criticized for asking for the assistance of foreign fighters, and to be fully candid, it is said that Hezbollah fighters are extending assistance. In a previous interview, you said that there are 23 million Syrians; we do not need help from anyone else. What is Hezbollah doing in Syria?
President Assad: The main reason for tipping the balance is the change in people’s opinion in areas that used to incubate armed groups, not necessarily due to lack of patriotism on their part, but because they were deceived. They were led to believe that there was a revolution against the failings of the state. This has changed; many individuals have left these terrorist groups and have returned to their normal lives. As to what is being said about Hezbollah and the participation of foreign fighters alongside the Syrian Army, this is a hugely important issue and has several factors. Each of these factors should be clearly understood. Hezbollah, the battle at Al-Qseir and the recent Israeli airstrike – these three factors cannot be looked at in isolation of the other, they are all a part of the same issue. Let’s be frank. In recent weeks, and particularly after Mr. Hasan Nasrallah’s speech, Arab and foreign media have said that Hezbollah fighters are fighting in Syria and defending the Syrian state, or to use their words “the regime.” Logically speaking, if Hezbollah or the resistance wanted to defend Syria by sending fighters, how many could they send - a few hundred, a thousand or two? We are talking about a battle in which hundreds of thousands of Syrian troops are involved against tens of thousands of terrorists, if not more because of the constant flow of fighters from neighboring and foreign countries that support those terrorists. So clearly, the number of fighters Hezbollah might contribute in order to defend the Syrian state in its battle, would be a drop in the ocean compared to the number of Syrian soldiers fighting the terrorists. When also taking into account the vast expanse of Syria, these numbers will neither protect a state nor ‘regime.’ This is from one perspective. From another, if they say they are defending the state, why now? Battles started after Ramadan in 2011 and escalated into 2012, the summer of 2012 to be precise. They started the battle to “liberate Damascus” and set a zero hour for the first time, the second time and a third time; the four generals were assassinated, a number of individuals fled Syria, and many people believed that was the time the state would collapse. It didn’t. Nevertheless, during all of these times, Hezbollah never intervened, so why would it intervene now? More importantly, why haven’t we seen Hezbollah fighting in Damascus and Aleppo? The more significant battles are in Damascus and in Aleppo, not in Al-Qseir. Al-Qseir is a small town in Homs, why haven’t we seen Hezbollah in the city of Homs? Clearly, all these assumptions are inaccurate. They say Al-Qseir is a strategic border town, but all the borders are strategic for the terrorists in order to smuggle in their fighters and weapons. So, all these propositions have nothing to do with Hezbollah. If we take into account the moans and groans of the Arab media, the statements made by Arab and foreign officials – even Ban Ki-moon expressed concern over Hezbollah in Al-Qseir – all of this is for the objective of suppressing and stifling the resistance. It has nothing to do with defending the Syrian state. The Syrian army has made significant achievements in Damascus, Aleppo, rural Damascus and many other areas; however, we haven’t heard the same moaning as we have heard in Al-Qseir.
Al-Manar: But, Mr. President, the nature of the battle that you and Hezbollah are waging in Al-Qseir seems, to your critics, to take the shape of a safe corridor connecting the coastal region with Damascus. Consequently, if Syria were to be divided, or if geographical changes were to be enforced, this would pave the way for an Alawite state. So, what is the nature of this battle, and how is it connected with the conflict with Israel.
President Assad: First, the Syrian and Lebanese coastal areas are not connected through Al-Qseir. Geographically this is not possible. Second, nobody would fight a battle in order to move towards separation. If you opt for separation, you move towards that objective without waging battles all over the country in order to be pushed into a particular corner. The nature of the battle does not indicate that we are heading for division, but rather the opposite, we are ensuring we remain a united country. Our forefathers rejected the idea of division when the French proposed this during their occupation of Syria because at the time they were very aware of its consequences. Is it possible or even fathomable that generations later, we their children, are less aware or mindful? Once again, the battle in Al-Qseir and all the bemoaning is related to Israel. The timing of the battle in Al-Qseir was synchronized with the Israeli airstrike. Their objective is to stifle the resistance. This is the same old campaign taking on a different form. Now what’s important is not al-Qseir as a town, but the borders; they want to stifle the resistance from land and from the sea. Here the question begs itself - some have said that the resistance should face the enemy and consequently remain in the south. This was said on May 7, 2008, when some of Israel’s agents in Lebanon tried to tamper with the communications system of the resistance; they claimed that the resistance turned its weapons inwards. They said the same thing about the Syrian Army; that the Syrian Army should fight on the borders with Israel. We have said very clearly that our Army will fight the enemy wherever it is. When the enemy is in the north, we move north; the same applies if the enemy comes from the east or the west. This is also the case for Hezbollah. So the question is why is Hezbollah deployed on the borders inside Lebanon or inside Syria? The answer is that our battle is a battle against the Israeli enemy and its proxies inside Syria or inside Lebanon.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, if I might ask about Israel’s involvement in the Syrian crisis through the recent airstrike against Damascus. Israel immediately attached certain messages to this airstrike by saying it doesn’t want escalation or doesn’t intend to interfere in the Syrian crisis. The question is: what does Israel want and what type of interference?
President Assad: This is exactly my point. Everything that is happening at the moment is aimed, first and foremost, at stifling the resistance. Israel’s support of the terrorists was for two purposes. The first is to stifle the resistance; the second is to strike the Syrian air defense systems. It is not interested in anything else.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, since Israel’s objectives are clear, the Syrian state was criticized for its muted response. Everyone was expecting a Syrian response, and the Syrian government stated that it reserves the right to respond at the appropriate time and place. Why didn’t the response come immediately? And is it enough for a senior source to say that missiles have been directed at the Israeli enemy and that any attack will be retaliated immediately without resorting to Army command?
President Assad: We have informed all the Arab and foreign parties - mostly foreign - that contacted us, that we will respond the next time. Of course, there has been more than one response. There have been several Israeli attempted violations to which there was immediate retaliation. But these short-term responses have no real value; they are only of a political nature. If we want to respond to Israel, the response will be of strategic significance.
Al-Manar: How? By opening the Golan front, for instance?
President Assad: This depends on public opinion, whether there is a consensus in support of the resistance or not. That’s the question. Al-Manar: How is the situation in Syria now?
President Assad: In fact, there is clear popular pressure to open the Golan front to resistance. This enthusiasm is also on the Arab level; we have received many Arab delegations wanting to know how young people might be enrolled to come and fight Israel. Of course, resistance is not easy. It is not merely a question of opening the front geographically. It is a political, ideological, and social issue, with the net result being military action.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, if we take into account the incident on the Golan Heights and Syria’s retaliation on the Israeli military vehicle that crossed the combat line, does this mean that the rules of engagement have changed? And if the rules of the game have changed, what is the new equation, so to speak?
President Assad: Real change in the rules of engagement happens when there is a popular condition pushing for resistance. Any other change is short-term, unless we are heading towards war. Any response of any kind might only appear to be a change to the rules of engagement, but I don’t think it really is. The real change is when the people move towards resistance; this is the really dramatic change.
Al-Manar: Don’t you think that this is a little late? After 40 years of quiet and a state of truce on the Golan Heights, now there is talk of a movement on that front, about new equations and about new rules of the game?
President Assad: They always talk about Syria opening the front or closing the front. A state does not create resistance. Resistance can only be called so, when it is popular and spontaneous, it cannot be created. The state can either support or oppose the resistance, - or create obstacles, as is the case with some Arab countries. I believe that a state that opposes the will of its people for resistance is reckless. The issue is not that Syria has decided, after 40 years, to move in this direction. The public’s state of mind is that our National Army is carrying out its duties to protect and liberate our land. Had there not been an army, as was the situation in Lebanon when the army and the state were divided during the civil war, there would have been resistance a long time ago. Today, in the current circumstances, there are a number of factors pushing in that direction. First, there are repeated Israeli aggressions that constitute a major factor in creating this desire and required incentive. Second, the army’s engagement in battles in more than one place throughout Syria has created a sentiment on the part of many civilians that it is their duty to move in this direction in order to support the Armed Forces on the Golan.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would not hesitate to attack Syria if it detected that weapons are being conveyed to Hezbollah in Lebanon. If Israel carried out its threats, I want a direct answer from you: what would Syria do?
President Assad: As I have said, we have informed the relevant states that we will respond in kind. Of course, it is difficult to specify the military means that would be used, that is for our military command to decide. We plan for different scenarios, depending on the circumstances and the timing of the strike that would determine which method or weapons.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, after the airstrike that targeted Damascus, there was talk about the S300 missiles and that this missile system will tip the balance. Based on this argument, Netanyahu visited Moscow. My direct question is this: are these missiles on their way to Damascus? Is Syria now in possession of these missiles?
President Assad: It is not our policy to talk publically about military issues in terms of what we possess or what we receive. As far as Russia is concerned, the contracts have nothing to do with the crisis. We have negotiated with them on different kinds of weapons for years, and Russia is committed to honoring these contracts. What I want to say is that neither Netanyahu’s visit nor the crisis and the conditions surrounding it have influenced arms imports. All of our agreements with Russia will be implemented, some have been implemented during the past period and, together with the Russians, we will continue to implement these contracts in the future.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, we have talked about the steadfastness of the Syrian leadership and the Syrian state. We have discussed the progress being achieved on the battlefield, and strengthening the alliance between Syria and the resistance. These are all within the same front. From another perspective, there is diplomatic activity stirring waters that have been stagnant for two and a half years. Before we talk about this and about the Geneva conference and the red lines that Syria has drawn, there was a simple proposition or a simple solution suggested by the former head of the coalition, Muaz al-Khatib. He said that the president, together with 500 other dignitaries would be allowed to leave the country within 20 days, and the crisis would be over. Why don’t you meet this request and put an end to the crisis?
President Assad: I have always talked about the basic principle: that the Syrian people alone have the right to decide whether the president should remain or leave. So, anybody speaking on this subject should state which part of the Syrian people they represent and who granted them the authority to speak on their behalf. As for this initiative, I haven’t actually read it, but I was very happy that they allowed me 20 days and 500 people! I don’t know who proposed the initiative; I don’t care much about names.
Al-Manar: He actually said that you would be given 20 days, 500 people, and no guarantees. You’ll be allowed to leave but with no guarantee whatsoever on whether legal action would be taken against you or not. Mr. President, this brings us to the negotiations, I am referring to Geneva 2. The Syrian government and leadership have announced initial agreement to take part in this conference. If this conference is held, there will be a table with the Syrian flag on one side and the flag of the opposition groups on the other. How can you convince the Syrian people after two and a half years of crisis that you will sit face to face at the same negotiating table with these groups?
President Assad: First of all, regarding the flag, it is meaningless without the people it represents. When we put a flag on a table or anywhere else, we talk about the people represented by that flag. This question can be put to those who raise flags they call Syrian but are different from the official Syrian flag. So, this flag has no value when it does not represent the people. Secondly, we will attend this conference as the official delegation and legitimate representatives of the Syrian people. But, whom do they represent? When the conference is over, we return to Syria, we return home to our people. But when the conference is over, whom do they return to - five-star hotels? Or to the foreign ministries of the states that they represent – which doesn’t include Syria of course - in order to submit their reports? Or do they return to the intelligence services of those countries? So, when we attend this conference, we should know very clearly the positions of some of those sitting at the table - and I say some because the conference format is not clear yet and as such we do not have details as to how the patriotic Syrian opposition will be considered or the other opposition parties in Syria. As for the opposition groups abroad and their flag, we know that we are attending the conference not to negotiate with them, but rather with the states that back them; it will appear as though we are negotiating with the slaves, but essentially we are negotiating with their masters. This is the truth, we shouldn’t deceive ourselves.
Al-Manar: Are you, in the Syrian leadership, convinced that these negotiations will be held next month?
President Assad: We expect them to happen, unless they are obstructed by other states. As far as we are concerned in Syria, we have announced a couple of days ago that we agree in principle to attend.
Al-Manar: When you say in principle, it seems that you are considering other options.
President Assad: In principle, we are in favour of the conference as a notion, but there are no details yet. For example, will there be conditions placed before the conference? If so, these conditions may be unacceptable and we would not attend. So the idea of the conference, of a meeting, in principle is a good one. We will have to wait and see.
Al-Manar: Let’s talk, Mr. President, about the conditions put by the Syrian leadership. What are Syria’s conditions?
President Assad: Simply put, our only condition is that anything agreed upon in any meeting inside or outside the country, including the conference, is subject to the approval of the Syrian people through a popular referendum. This is the only condition. Anything else doesn’t have any value. That is why we are comfortable with going to the conference. We have no complexes. Either side can propose anything, but nothing can be implemented without the approval of the Syrian people. And as long as we are the legitimate representatives of the people, we have nothing to fear.
Al-Manar: Let’s be clear, Mr. President. There is a lot of ambiguity in Geneva 1 and Geneva 2 about the transitional period and the role of President Bashar al-Assad in that transitional period. Are you prepared to hand over all your authorities to this transitional government? And how do you understand this ambiguous term?
President Assad: This is what I made clear in the initiative I proposed in January this year. They say they want a transitional government in which the president has no role. In Syria we have a presidential system, where the President is head of the republic and the Prime Minister heads the government. They want a government with broad authorities. The Syrian constitution gives the government full authorities. The president is the commander-in-chief of the Army and Armed Forces and the head of the Supreme Judicial Council. All the other institutions report directly to the government. Changing the authorities of the president is subject to changing the constitution; the president cannot just relinquish his authorities, he doesn\\\'t have the constitutional right. Changing the constitution requires a popular referendum. When they want to propose such issues, they might be discussed in the conference, and when we agree on something - if we agree, we return home and put it to a popular referendum and then move on. But for them to ask for the amendment of the constitution in advance, this cannot be done neither by the president nor by the government.
Al-Manar: Frankly, Mr. President, all the international positions taken against you and all your political opponents said that they don’t want a role for al-Assad in Syria’s future. This is what the Saudi foreign minister Saud al-Faisal said and this is what the Turks and the Qataris said, and also the Syrian opposition. Will President Assad be nominated for the forthcoming presidential elections in 2014?
President Assad: What I know is that Saud al-Faisal is a specialist in American affairs, I don’t know if he knows anything about Syrian affairs. If he wants to learn, that’s fine! As to the desires of others, I repeat what I have said earlier: the only desires relevant are those of the Syrian people. With regards to the nomination, some parties have said that it is preferable that the president shouldn’t be nominated for the 2014 elections. This issue will be determined closer to the time; it is still too early to discuss this. When the time comes, and I feel, through my meetings and interactions with the Syrian people, that there is a need and public desire for me to nominate myself, I will not hesitate. However, if I feel that the Syrian people do not want me to lead them, then naturally I will not put myself forward. They are wasting their time on such talk.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, you mentioned the Saudi foreign minister Saud al-Faisal. This makes me ask about Syria’s relationship with Saudi Arabia, with Qatar, with Turkey, particularly if we take into account that their recent position in the Arab ministerial committee was relatively moderate. They did not directly and publically call for the ouster of President Assad. Do you feel any change or any support on the part of these countries for a political solution to the Syrian crisis? And is Syria prepared to deal once more with the Arab League, taking into account that the Syrian government asked for an apology from the Arab League?
President Assad: Concerning the Arab states, we see brief changes in their rhetoric but not in their actions. The countries that support the terrorists have not changed; they are still supporting terrorism to the same extent. Turkey also has not made any positive steps. As for Qatar, their role is also the same, the role of the funder - the bank funding the terrorists and supporting them through Turkey. So, overall, no change. As for the Arab League, in Syria we have never pinned our hopes on the Arab League. Even in the past decades, we were barely able to dismantle the mines set for us in the different meetings, whether in the summits or in meetings of the foreign ministers. So in light of this and its recent actions, can we really expect it to play a role? We are open to everybody, we never close our doors. But we should also be realistic and face the truth that they are unable to offer anything, particularly since a significant number of the Arab states are not independent. They receive their orders from the outside. Some of them are sympathetic to us in their hearts, but they cannot act on their feelings because they are not in possession of their decisions. So, no, we do not pin any hopes on the Arab League.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, this leads us to ask: if the Arab environment is as such, and taking into account the developments on the ground and the steadfastness, the Geneva conference and the negotiations, the basic question is: what if the political negotiations fail? What are the consequences of the failure of political negotiations?
President Assad: This is quite possible, because there are states that are obstructing the meeting in principle, and they are going only to avoid embarrassment. They are opposed to any dialogue whether inside or outside Syria. Even the Russians, in several statements, have dampened expectations from this conference. But we should also be accurate in defining this dialogue, particularly in relation to what is happening on the ground. Most of the factions engaged in talking about what is happening in Syria have no influence on the ground; they don’t even have direct relationships with the terrorists. In some instances these terrorists are directly linked with the states that are backing them, in other cases, they are mere gangs paid to carry out terrorist activities. So, the failure of the conference will not significantly change the reality inside Syria, because these states will not stop supporting the terrorists - conference or no conference, and the gangs will not stop their subversive activities. So it has no impact on them.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, the events in Syria are spilling over to neighboring countries. We see what’s happening in Iraq, the explosions in Al-Rihaniye in Turkey and also in Lebanon. In Ersal, Tripoli, Hezbollah taking part in the fighting in Al-Qseir. How does Syria approach the situation in Lebanon, and do you think the Lebanese policy of dissociation is still applied or accepted?
President Assad: Let me pose some questions based on the reality in Syria and in Lebanon about the policy of dissociation in order not to be accused of making a value judgment on whether this policy is right or wrong. Let’s start with some simple questions: Has Lebanon been able to prevent Lebanese interference in Syria? Has it been able to prevent the smuggling of terrorists or weapons into Syria or providing a safe haven for them in Lebanon? It hasn’t; in fact, everyone knows that Lebanon has contributed negatively to the Syrian crisis. Most recently, has Lebanon been able to protect itself against the consequences of the Syrian crisis, most markedly in Tripoli and the missiles that have been falling over different areas of Beirut or its surroundings? It hasn’t. So what kind of dissociation are we talking about? For Lebanon to dissociate itself from the crisis is one thing, and for the government to dissociate itself is another. When the government dissociates itself from a certain issue that affects the interests of the Lebanese people, it is in fact dissociating itself from the Lebanese citizens. I’m not criticizing the Lebanese government - I’m talking about general principles. I don’t want it to be said that I’m criticizing this government. If the Syrian government were to dissociate itself from issues that are of concern to the Syrian people, it would also fail. So in response to your question with regards to Lebanon’s policy of dissociation, we don’t believe this is realistically possible. When my neighbor’s house is on fire, I cannot say that it’s none of my business because sooner or later the fire will spread to my house.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, what would you say to the supporters of the axis of resistance? We are celebrating the anniversary of the victory of the resistance and the liberation of south Lebanon, in an atmosphere of promises of victory, which Mr. Hasan Nasrallah has talked about. You are saying with great confidence that you will emerge triumphant from this crisis. What would you say to all this audience? Are we about to reach the end of this dark tunnel?
President Assad: I believe that the greatest victory achieved by the Arab resistance movements in the past years and decades is primarily an intellectual victory. This resistance wouldn’t have been able to succeed militarily if they hadn’t been able to succeed and stand fast against a campaign aimed at distorting concepts and principles in this region. Before the civil war in Lebanon, some people used to say that Lebanon’s strength lies in its weakness; this is similar to saying that a man’s intelligence lies in his stupidity, or that honor is maintained through corruption. This is an illogical contradiction. The victories of the resistance at different junctures proved that this concept is not true, and it showed that Lebanon’s weakness lies in its weakness and Lebanon’s strength lies in its strength. Lebanon’s strength is in its resistance and these resistance fighters you referred to. Today, more than ever before, we are in need of these ideas, of this mindset, of this steadfastness and of these actions carried out by the resistance fighters. The events in the Arab world during the past years have distorted concepts to the extent that some Arabs have forgotten that the real enemy is still Israel and have instead created internal, sectarian, regional or national enemies. Today we pin our hopes on these resistance fighters to remind the Arab people, through their achievements, that our enemy is still the same. As for my confidence in victory, if we weren’t so confident we wouldn’t have been able to stand fast or to continue this battle after two years of a global attack. This is not a tripartite attack like the one in 1956; it is in fact a global war waged against Syria and the resistance. We have absolute confidence in our victory, and I assure them that Syria will always remain, even more so than before, supportive of the resistance and resistance fighters everywhere in the Arab world.
Al-Manar: In conclusion, it has been my great honor to conduct this interview with Your Excellency, President Bashar al-Assad of the Syrian Arab Republic. Thank you very much. President Assad: You are welcome. I would like to congratulate Al-Manar channel, the channel of resistance, on the anniversary of the liberation and to congratulate the Lebanese people and every resistance fighter in Lebanon.
Al-Manar: Thank you.
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DAMASCUS, (SANA)-President Bashar al-Assad gave an interview to al-Manar TV broadcasted on Thursday,
Following is the full text of the interview:
Al-Manar: In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Assalamu Alaikum. Bloodshed in Syria continues unabated. This is the only constant over which there is little disagreement between those loyal to the Syrian state and those opposed to it. However, there is no common ground over the other constants and details two years into the current crisis. At the time, a great deal was said about the imminent fall of the regime. Deadlines were set and missed; and all those bets were lost. Today, we are here in the heart of Damascus, enjoying the hospitality of a president who has become a source of consternation to many of his opponents who are still unable to understand the equations that have played havoc with their calculations and prevented his ouster from the Syrian political scene. This unpleasant and unexpected outcome for his opponents upset their schemes and plots because they didn’t take into account one self-evident question: what happens if the regime doesn’t fall? What if President Assad doesn’t leave the Syrian scene? Of course, there are no clear answers; and the result is more destruction, killing and bloodshed. Today there is talk of a critical juncture for Syria. The Syrian Army has moved from defense to attack, achieving one success after another. On a parallel level, stagnant diplomatic waters have been shaken by discussions over a Geneva 2 conference becoming a recurrent theme in the statements of all parties. There are many questions which need answers: political settlement, resorting to the military option to decide the outcome, the Israeli enemy’s direct interference with the course of events in the current crisis, the new equations on the Golan Heights, the relationship with opponents and friends. What is the Syrian leadership’s plan for a way out of a complex and dangerous crisis whose ramifications have started to spill over into neighboring countries? It is our great pleasure tonight to put these questions to H. E. President Bashar al-Assad. Assalamu Alaikum, Mr. President.
President Assad: Assalamu Alaikum. You are most welcome in Damascus.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, we are in the heart of the People’s Palace, two and a half years into the Syrian crisis. At the time, the bet was that the president and his regime would be overthrown within weeks. How have you managed to foil the plots of your opponents and enemies? What is the secret behind this steadfastness?
President Assad: There are a number of factors are involved. One is the Syrian factor, which thwarted their intentions; the other factor is related to those who masterminded these scenarios and ended up defeating themselves because they do not know Syria or understand in detail the situation. They started with the calls of revolution, but a real revolution requires tangible elements; you cannot create a revolution simply by paying money. When this approach failed, they shifted to using sectarian slogans in order to create a division within our society. Even though they were able to infiltrate certain pockets in Syrian society, pockets of ignorance and lack of awareness that exist in any society, they were not able to create this sectarian division. Had they succeeded, Syria would have been divided up from the beginning. They also fell into their own trap by trying to promote the notion that this was a struggle to maintain power rather than a struggle for national sovereignty. No one would fight and martyr themselves in order to secure power for anyone else.
Al-Manar: In the battle for the homeland, it seems that the Syrian leadership, and after two and a half years, is making progress on the battlefield. And here if I might ask you, why have you chosen to move from defense to attack? And don’t you think that you have been late in taking the decision to go on the offensive, and consequently incurred heavy losses, if we take of Al-Qseir as an example.
President Assad: It is not a question of defense or attack. Every battle has its own tactics. From the beginning, we did not deal with each situation from a military perspective alone. We also factored in the social and political aspects as well - many Syrians were misled in the beginning and there were many friendly countries that didn’t understand the domestic dynamics. Your actions will differ according to how much consensus there is over a particular issue. There is no doubt that as events have unfolded Syrians have been able to better understand the situation and what is really at stake. This has helped the Armed Forces to better carry out their duties and achieve results. So, what is happening now is not a shift in tactic from defense to attack, but rather a shift in the balance of power in favor of the Armed Forces.
Al-Manar: How has this balance been tipped, Mr. President? Syria is being criticized for asking for the assistance of foreign fighters, and to be fully candid, it is said that Hezbollah fighters are extending assistance. In a previous interview, you said that there are 23 million Syrians; we do not need help from anyone else. What is Hezbollah doing in Syria?
President Assad: The main reason for tipping the balance is the change in people’s opinion in areas that used to incubate armed groups, not necessarily due to lack of patriotism on their part, but because they were deceived. They were led to believe that there was a revolution against the failings of the state. This has changed; many individuals have left these terrorist groups and have returned to their normal lives. As to what is being said about Hezbollah and the participation of foreign fighters alongside the Syrian Army, this is a hugely important issue and has several factors. Each of these factors should be clearly understood. Hezbollah, the battle at Al-Qseir and the recent Israeli airstrike – these three factors cannot be looked at in isolation of the other, they are all a part of the same issue. Let’s be frank. In recent weeks, and particularly after Mr. Hasan Nasrallah’s speech, Arab and foreign media have said that Hezbollah fighters are fighting in Syria and defending the Syrian state, or to use their words “the regime.” Logically speaking, if Hezbollah or the resistance wanted to defend Syria by sending fighters, how many could they send - a few hundred, a thousand or two? We are talking about a battle in which hundreds of thousands of Syrian troops are involved against tens of thousands of terrorists, if not more because of the constant flow of fighters from neighboring and foreign countries that support those terrorists. So clearly, the number of fighters Hezbollah might contribute in order to defend the Syrian state in its battle, would be a drop in the ocean compared to the number of Syrian soldiers fighting the terrorists. When also taking into account the vast expanse of Syria, these numbers will neither protect a state nor ‘regime.’ This is from one perspective. From another, if they say they are defending the state, why now? Battles started after Ramadan in 2011 and escalated into 2012, the summer of 2012 to be precise. They started the battle to “liberate Damascus” and set a zero hour for the first time, the second time and a third time; the four generals were assassinated, a number of individuals fled Syria, and many people believed that was the time the state would collapse. It didn’t. Nevertheless, during all of these times, Hezbollah never intervened, so why would it intervene now? More importantly, why haven’t we seen Hezbollah fighting in Damascus and Aleppo? The more significant battles are in Damascus and in Aleppo, not in Al-Qseir. Al-Qseir is a small town in Homs, why haven’t we seen Hezbollah in the city of Homs? Clearly, all these assumptions are inaccurate. They say Al-Qseir is a strategic border town, but all the borders are strategic for the terrorists in order to smuggle in their fighters and weapons. So, all these propositions have nothing to do with Hezbollah. If we take into account the moans and groans of the Arab media, the statements made by Arab and foreign officials – even Ban Ki-moon expressed concern over Hezbollah in Al-Qseir – all of this is for the objective of suppressing and stifling the resistance. It has nothing to do with defending the Syrian state. The Syrian army has made significant achievements in Damascus, Aleppo, rural Damascus and many other areas; however, we haven’t heard the same moaning as we have heard in Al-Qseir.
Al-Manar: But, Mr. President, the nature of the battle that you and Hezbollah are waging in Al-Qseir seems, to your critics, to take the shape of a safe corridor connecting the coastal region with Damascus. Consequently, if Syria were to be divided, or if geographical changes were to be enforced, this would pave the way for an Alawite state. So, what is the nature of this battle, and how is it connected with the conflict with Israel.
President Assad: First, the Syrian and Lebanese coastal areas are not connected through Al-Qseir. Geographically this is not possible. Second, nobody would fight a battle in order to move towards separation. If you opt for separation, you move towards that objective without waging battles all over the country in order to be pushed into a particular corner. The nature of the battle does not indicate that we are heading for division, but rather the opposite, we are ensuring we remain a united country. Our forefathers rejected the idea of division when the French proposed this during their occupation of Syria because at the time they were very aware of its consequences. Is it possible or even fathomable that generations later, we their children, are less aware or mindful? Once again, the battle in Al-Qseir and all the bemoaning is related to Israel. The timing of the battle in Al-Qseir was synchronized with the Israeli airstrike. Their objective is to stifle the resistance. This is the same old campaign taking on a different form. Now what’s important is not al-Qseir as a town, but the borders; they want to stifle the resistance from land and from the sea. Here the question begs itself - some have said that the resistance should face the enemy and consequently remain in the south. This was said on May 7, 2008, when some of Israel’s agents in Lebanon tried to tamper with the communications system of the resistance; they claimed that the resistance turned its weapons inwards. They said the same thing about the Syrian Army; that the Syrian Army should fight on the borders with Israel. We have said very clearly that our Army will fight the enemy wherever it is. When the enemy is in the north, we move north; the same applies if the enemy comes from the east or the west. This is also the case for Hezbollah. So the question is why is Hezbollah deployed on the borders inside Lebanon or inside Syria? The answer is that our battle is a battle against the Israeli enemy and its proxies inside Syria or inside Lebanon.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, if I might ask about Israel’s involvement in the Syrian crisis through the recent airstrike against Damascus. Israel immediately attached certain messages to this airstrike by saying it doesn’t want escalation or doesn’t intend to interfere in the Syrian crisis. The question is: what does Israel want and what type of interference?
President Assad: This is exactly my point. Everything that is happening at the moment is aimed, first and foremost, at stifling the resistance. Israel’s support of the terrorists was for two purposes. The first is to stifle the resistance; the second is to strike the Syrian air defense systems. It is not interested in anything else.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, since Israel’s objectives are clear, the Syrian state was criticized for its muted response. Everyone was expecting a Syrian response, and the Syrian government stated that it reserves the right to respond at the appropriate time and place. Why didn’t the response come immediately? And is it enough for a senior source to say that missiles have been directed at the Israeli enemy and that any attack will be retaliated immediately without resorting to Army command?
President Assad: We have informed all the Arab and foreign parties - mostly foreign - that contacted us, that we will respond the next time. Of course, there has been more than one response. There have been several Israeli attempted violations to which there was immediate retaliation. But these short-term responses have no real value; they are only of a political nature. If we want to respond to Israel, the response will be of strategic significance.
Al-Manar: How? By opening the Golan front, for instance?
President Assad: This depends on public opinion, whether there is a consensus in support of the resistance or not. That’s the question. Al-Manar: How is the situation in Syria now?
President Assad: In fact, there is clear popular pressure to open the Golan front to resistance. This enthusiasm is also on the Arab level; we have received many Arab delegations wanting to know how young people might be enrolled to come and fight Israel. Of course, resistance is not easy. It is not merely a question of opening the front geographically. It is a political, ideological, and social issue, with the net result being military action.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, if we take into account the incident on the Golan Heights and Syria’s retaliation on the Israeli military vehicle that crossed the combat line, does this mean that the rules of engagement have changed? And if the rules of the game have changed, what is the new equation, so to speak?
President Assad: Real change in the rules of engagement happens when there is a popular condition pushing for resistance. Any other change is short-term, unless we are heading towards war. Any response of any kind might only appear to be a change to the rules of engagement, but I don’t think it really is. The real change is when the people move towards resistance; this is the really dramatic change.
Al-Manar: Don’t you think that this is a little late? After 40 years of quiet and a state of truce on the Golan Heights, now there is talk of a movement on that front, about new equations and about new rules of the game?
President Assad: They always talk about Syria opening the front or closing the front. A state does not create resistance. Resistance can only be called so, when it is popular and spontaneous, it cannot be created. The state can either support or oppose the resistance, - or create obstacles, as is the case with some Arab countries. I believe that a state that opposes the will of its people for resistance is reckless. The issue is not that Syria has decided, after 40 years, to move in this direction. The public’s state of mind is that our National Army is carrying out its duties to protect and liberate our land. Had there not been an army, as was the situation in Lebanon when the army and the state were divided during the civil war, there would have been resistance a long time ago. Today, in the current circumstances, there are a number of factors pushing in that direction. First, there are repeated Israeli aggressions that constitute a major factor in creating this desire and required incentive. Second, the army’s engagement in battles in more than one place throughout Syria has created a sentiment on the part of many civilians that it is their duty to move in this direction in order to support the Armed Forces on the Golan.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would not hesitate to attack Syria if it detected that weapons are being conveyed to Hezbollah in Lebanon. If Israel carried out its threats, I want a direct answer from you: what would Syria do?
President Assad: As I have said, we have informed the relevant states that we will respond in kind. Of course, it is difficult to specify the military means that would be used, that is for our military command to decide. We plan for different scenarios, depending on the circumstances and the timing of the strike that would determine which method or weapons.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, after the airstrike that targeted Damascus, there was talk about the S300 missiles and that this missile system will tip the balance. Based on this argument, Netanyahu visited Moscow. My direct question is this: are these missiles on their way to Damascus? Is Syria now in possession of these missiles?
President Assad: It is not our policy to talk publically about military issues in terms of what we possess or what we receive. As far as Russia is concerned, the contracts have nothing to do with the crisis. We have negotiated with them on different kinds of weapons for years, and Russia is committed to honoring these contracts. What I want to say is that neither Netanyahu’s visit nor the crisis and the conditions surrounding it have influenced arms imports. All of our agreements with Russia will be implemented, some have been implemented during the past period and, together with the Russians, we will continue to implement these contracts in the future.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, we have talked about the steadfastness of the Syrian leadership and the Syrian state. We have discussed the progress being achieved on the battlefield, and strengthening the alliance between Syria and the resistance. These are all within the same front. From another perspective, there is diplomatic activity stirring waters that have been stagnant for two and a half years. Before we talk about this and about the Geneva conference and the red lines that Syria has drawn, there was a simple proposition or a simple solution suggested by the former head of the coalition, Muaz al-Khatib. He said that the president, together with 500 other dignitaries would be allowed to leave the country within 20 days, and the crisis would be over. Why don’t you meet this request and put an end to the crisis?
President Assad: I have always talked about the basic principle: that the Syrian people alone have the right to decide whether the president should remain or leave. So, anybody speaking on this subject should state which part of the Syrian people they represent and who granted them the authority to speak on their behalf. As for this initiative, I haven’t actually read it, but I was very happy that they allowed me 20 days and 500 people! I don’t know who proposed the initiative; I don’t care much about names.
Al-Manar: He actually said that you would be given 20 days, 500 people, and no guarantees. You’ll be allowed to leave but with no guarantee whatsoever on whether legal action would be taken against you or not. Mr. President, this brings us to the negotiations, I am referring to Geneva 2. The Syrian government and leadership have announced initial agreement to take part in this conference. If this conference is held, there will be a table with the Syrian flag on one side and the flag of the opposition groups on the other. How can you convince the Syrian people after two and a half years of crisis that you will sit face to face at the same negotiating table with these groups?
President Assad: First of all, regarding the flag, it is meaningless without the people it represents. When we put a flag on a table or anywhere else, we talk about the people represented by that flag. This question can be put to those who raise flags they call Syrian but are different from the official Syrian flag. So, this flag has no value when it does not represent the people. Secondly, we will attend this conference as the official delegation and legitimate representatives of the Syrian people. But, whom do they represent? When the conference is over, we return to Syria, we return home to our people. But when the conference is over, whom do they return to - five-star hotels? Or to the foreign ministries of the states that they represent – which doesn’t include Syria of course - in order to submit their reports? Or do they return to the intelligence services of those countries? So, when we attend this conference, we should know very clearly the positions of some of those sitting at the table - and I say some because the conference format is not clear yet and as such we do not have details as to how the patriotic Syrian opposition will be considered or the other opposition parties in Syria. As for the opposition groups abroad and their flag, we know that we are attending the conference not to negotiate with them, but rather with the states that back them; it will appear as though we are negotiating with the slaves, but essentially we are negotiating with their masters. This is the truth, we shouldn’t deceive ourselves.
Al-Manar: Are you, in the Syrian leadership, convinced that these negotiations will be held next month?
President Assad: We expect them to happen, unless they are obstructed by other states. As far as we are concerned in Syria, we have announced a couple of days ago that we agree in principle to attend.
Al-Manar: When you say in principle, it seems that you are considering other options.
President Assad: In principle, we are in favour of the conference as a notion, but there are no details yet. For example, will there be conditions placed before the conference? If so, these conditions may be unacceptable and we would not attend. So the idea of the conference, of a meeting, in principle is a good one. We will have to wait and see.
Al-Manar: Let’s talk, Mr. President, about the conditions put by the Syrian leadership. What are Syria’s conditions?
President Assad: Simply put, our only condition is that anything agreed upon in any meeting inside or outside the country, including the conference, is subject to the approval of the Syrian people through a popular referendum. This is the only condition. Anything else doesn’t have any value. That is why we are comfortable with going to the conference. We have no complexes. Either side can propose anything, but nothing can be implemented without the approval of the Syrian people. And as long as we are the legitimate representatives of the people, we have nothing to fear.
Al-Manar: Let’s be clear, Mr. President. There is a lot of ambiguity in Geneva 1 and Geneva 2 about the transitional period and the role of President Bashar al-Assad in that transitional period. Are you prepared to hand over all your authorities to this transitional government? And how do you understand this ambiguous term?
President Assad: This is what I made clear in the initiative I proposed in January this year. They say they want a transitional government in which the president has no role. In Syria we have a presidential system, where the President is head of the republic and the Prime Minister heads the government. They want a government with broad authorities. The Syrian constitution gives the government full authorities. The president is the commander-in-chief of the Army and Armed Forces and the head of the Supreme Judicial Council. All the other institutions report directly to the government. Changing the authorities of the president is subject to changing the constitution; the president cannot just relinquish his authorities, he doesn\\\'t have the constitutional right. Changing the constitution requires a popular referendum. When they want to propose such issues, they might be discussed in the conference, and when we agree on something - if we agree, we return home and put it to a popular referendum and then move on. But for them to ask for the amendment of the constitution in advance, this cannot be done neither by the president nor by the government.
Al-Manar: Frankly, Mr. President, all the international positions taken against you and all your political opponents said that they don’t want a role for al-Assad in Syria’s future. This is what the Saudi foreign minister Saud al-Faisal said and this is what the Turks and the Qataris said, and also the Syrian opposition. Will President Assad be nominated for the forthcoming presidential elections in 2014?
President Assad: What I know is that Saud al-Faisal is a specialist in American affairs, I don’t know if he knows anything about Syrian affairs. If he wants to learn, that’s fine! As to the desires of others, I repeat what I have said earlier: the only desires relevant are those of the Syrian people. With regards to the nomination, some parties have said that it is preferable that the president shouldn’t be nominated for the 2014 elections. This issue will be determined closer to the time; it is still too early to discuss this. When the time comes, and I feel, through my meetings and interactions with the Syrian people, that there is a need and public desire for me to nominate myself, I will not hesitate. However, if I feel that the Syrian people do not want me to lead them, then naturally I will not put myself forward. They are wasting their time on such talk.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, you mentioned the Saudi foreign minister Saud al-Faisal. This makes me ask about Syria’s relationship with Saudi Arabia, with Qatar, with Turkey, particularly if we take into account that their recent position in the Arab ministerial committee was relatively moderate. They did not directly and publically call for the ouster of President Assad. Do you feel any change or any support on the part of these countries for a political solution to the Syrian crisis? And is Syria prepared to deal once more with the Arab League, taking into account that the Syrian government asked for an apology from the Arab League?
President Assad: Concerning the Arab states, we see brief changes in their rhetoric but not in their actions. The countries that support the terrorists have not changed; they are still supporting terrorism to the same extent. Turkey also has not made any positive steps. As for Qatar, their role is also the same, the role of the funder - the bank funding the terrorists and supporting them through Turkey. So, overall, no change. As for the Arab League, in Syria we have never pinned our hopes on the Arab League. Even in the past decades, we were barely able to dismantle the mines set for us in the different meetings, whether in the summits or in meetings of the foreign ministers. So in light of this and its recent actions, can we really expect it to play a role? We are open to everybody, we never close our doors. But we should also be realistic and face the truth that they are unable to offer anything, particularly since a significant number of the Arab states are not independent. They receive their orders from the outside. Some of them are sympathetic to us in their hearts, but they cannot act on their feelings because they are not in possession of their decisions. So, no, we do not pin any hopes on the Arab League.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, this leads us to ask: if the Arab environment is as such, and taking into account the developments on the ground and the steadfastness, the Geneva conference and the negotiations, the basic question is: what if the political negotiations fail? What are the consequences of the failure of political negotiations?
President Assad: This is quite possible, because there are states that are obstructing the meeting in principle, and they are going only to avoid embarrassment. They are opposed to any dialogue whether inside or outside Syria. Even the Russians, in several statements, have dampened expectations from this conference. But we should also be accurate in defining this dialogue, particularly in relation to what is happening on the ground. Most of the factions engaged in talking about what is happening in Syria have no influence on the ground; they don’t even have direct relationships with the terrorists. In some instances these terrorists are directly linked with the states that are backing them, in other cases, they are mere gangs paid to carry out terrorist activities. So, the failure of the conference will not significantly change the reality inside Syria, because these states will not stop supporting the terrorists - conference or no conference, and the gangs will not stop their subversive activities. So it has no impact on them.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, the events in Syria are spilling over to neighboring countries. We see what’s happening in Iraq, the explosions in Al-Rihaniye in Turkey and also in Lebanon. In Ersal, Tripoli, Hezbollah taking part in the fighting in Al-Qseir. How does Syria approach the situation in Lebanon, and do you think the Lebanese policy of dissociation is still applied or accepted?
President Assad: Let me pose some questions based on the reality in Syria and in Lebanon about the policy of dissociation in order not to be accused of making a value judgment on whether this policy is right or wrong. Let’s start with some simple questions: Has Lebanon been able to prevent Lebanese interference in Syria? Has it been able to prevent the smuggling of terrorists or weapons into Syria or providing a safe haven for them in Lebanon? It hasn’t; in fact, everyone knows that Lebanon has contributed negatively to the Syrian crisis. Most recently, has Lebanon been able to protect itself against the consequences of the Syrian crisis, most markedly in Tripoli and the missiles that have been falling over different areas of Beirut or its surroundings? It hasn’t. So what kind of dissociation are we talking about? For Lebanon to dissociate itself from the crisis is one thing, and for the government to dissociate itself is another. When the government dissociates itself from a certain issue that affects the interests of the Lebanese people, it is in fact dissociating itself from the Lebanese citizens. I’m not criticizing the Lebanese government - I’m talking about general principles. I don’t want it to be said that I’m criticizing this government. If the Syrian government were to dissociate itself from issues that are of concern to the Syrian people, it would also fail. So in response to your question with regards to Lebanon’s policy of dissociation, we don’t believe this is realistically possible. When my neighbor’s house is on fire, I cannot say that it’s none of my business because sooner or later the fire will spread to my house.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, what would you say to the supporters of the axis of resistance? We are celebrating the anniversary of the victory of the resistance and the liberation of south Lebanon, in an atmosphere of promises of victory, which Mr. Hasan Nasrallah has talked about. You are saying with great confidence that you will emerge triumphant from this crisis. What would you say to all this audience? Are we about to reach the end of this dark tunnel?
President Assad: I believe that the greatest victory achieved by the Arab resistance movements in the past years and decades is primarily an intellectual victory. This resistance wouldn’t have been able to succeed militarily if they hadn’t been able to succeed and stand fast against a campaign aimed at distorting concepts and principles in this region. Before the civil war in Lebanon, some people used to say that Lebanon’s strength lies in its weakness; this is similar to saying that a man’s intelligence lies in his stupidity, or that honor is maintained through corruption. This is an illogical contradiction. The victories of the resistance at different junctures proved that this concept is not true, and it showed that Lebanon’s weakness lies in its weakness and Lebanon’s strength lies in its strength. Lebanon’s strength is in its resistance and these resistance fighters you referred to. Today, more than ever before, we are in need of these ideas, of this mindset, of this steadfastness and of these actions carried out by the resistance fighters. The events in the Arab world during the past years have distorted concepts to the extent that some Arabs have forgotten that the real enemy is still Israel and have instead created internal, sectarian, regional or national enemies. Today we pin our hopes on these resistance fighters to remind the Arab people, through their achievements, that our enemy is still the same. As for my confidence in victory, if we weren’t so confident we wouldn’t have been able to stand fast or to continue this battle after two years of a global attack. This is not a tripartite attack like the one in 1956; it is in fact a global war waged against Syria and the resistance. We have absolute confidence in our victory, and I assure them that Syria will always remain, even more so than before, supportive of the resistance and resistance fighters everywhere in the Arab world.
Al-Manar: In conclusion, it has been my great honor to conduct this interview with Your Excellency, President Bashar al-Assad of the Syrian Arab Republic. Thank you very much. President Assad: You are welcome. I would like to congratulate Al-Manar channel, the channel of resistance, on the anniversary of the liberation and to congratulate the Lebanese people and every resistance fighter in Lebanon.
Al-Manar: Thank you.
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[Arabic] لقاء خاص مع الرئيس بشار الأسد - Bashar Asad Interview - 30 May 2013
DAMASCUS, (SANA)-President Bashar al-Assad gave an interview to al-Manar TV broadcasted on Thursday,
Following is the full text of the interview:
Al-Manar: In the name of Allah, the...
DAMASCUS, (SANA)-President Bashar al-Assad gave an interview to al-Manar TV broadcasted on Thursday,
Following is the full text of the interview:
Al-Manar: In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Assalamu Alaikum. Bloodshed in Syria continues unabated. This is the only constant over which there is little disagreement between those loyal to the Syrian state and those opposed to it. However, there is no common ground over the other constants and details two years into the current crisis. At the time, a great deal was said about the imminent fall of the regime. Deadlines were set and missed; and all those bets were lost. Today, we are here in the heart of Damascus, enjoying the hospitality of a president who has become a source of consternation to many of his opponents who are still unable to understand the equations that have played havoc with their calculations and prevented his ouster from the Syrian political scene. This unpleasant and unexpected outcome for his opponents upset their schemes and plots because they didn’t take into account one self-evident question: what happens if the regime doesn’t fall? What if President Assad doesn’t leave the Syrian scene? Of course, there are no clear answers; and the result is more destruction, killing and bloodshed. Today there is talk of a critical juncture for Syria. The Syrian Army has moved from defense to attack, achieving one success after another. On a parallel level, stagnant diplomatic waters have been shaken by discussions over a Geneva 2 conference becoming a recurrent theme in the statements of all parties. There are many questions which need answers: political settlement, resorting to the military option to decide the outcome, the Israeli enemy’s direct interference with the course of events in the current crisis, the new equations on the Golan Heights, the relationship with opponents and friends. What is the Syrian leadership’s plan for a way out of a complex and dangerous crisis whose ramifications have started to spill over into neighboring countries? It is our great pleasure tonight to put these questions to H. E. President Bashar al-Assad. Assalamu Alaikum, Mr. President.
President Assad: Assalamu Alaikum. You are most welcome in Damascus.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, we are in the heart of the People’s Palace, two and a half years into the Syrian crisis. At the time, the bet was that the president and his regime would be overthrown within weeks. How have you managed to foil the plots of your opponents and enemies? What is the secret behind this steadfastness?
President Assad: There are a number of factors are involved. One is the Syrian factor, which thwarted their intentions; the other factor is related to those who masterminded these scenarios and ended up defeating themselves because they do not know Syria or understand in detail the situation. They started with the calls of revolution, but a real revolution requires tangible elements; you cannot create a revolution simply by paying money. When this approach failed, they shifted to using sectarian slogans in order to create a division within our society. Even though they were able to infiltrate certain pockets in Syrian society, pockets of ignorance and lack of awareness that exist in any society, they were not able to create this sectarian division. Had they succeeded, Syria would have been divided up from the beginning. They also fell into their own trap by trying to promote the notion that this was a struggle to maintain power rather than a struggle for national sovereignty. No one would fight and martyr themselves in order to secure power for anyone else.
Al-Manar: In the battle for the homeland, it seems that the Syrian leadership, and after two and a half years, is making progress on the battlefield. And here if I might ask you, why have you chosen to move from defense to attack? And don’t you think that you have been late in taking the decision to go on the offensive, and consequently incurred heavy losses, if we take of Al-Qseir as an example.
President Assad: It is not a question of defense or attack. Every battle has its own tactics. From the beginning, we did not deal with each situation from a military perspective alone. We also factored in the social and political aspects as well - many Syrians were misled in the beginning and there were many friendly countries that didn’t understand the domestic dynamics. Your actions will differ according to how much consensus there is over a particular issue. There is no doubt that as events have unfolded Syrians have been able to better understand the situation and what is really at stake. This has helped the Armed Forces to better carry out their duties and achieve results. So, what is happening now is not a shift in tactic from defense to attack, but rather a shift in the balance of power in favor of the Armed Forces.
Al-Manar: How has this balance been tipped, Mr. President? Syria is being criticized for asking for the assistance of foreign fighters, and to be fully candid, it is said that Hezbollah fighters are extending assistance. In a previous interview, you said that there are 23 million Syrians; we do not need help from anyone else. What is Hezbollah doing in Syria?
President Assad: The main reason for tipping the balance is the change in people’s opinion in areas that used to incubate armed groups, not necessarily due to lack of patriotism on their part, but because they were deceived. They were led to believe that there was a revolution against the failings of the state. This has changed; many individuals have left these terrorist groups and have returned to their normal lives. As to what is being said about Hezbollah and the participation of foreign fighters alongside the Syrian Army, this is a hugely important issue and has several factors. Each of these factors should be clearly understood. Hezbollah, the battle at Al-Qseir and the recent Israeli airstrike – these three factors cannot be looked at in isolation of the other, they are all a part of the same issue. Let’s be frank. In recent weeks, and particularly after Mr. Hasan Nasrallah’s speech, Arab and foreign media have said that Hezbollah fighters are fighting in Syria and defending the Syrian state, or to use their words “the regime.” Logically speaking, if Hezbollah or the resistance wanted to defend Syria by sending fighters, how many could they send - a few hundred, a thousand or two? We are talking about a battle in which hundreds of thousands of Syrian troops are involved against tens of thousands of terrorists, if not more because of the constant flow of fighters from neighboring and foreign countries that support those terrorists. So clearly, the number of fighters Hezbollah might contribute in order to defend the Syrian state in its battle, would be a drop in the ocean compared to the number of Syrian soldiers fighting the terrorists. When also taking into account the vast expanse of Syria, these numbers will neither protect a state nor ‘regime.’ This is from one perspective. From another, if they say they are defending the state, why now? Battles started after Ramadan in 2011 and escalated into 2012, the summer of 2012 to be precise. They started the battle to “liberate Damascus” and set a zero hour for the first time, the second time and a third time; the four generals were assassinated, a number of individuals fled Syria, and many people believed that was the time the state would collapse. It didn’t. Nevertheless, during all of these times, Hezbollah never intervened, so why would it intervene now? More importantly, why haven’t we seen Hezbollah fighting in Damascus and Aleppo? The more significant battles are in Damascus and in Aleppo, not in Al-Qseir. Al-Qseir is a small town in Homs, why haven’t we seen Hezbollah in the city of Homs? Clearly, all these assumptions are inaccurate. They say Al-Qseir is a strategic border town, but all the borders are strategic for the terrorists in order to smuggle in their fighters and weapons. So, all these propositions have nothing to do with Hezbollah. If we take into account the moans and groans of the Arab media, the statements made by Arab and foreign officials – even Ban Ki-moon expressed concern over Hezbollah in Al-Qseir – all of this is for the objective of suppressing and stifling the resistance. It has nothing to do with defending the Syrian state. The Syrian army has made significant achievements in Damascus, Aleppo, rural Damascus and many other areas; however, we haven’t heard the same moaning as we have heard in Al-Qseir.
Al-Manar: But, Mr. President, the nature of the battle that you and Hezbollah are waging in Al-Qseir seems, to your critics, to take the shape of a safe corridor connecting the coastal region with Damascus. Consequently, if Syria were to be divided, or if geographical changes were to be enforced, this would pave the way for an Alawite state. So, what is the nature of this battle, and how is it connected with the conflict with Israel.
President Assad: First, the Syrian and Lebanese coastal areas are not connected through Al-Qseir. Geographically this is not possible. Second, nobody would fight a battle in order to move towards separation. If you opt for separation, you move towards that objective without waging battles all over the country in order to be pushed into a particular corner. The nature of the battle does not indicate that we are heading for division, but rather the opposite, we are ensuring we remain a united country. Our forefathers rejected the idea of division when the French proposed this during their occupation of Syria because at the time they were very aware of its consequences. Is it possible or even fathomable that generations later, we their children, are less aware or mindful? Once again, the battle in Al-Qseir and all the bemoaning is related to Israel. The timing of the battle in Al-Qseir was synchronized with the Israeli airstrike. Their objective is to stifle the resistance. This is the same old campaign taking on a different form. Now what’s important is not al-Qseir as a town, but the borders; they want to stifle the resistance from land and from the sea. Here the question begs itself - some have said that the resistance should face the enemy and consequently remain in the south. This was said on May 7, 2008, when some of Israel’s agents in Lebanon tried to tamper with the communications system of the resistance; they claimed that the resistance turned its weapons inwards. They said the same thing about the Syrian Army; that the Syrian Army should fight on the borders with Israel. We have said very clearly that our Army will fight the enemy wherever it is. When the enemy is in the north, we move north; the same applies if the enemy comes from the east or the west. This is also the case for Hezbollah. So the question is why is Hezbollah deployed on the borders inside Lebanon or inside Syria? The answer is that our battle is a battle against the Israeli enemy and its proxies inside Syria or inside Lebanon.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, if I might ask about Israel’s involvement in the Syrian crisis through the recent airstrike against Damascus. Israel immediately attached certain messages to this airstrike by saying it doesn’t want escalation or doesn’t intend to interfere in the Syrian crisis. The question is: what does Israel want and what type of interference?
President Assad: This is exactly my point. Everything that is happening at the moment is aimed, first and foremost, at stifling the resistance. Israel’s support of the terrorists was for two purposes. The first is to stifle the resistance; the second is to strike the Syrian air defense systems. It is not interested in anything else.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, since Israel’s objectives are clear, the Syrian state was criticized for its muted response. Everyone was expecting a Syrian response, and the Syrian government stated that it reserves the right to respond at the appropriate time and place. Why didn’t the response come immediately? And is it enough for a senior source to say that missiles have been directed at the Israeli enemy and that any attack will be retaliated immediately without resorting to Army command?
President Assad: We have informed all the Arab and foreign parties - mostly foreign - that contacted us, that we will respond the next time. Of course, there has been more than one response. There have been several Israeli attempted violations to which there was immediate retaliation. But these short-term responses have no real value; they are only of a political nature. If we want to respond to Israel, the response will be of strategic significance.
Al-Manar: How? By opening the Golan front, for instance?
President Assad: This depends on public opinion, whether there is a consensus in support of the resistance or not. That’s the question. Al-Manar: How is the situation in Syria now?
President Assad: In fact, there is clear popular pressure to open the Golan front to resistance. This enthusiasm is also on the Arab level; we have received many Arab delegations wanting to know how young people might be enrolled to come and fight Israel. Of course, resistance is not easy. It is not merely a question of opening the front geographically. It is a political, ideological, and social issue, with the net result being military action.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, if we take into account the incident on the Golan Heights and Syria’s retaliation on the Israeli military vehicle that crossed the combat line, does this mean that the rules of engagement have changed? And if the rules of the game have changed, what is the new equation, so to speak?
President Assad: Real change in the rules of engagement happens when there is a popular condition pushing for resistance. Any other change is short-term, unless we are heading towards war. Any response of any kind might only appear to be a change to the rules of engagement, but I don’t think it really is. The real change is when the people move towards resistance; this is the really dramatic change.
Al-Manar: Don’t you think that this is a little late? After 40 years of quiet and a state of truce on the Golan Heights, now there is talk of a movement on that front, about new equations and about new rules of the game?
President Assad: They always talk about Syria opening the front or closing the front. A state does not create resistance. Resistance can only be called so, when it is popular and spontaneous, it cannot be created. The state can either support or oppose the resistance, - or create obstacles, as is the case with some Arab countries. I believe that a state that opposes the will of its people for resistance is reckless. The issue is not that Syria has decided, after 40 years, to move in this direction. The public’s state of mind is that our National Army is carrying out its duties to protect and liberate our land. Had there not been an army, as was the situation in Lebanon when the army and the state were divided during the civil war, there would have been resistance a long time ago. Today, in the current circumstances, there are a number of factors pushing in that direction. First, there are repeated Israeli aggressions that constitute a major factor in creating this desire and required incentive. Second, the army’s engagement in battles in more than one place throughout Syria has created a sentiment on the part of many civilians that it is their duty to move in this direction in order to support the Armed Forces on the Golan.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would not hesitate to attack Syria if it detected that weapons are being conveyed to Hezbollah in Lebanon. If Israel carried out its threats, I want a direct answer from you: what would Syria do?
President Assad: As I have said, we have informed the relevant states that we will respond in kind. Of course, it is difficult to specify the military means that would be used, that is for our military command to decide. We plan for different scenarios, depending on the circumstances and the timing of the strike that would determine which method or weapons.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, after the airstrike that targeted Damascus, there was talk about the S300 missiles and that this missile system will tip the balance. Based on this argument, Netanyahu visited Moscow. My direct question is this: are these missiles on their way to Damascus? Is Syria now in possession of these missiles?
President Assad: It is not our policy to talk publically about military issues in terms of what we possess or what we receive. As far as Russia is concerned, the contracts have nothing to do with the crisis. We have negotiated with them on different kinds of weapons for years, and Russia is committed to honoring these contracts. What I want to say is that neither Netanyahu’s visit nor the crisis and the conditions surrounding it have influenced arms imports. All of our agreements with Russia will be implemented, some have been implemented during the past period and, together with the Russians, we will continue to implement these contracts in the future.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, we have talked about the steadfastness of the Syrian leadership and the Syrian state. We have discussed the progress being achieved on the battlefield, and strengthening the alliance between Syria and the resistance. These are all within the same front. From another perspective, there is diplomatic activity stirring waters that have been stagnant for two and a half years. Before we talk about this and about the Geneva conference and the red lines that Syria has drawn, there was a simple proposition or a simple solution suggested by the former head of the coalition, Muaz al-Khatib. He said that the president, together with 500 other dignitaries would be allowed to leave the country within 20 days, and the crisis would be over. Why don’t you meet this request and put an end to the crisis?
President Assad: I have always talked about the basic principle: that the Syrian people alone have the right to decide whether the president should remain or leave. So, anybody speaking on this subject should state which part of the Syrian people they represent and who granted them the authority to speak on their behalf. As for this initiative, I haven’t actually read it, but I was very happy that they allowed me 20 days and 500 people! I don’t know who proposed the initiative; I don’t care much about names.
Al-Manar: He actually said that you would be given 20 days, 500 people, and no guarantees. You’ll be allowed to leave but with no guarantee whatsoever on whether legal action would be taken against you or not. Mr. President, this brings us to the negotiations, I am referring to Geneva 2. The Syrian government and leadership have announced initial agreement to take part in this conference. If this conference is held, there will be a table with the Syrian flag on one side and the flag of the opposition groups on the other. How can you convince the Syrian people after two and a half years of crisis that you will sit face to face at the same negotiating table with these groups?
President Assad: First of all, regarding the flag, it is meaningless without the people it represents. When we put a flag on a table or anywhere else, we talk about the people represented by that flag. This question can be put to those who raise flags they call Syrian but are different from the official Syrian flag. So, this flag has no value when it does not represent the people. Secondly, we will attend this conference as the official delegation and legitimate representatives of the Syrian people. But, whom do they represent? When the conference is over, we return to Syria, we return home to our people. But when the conference is over, whom do they return to - five-star hotels? Or to the foreign ministries of the states that they represent – which doesn’t include Syria of course - in order to submit their reports? Or do they return to the intelligence services of those countries? So, when we attend this conference, we should know very clearly the positions of some of those sitting at the table - and I say some because the conference format is not clear yet and as such we do not have details as to how the patriotic Syrian opposition will be considered or the other opposition parties in Syria. As for the opposition groups abroad and their flag, we know that we are attending the conference not to negotiate with them, but rather with the states that back them; it will appear as though we are negotiating with the slaves, but essentially we are negotiating with their masters. This is the truth, we shouldn’t deceive ourselves.
Al-Manar: Are you, in the Syrian leadership, convinced that these negotiations will be held next month?
President Assad: We expect them to happen, unless they are obstructed by other states. As far as we are concerned in Syria, we have announced a couple of days ago that we agree in principle to attend.
Al-Manar: When you say in principle, it seems that you are considering other options.
President Assad: In principle, we are in favour of the conference as a notion, but there are no details yet. For example, will there be conditions placed before the conference? If so, these conditions may be unacceptable and we would not attend. So the idea of the conference, of a meeting, in principle is a good one. We will have to wait and see.
Al-Manar: Let’s talk, Mr. President, about the conditions put by the Syrian leadership. What are Syria’s conditions?
President Assad: Simply put, our only condition is that anything agreed upon in any meeting inside or outside the country, including the conference, is subject to the approval of the Syrian people through a popular referendum. This is the only condition. Anything else doesn’t have any value. That is why we are comfortable with going to the conference. We have no complexes. Either side can propose anything, but nothing can be implemented without the approval of the Syrian people. And as long as we are the legitimate representatives of the people, we have nothing to fear.
Al-Manar: Let’s be clear, Mr. President. There is a lot of ambiguity in Geneva 1 and Geneva 2 about the transitional period and the role of President Bashar al-Assad in that transitional period. Are you prepared to hand over all your authorities to this transitional government? And how do you understand this ambiguous term?
President Assad: This is what I made clear in the initiative I proposed in January this year. They say they want a transitional government in which the president has no role. In Syria we have a presidential system, where the President is head of the republic and the Prime Minister heads the government. They want a government with broad authorities. The Syrian constitution gives the government full authorities. The president is the commander-in-chief of the Army and Armed Forces and the head of the Supreme Judicial Council. All the other institutions report directly to the government. Changing the authorities of the president is subject to changing the constitution; the president cannot just relinquish his authorities, he doesn\'t have the constitutional right. Changing the constitution requires a popular referendum. When they want to propose such issues, they might be discussed in the conference, and when we agree on something - if we agree, we return home and put it to a popular referendum and then move on. But for them to ask for the amendment of the constitution in advance, this cannot be done neither by the president nor by the government.
Al-Manar: Frankly, Mr. President, all the international positions taken against you and all your political opponents said that they don’t want a role for al-Assad in Syria’s future. This is what the Saudi foreign minister Saud al-Faisal said and this is what the Turks and the Qataris said, and also the Syrian opposition. Will President Assad be nominated for the forthcoming presidential elections in 2014?
President Assad: What I know is that Saud al-Faisal is a specialist in American affairs, I don’t know if he knows anything about Syrian affairs. If he wants to learn, that’s fine! As to the desires of others, I repeat what I have said earlier: the only desires relevant are those of the Syrian people. With regards to the nomination, some parties have said that it is preferable that the president shouldn’t be nominated for the 2014 elections. This issue will be determined closer to the time; it is still too early to discuss this. When the time comes, and I feel, through my meetings and interactions with the Syrian people, that there is a need and public desire for me to nominate myself, I will not hesitate. However, if I feel that the Syrian people do not want me to lead them, then naturally I will not put myself forward. They are wasting their time on such talk.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, you mentioned the Saudi foreign minister Saud al-Faisal. This makes me ask about Syria’s relationship with Saudi Arabia, with Qatar, with Turkey, particularly if we take into account that their recent position in the Arab ministerial committee was relatively moderate. They did not directly and publically call for the ouster of President Assad. Do you feel any change or any support on the part of these countries for a political solution to the Syrian crisis? And is Syria prepared to deal once more with the Arab League, taking into account that the Syrian government asked for an apology from the Arab League?
President Assad: Concerning the Arab states, we see brief changes in their rhetoric but not in their actions. The countries that support the terrorists have not changed; they are still supporting terrorism to the same extent. Turkey also has not made any positive steps. As for Qatar, their role is also the same, the role of the funder - the bank funding the terrorists and supporting them through Turkey. So, overall, no change. As for the Arab League, in Syria we have never pinned our hopes on the Arab League. Even in the past decades, we were barely able to dismantle the mines set for us in the different meetings, whether in the summits or in meetings of the foreign ministers. So in light of this and its recent actions, can we really expect it to play a role? We are open to everybody, we never close our doors. But we should also be realistic and face the truth that they are unable to offer anything, particularly since a significant number of the Arab states are not independent. They receive their orders from the outside. Some of them are sympathetic to us in their hearts, but they cannot act on their feelings because they are not in possession of their decisions. So, no, we do not pin any hopes on the Arab League.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, this leads us to ask: if the Arab environment is as such, and taking into account the developments on the ground and the steadfastness, the Geneva conference and the negotiations, the basic question is: what if the political negotiations fail? What are the consequences of the failure of political negotiations?
President Assad: This is quite possible, because there are states that are obstructing the meeting in principle, and they are going only to avoid embarrassment. They are opposed to any dialogue whether inside or outside Syria. Even the Russians, in several statements, have dampened expectations from this conference. But we should also be accurate in defining this dialogue, particularly in relation to what is happening on the ground. Most of the factions engaged in talking about what is happening in Syria have no influence on the ground; they don’t even have direct relationships with the terrorists. In some instances these terrorists are directly linked with the states that are backing them, in other cases, they are mere gangs paid to carry out terrorist activities. So, the failure of the conference will not significantly change the reality inside Syria, because these states will not stop supporting the terrorists - conference or no conference, and the gangs will not stop their subversive activities. So it has no impact on them.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, the events in Syria are spilling over to neighboring countries. We see what’s happening in Iraq, the explosions in Al-Rihaniye in Turkey and also in Lebanon. In Ersal, Tripoli, Hezbollah taking part in the fighting in Al-Qseir. How does Syria approach the situation in Lebanon, and do you think the Lebanese policy of dissociation is still applied or accepted?
President Assad: Let me pose some questions based on the reality in Syria and in Lebanon about the policy of dissociation in order not to be accused of making a value judgment on whether this policy is right or wrong. Let’s start with some simple questions: Has Lebanon been able to prevent Lebanese interference in Syria? Has it been able to prevent the smuggling of terrorists or weapons into Syria or providing a safe haven for them in Lebanon? It hasn’t; in fact, everyone knows that Lebanon has contributed negatively to the Syrian crisis. Most recently, has Lebanon been able to protect itself against the consequences of the Syrian crisis, most markedly in Tripoli and the missiles that have been falling over different areas of Beirut or its surroundings? It hasn’t. So what kind of dissociation are we talking about? For Lebanon to dissociate itself from the crisis is one thing, and for the government to dissociate itself is another. When the government dissociates itself from a certain issue that affects the interests of the Lebanese people, it is in fact dissociating itself from the Lebanese citizens. I’m not criticizing the Lebanese government - I’m talking about general principles. I don’t want it to be said that I’m criticizing this government. If the Syrian government were to dissociate itself from issues that are of concern to the Syrian people, it would also fail. So in response to your question with regards to Lebanon’s policy of dissociation, we don’t believe this is realistically possible. When my neighbor’s house is on fire, I cannot say that it’s none of my business because sooner or later the fire will spread to my house.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, what would you say to the supporters of the axis of resistance? We are celebrating the anniversary of the victory of the resistance and the liberation of south Lebanon, in an atmosphere of promises of victory, which Mr. Hasan Nasrallah has talked about. You are saying with great confidence that you will emerge triumphant from this crisis. What would you say to all this audience? Are we about to reach the end of this dark tunnel?
President Assad: I believe that the greatest victory achieved by the Arab resistance movements in the past years and decades is primarily an intellectual victory. This resistance wouldn’t have been able to succeed militarily if they hadn’t been able to succeed and stand fast against a campaign aimed at distorting concepts and principles in this region. Before the civil war in Lebanon, some people used to say that Lebanon’s strength lies in its weakness; this is similar to saying that a man’s intelligence lies in his stupidity, or that honor is maintained through corruption. This is an illogical contradiction. The victories of the resistance at different junctures proved that this concept is not true, and it showed that Lebanon’s weakness lies in its weakness and Lebanon’s strength lies in its strength. Lebanon’s strength is in its resistance and these resistance fighters you referred to. Today, more than ever before, we are in need of these ideas, of this mindset, of this steadfastness and of these actions carried out by the resistance fighters. The events in the Arab world during the past years have distorted concepts to the extent that some Arabs have forgotten that the real enemy is still Israel and have instead created internal, sectarian, regional or national enemies. Today we pin our hopes on these resistance fighters to remind the Arab people, through their achievements, that our enemy is still the same. As for my confidence in victory, if we weren’t so confident we wouldn’t have been able to stand fast or to continue this battle after two years of a global attack. This is not a tripartite attack like the one in 1956; it is in fact a global war waged against Syria and the resistance. We have absolute confidence in our victory, and I assure them that Syria will always remain, even more so than before, supportive of the resistance and resistance fighters everywhere in the Arab world.
Al-Manar: In conclusion, it has been my great honor to conduct this interview with Your Excellency, President Bashar al-Assad of the Syrian Arab Republic. Thank you very much. President Assad: You are welcome. I would like to congratulate Al-Manar channel, the channel of resistance, on the anniversary of the liberation and to congratulate the Lebanese people and every resistance fighter in Lebanon.
Al-Manar: Thank you.
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DAMASCUS, (SANA)-President Bashar al-Assad gave an interview to al-Manar TV broadcasted on Thursday,
Following is the full text of the interview:
Al-Manar: In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Assalamu Alaikum. Bloodshed in Syria continues unabated. This is the only constant over which there is little disagreement between those loyal to the Syrian state and those opposed to it. However, there is no common ground over the other constants and details two years into the current crisis. At the time, a great deal was said about the imminent fall of the regime. Deadlines were set and missed; and all those bets were lost. Today, we are here in the heart of Damascus, enjoying the hospitality of a president who has become a source of consternation to many of his opponents who are still unable to understand the equations that have played havoc with their calculations and prevented his ouster from the Syrian political scene. This unpleasant and unexpected outcome for his opponents upset their schemes and plots because they didn’t take into account one self-evident question: what happens if the regime doesn’t fall? What if President Assad doesn’t leave the Syrian scene? Of course, there are no clear answers; and the result is more destruction, killing and bloodshed. Today there is talk of a critical juncture for Syria. The Syrian Army has moved from defense to attack, achieving one success after another. On a parallel level, stagnant diplomatic waters have been shaken by discussions over a Geneva 2 conference becoming a recurrent theme in the statements of all parties. There are many questions which need answers: political settlement, resorting to the military option to decide the outcome, the Israeli enemy’s direct interference with the course of events in the current crisis, the new equations on the Golan Heights, the relationship with opponents and friends. What is the Syrian leadership’s plan for a way out of a complex and dangerous crisis whose ramifications have started to spill over into neighboring countries? It is our great pleasure tonight to put these questions to H. E. President Bashar al-Assad. Assalamu Alaikum, Mr. President.
President Assad: Assalamu Alaikum. You are most welcome in Damascus.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, we are in the heart of the People’s Palace, two and a half years into the Syrian crisis. At the time, the bet was that the president and his regime would be overthrown within weeks. How have you managed to foil the plots of your opponents and enemies? What is the secret behind this steadfastness?
President Assad: There are a number of factors are involved. One is the Syrian factor, which thwarted their intentions; the other factor is related to those who masterminded these scenarios and ended up defeating themselves because they do not know Syria or understand in detail the situation. They started with the calls of revolution, but a real revolution requires tangible elements; you cannot create a revolution simply by paying money. When this approach failed, they shifted to using sectarian slogans in order to create a division within our society. Even though they were able to infiltrate certain pockets in Syrian society, pockets of ignorance and lack of awareness that exist in any society, they were not able to create this sectarian division. Had they succeeded, Syria would have been divided up from the beginning. They also fell into their own trap by trying to promote the notion that this was a struggle to maintain power rather than a struggle for national sovereignty. No one would fight and martyr themselves in order to secure power for anyone else.
Al-Manar: In the battle for the homeland, it seems that the Syrian leadership, and after two and a half years, is making progress on the battlefield. And here if I might ask you, why have you chosen to move from defense to attack? And don’t you think that you have been late in taking the decision to go on the offensive, and consequently incurred heavy losses, if we take of Al-Qseir as an example.
President Assad: It is not a question of defense or attack. Every battle has its own tactics. From the beginning, we did not deal with each situation from a military perspective alone. We also factored in the social and political aspects as well - many Syrians were misled in the beginning and there were many friendly countries that didn’t understand the domestic dynamics. Your actions will differ according to how much consensus there is over a particular issue. There is no doubt that as events have unfolded Syrians have been able to better understand the situation and what is really at stake. This has helped the Armed Forces to better carry out their duties and achieve results. So, what is happening now is not a shift in tactic from defense to attack, but rather a shift in the balance of power in favor of the Armed Forces.
Al-Manar: How has this balance been tipped, Mr. President? Syria is being criticized for asking for the assistance of foreign fighters, and to be fully candid, it is said that Hezbollah fighters are extending assistance. In a previous interview, you said that there are 23 million Syrians; we do not need help from anyone else. What is Hezbollah doing in Syria?
President Assad: The main reason for tipping the balance is the change in people’s opinion in areas that used to incubate armed groups, not necessarily due to lack of patriotism on their part, but because they were deceived. They were led to believe that there was a revolution against the failings of the state. This has changed; many individuals have left these terrorist groups and have returned to their normal lives. As to what is being said about Hezbollah and the participation of foreign fighters alongside the Syrian Army, this is a hugely important issue and has several factors. Each of these factors should be clearly understood. Hezbollah, the battle at Al-Qseir and the recent Israeli airstrike – these three factors cannot be looked at in isolation of the other, they are all a part of the same issue. Let’s be frank. In recent weeks, and particularly after Mr. Hasan Nasrallah’s speech, Arab and foreign media have said that Hezbollah fighters are fighting in Syria and defending the Syrian state, or to use their words “the regime.” Logically speaking, if Hezbollah or the resistance wanted to defend Syria by sending fighters, how many could they send - a few hundred, a thousand or two? We are talking about a battle in which hundreds of thousands of Syrian troops are involved against tens of thousands of terrorists, if not more because of the constant flow of fighters from neighboring and foreign countries that support those terrorists. So clearly, the number of fighters Hezbollah might contribute in order to defend the Syrian state in its battle, would be a drop in the ocean compared to the number of Syrian soldiers fighting the terrorists. When also taking into account the vast expanse of Syria, these numbers will neither protect a state nor ‘regime.’ This is from one perspective. From another, if they say they are defending the state, why now? Battles started after Ramadan in 2011 and escalated into 2012, the summer of 2012 to be precise. They started the battle to “liberate Damascus” and set a zero hour for the first time, the second time and a third time; the four generals were assassinated, a number of individuals fled Syria, and many people believed that was the time the state would collapse. It didn’t. Nevertheless, during all of these times, Hezbollah never intervened, so why would it intervene now? More importantly, why haven’t we seen Hezbollah fighting in Damascus and Aleppo? The more significant battles are in Damascus and in Aleppo, not in Al-Qseir. Al-Qseir is a small town in Homs, why haven’t we seen Hezbollah in the city of Homs? Clearly, all these assumptions are inaccurate. They say Al-Qseir is a strategic border town, but all the borders are strategic for the terrorists in order to smuggle in their fighters and weapons. So, all these propositions have nothing to do with Hezbollah. If we take into account the moans and groans of the Arab media, the statements made by Arab and foreign officials – even Ban Ki-moon expressed concern over Hezbollah in Al-Qseir – all of this is for the objective of suppressing and stifling the resistance. It has nothing to do with defending the Syrian state. The Syrian army has made significant achievements in Damascus, Aleppo, rural Damascus and many other areas; however, we haven’t heard the same moaning as we have heard in Al-Qseir.
Al-Manar: But, Mr. President, the nature of the battle that you and Hezbollah are waging in Al-Qseir seems, to your critics, to take the shape of a safe corridor connecting the coastal region with Damascus. Consequently, if Syria were to be divided, or if geographical changes were to be enforced, this would pave the way for an Alawite state. So, what is the nature of this battle, and how is it connected with the conflict with Israel.
President Assad: First, the Syrian and Lebanese coastal areas are not connected through Al-Qseir. Geographically this is not possible. Second, nobody would fight a battle in order to move towards separation. If you opt for separation, you move towards that objective without waging battles all over the country in order to be pushed into a particular corner. The nature of the battle does not indicate that we are heading for division, but rather the opposite, we are ensuring we remain a united country. Our forefathers rejected the idea of division when the French proposed this during their occupation of Syria because at the time they were very aware of its consequences. Is it possible or even fathomable that generations later, we their children, are less aware or mindful? Once again, the battle in Al-Qseir and all the bemoaning is related to Israel. The timing of the battle in Al-Qseir was synchronized with the Israeli airstrike. Their objective is to stifle the resistance. This is the same old campaign taking on a different form. Now what’s important is not al-Qseir as a town, but the borders; they want to stifle the resistance from land and from the sea. Here the question begs itself - some have said that the resistance should face the enemy and consequently remain in the south. This was said on May 7, 2008, when some of Israel’s agents in Lebanon tried to tamper with the communications system of the resistance; they claimed that the resistance turned its weapons inwards. They said the same thing about the Syrian Army; that the Syrian Army should fight on the borders with Israel. We have said very clearly that our Army will fight the enemy wherever it is. When the enemy is in the north, we move north; the same applies if the enemy comes from the east or the west. This is also the case for Hezbollah. So the question is why is Hezbollah deployed on the borders inside Lebanon or inside Syria? The answer is that our battle is a battle against the Israeli enemy and its proxies inside Syria or inside Lebanon.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, if I might ask about Israel’s involvement in the Syrian crisis through the recent airstrike against Damascus. Israel immediately attached certain messages to this airstrike by saying it doesn’t want escalation or doesn’t intend to interfere in the Syrian crisis. The question is: what does Israel want and what type of interference?
President Assad: This is exactly my point. Everything that is happening at the moment is aimed, first and foremost, at stifling the resistance. Israel’s support of the terrorists was for two purposes. The first is to stifle the resistance; the second is to strike the Syrian air defense systems. It is not interested in anything else.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, since Israel’s objectives are clear, the Syrian state was criticized for its muted response. Everyone was expecting a Syrian response, and the Syrian government stated that it reserves the right to respond at the appropriate time and place. Why didn’t the response come immediately? And is it enough for a senior source to say that missiles have been directed at the Israeli enemy and that any attack will be retaliated immediately without resorting to Army command?
President Assad: We have informed all the Arab and foreign parties - mostly foreign - that contacted us, that we will respond the next time. Of course, there has been more than one response. There have been several Israeli attempted violations to which there was immediate retaliation. But these short-term responses have no real value; they are only of a political nature. If we want to respond to Israel, the response will be of strategic significance.
Al-Manar: How? By opening the Golan front, for instance?
President Assad: This depends on public opinion, whether there is a consensus in support of the resistance or not. That’s the question. Al-Manar: How is the situation in Syria now?
President Assad: In fact, there is clear popular pressure to open the Golan front to resistance. This enthusiasm is also on the Arab level; we have received many Arab delegations wanting to know how young people might be enrolled to come and fight Israel. Of course, resistance is not easy. It is not merely a question of opening the front geographically. It is a political, ideological, and social issue, with the net result being military action.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, if we take into account the incident on the Golan Heights and Syria’s retaliation on the Israeli military vehicle that crossed the combat line, does this mean that the rules of engagement have changed? And if the rules of the game have changed, what is the new equation, so to speak?
President Assad: Real change in the rules of engagement happens when there is a popular condition pushing for resistance. Any other change is short-term, unless we are heading towards war. Any response of any kind might only appear to be a change to the rules of engagement, but I don’t think it really is. The real change is when the people move towards resistance; this is the really dramatic change.
Al-Manar: Don’t you think that this is a little late? After 40 years of quiet and a state of truce on the Golan Heights, now there is talk of a movement on that front, about new equations and about new rules of the game?
President Assad: They always talk about Syria opening the front or closing the front. A state does not create resistance. Resistance can only be called so, when it is popular and spontaneous, it cannot be created. The state can either support or oppose the resistance, - or create obstacles, as is the case with some Arab countries. I believe that a state that opposes the will of its people for resistance is reckless. The issue is not that Syria has decided, after 40 years, to move in this direction. The public’s state of mind is that our National Army is carrying out its duties to protect and liberate our land. Had there not been an army, as was the situation in Lebanon when the army and the state were divided during the civil war, there would have been resistance a long time ago. Today, in the current circumstances, there are a number of factors pushing in that direction. First, there are repeated Israeli aggressions that constitute a major factor in creating this desire and required incentive. Second, the army’s engagement in battles in more than one place throughout Syria has created a sentiment on the part of many civilians that it is their duty to move in this direction in order to support the Armed Forces on the Golan.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would not hesitate to attack Syria if it detected that weapons are being conveyed to Hezbollah in Lebanon. If Israel carried out its threats, I want a direct answer from you: what would Syria do?
President Assad: As I have said, we have informed the relevant states that we will respond in kind. Of course, it is difficult to specify the military means that would be used, that is for our military command to decide. We plan for different scenarios, depending on the circumstances and the timing of the strike that would determine which method or weapons.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, after the airstrike that targeted Damascus, there was talk about the S300 missiles and that this missile system will tip the balance. Based on this argument, Netanyahu visited Moscow. My direct question is this: are these missiles on their way to Damascus? Is Syria now in possession of these missiles?
President Assad: It is not our policy to talk publically about military issues in terms of what we possess or what we receive. As far as Russia is concerned, the contracts have nothing to do with the crisis. We have negotiated with them on different kinds of weapons for years, and Russia is committed to honoring these contracts. What I want to say is that neither Netanyahu’s visit nor the crisis and the conditions surrounding it have influenced arms imports. All of our agreements with Russia will be implemented, some have been implemented during the past period and, together with the Russians, we will continue to implement these contracts in the future.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, we have talked about the steadfastness of the Syrian leadership and the Syrian state. We have discussed the progress being achieved on the battlefield, and strengthening the alliance between Syria and the resistance. These are all within the same front. From another perspective, there is diplomatic activity stirring waters that have been stagnant for two and a half years. Before we talk about this and about the Geneva conference and the red lines that Syria has drawn, there was a simple proposition or a simple solution suggested by the former head of the coalition, Muaz al-Khatib. He said that the president, together with 500 other dignitaries would be allowed to leave the country within 20 days, and the crisis would be over. Why don’t you meet this request and put an end to the crisis?
President Assad: I have always talked about the basic principle: that the Syrian people alone have the right to decide whether the president should remain or leave. So, anybody speaking on this subject should state which part of the Syrian people they represent and who granted them the authority to speak on their behalf. As for this initiative, I haven’t actually read it, but I was very happy that they allowed me 20 days and 500 people! I don’t know who proposed the initiative; I don’t care much about names.
Al-Manar: He actually said that you would be given 20 days, 500 people, and no guarantees. You’ll be allowed to leave but with no guarantee whatsoever on whether legal action would be taken against you or not. Mr. President, this brings us to the negotiations, I am referring to Geneva 2. The Syrian government and leadership have announced initial agreement to take part in this conference. If this conference is held, there will be a table with the Syrian flag on one side and the flag of the opposition groups on the other. How can you convince the Syrian people after two and a half years of crisis that you will sit face to face at the same negotiating table with these groups?
President Assad: First of all, regarding the flag, it is meaningless without the people it represents. When we put a flag on a table or anywhere else, we talk about the people represented by that flag. This question can be put to those who raise flags they call Syrian but are different from the official Syrian flag. So, this flag has no value when it does not represent the people. Secondly, we will attend this conference as the official delegation and legitimate representatives of the Syrian people. But, whom do they represent? When the conference is over, we return to Syria, we return home to our people. But when the conference is over, whom do they return to - five-star hotels? Or to the foreign ministries of the states that they represent – which doesn’t include Syria of course - in order to submit their reports? Or do they return to the intelligence services of those countries? So, when we attend this conference, we should know very clearly the positions of some of those sitting at the table - and I say some because the conference format is not clear yet and as such we do not have details as to how the patriotic Syrian opposition will be considered or the other opposition parties in Syria. As for the opposition groups abroad and their flag, we know that we are attending the conference not to negotiate with them, but rather with the states that back them; it will appear as though we are negotiating with the slaves, but essentially we are negotiating with their masters. This is the truth, we shouldn’t deceive ourselves.
Al-Manar: Are you, in the Syrian leadership, convinced that these negotiations will be held next month?
President Assad: We expect them to happen, unless they are obstructed by other states. As far as we are concerned in Syria, we have announced a couple of days ago that we agree in principle to attend.
Al-Manar: When you say in principle, it seems that you are considering other options.
President Assad: In principle, we are in favour of the conference as a notion, but there are no details yet. For example, will there be conditions placed before the conference? If so, these conditions may be unacceptable and we would not attend. So the idea of the conference, of a meeting, in principle is a good one. We will have to wait and see.
Al-Manar: Let’s talk, Mr. President, about the conditions put by the Syrian leadership. What are Syria’s conditions?
President Assad: Simply put, our only condition is that anything agreed upon in any meeting inside or outside the country, including the conference, is subject to the approval of the Syrian people through a popular referendum. This is the only condition. Anything else doesn’t have any value. That is why we are comfortable with going to the conference. We have no complexes. Either side can propose anything, but nothing can be implemented without the approval of the Syrian people. And as long as we are the legitimate representatives of the people, we have nothing to fear.
Al-Manar: Let’s be clear, Mr. President. There is a lot of ambiguity in Geneva 1 and Geneva 2 about the transitional period and the role of President Bashar al-Assad in that transitional period. Are you prepared to hand over all your authorities to this transitional government? And how do you understand this ambiguous term?
President Assad: This is what I made clear in the initiative I proposed in January this year. They say they want a transitional government in which the president has no role. In Syria we have a presidential system, where the President is head of the republic and the Prime Minister heads the government. They want a government with broad authorities. The Syrian constitution gives the government full authorities. The president is the commander-in-chief of the Army and Armed Forces and the head of the Supreme Judicial Council. All the other institutions report directly to the government. Changing the authorities of the president is subject to changing the constitution; the president cannot just relinquish his authorities, he doesn\'t have the constitutional right. Changing the constitution requires a popular referendum. When they want to propose such issues, they might be discussed in the conference, and when we agree on something - if we agree, we return home and put it to a popular referendum and then move on. But for them to ask for the amendment of the constitution in advance, this cannot be done neither by the president nor by the government.
Al-Manar: Frankly, Mr. President, all the international positions taken against you and all your political opponents said that they don’t want a role for al-Assad in Syria’s future. This is what the Saudi foreign minister Saud al-Faisal said and this is what the Turks and the Qataris said, and also the Syrian opposition. Will President Assad be nominated for the forthcoming presidential elections in 2014?
President Assad: What I know is that Saud al-Faisal is a specialist in American affairs, I don’t know if he knows anything about Syrian affairs. If he wants to learn, that’s fine! As to the desires of others, I repeat what I have said earlier: the only desires relevant are those of the Syrian people. With regards to the nomination, some parties have said that it is preferable that the president shouldn’t be nominated for the 2014 elections. This issue will be determined closer to the time; it is still too early to discuss this. When the time comes, and I feel, through my meetings and interactions with the Syrian people, that there is a need and public desire for me to nominate myself, I will not hesitate. However, if I feel that the Syrian people do not want me to lead them, then naturally I will not put myself forward. They are wasting their time on such talk.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, you mentioned the Saudi foreign minister Saud al-Faisal. This makes me ask about Syria’s relationship with Saudi Arabia, with Qatar, with Turkey, particularly if we take into account that their recent position in the Arab ministerial committee was relatively moderate. They did not directly and publically call for the ouster of President Assad. Do you feel any change or any support on the part of these countries for a political solution to the Syrian crisis? And is Syria prepared to deal once more with the Arab League, taking into account that the Syrian government asked for an apology from the Arab League?
President Assad: Concerning the Arab states, we see brief changes in their rhetoric but not in their actions. The countries that support the terrorists have not changed; they are still supporting terrorism to the same extent. Turkey also has not made any positive steps. As for Qatar, their role is also the same, the role of the funder - the bank funding the terrorists and supporting them through Turkey. So, overall, no change. As for the Arab League, in Syria we have never pinned our hopes on the Arab League. Even in the past decades, we were barely able to dismantle the mines set for us in the different meetings, whether in the summits or in meetings of the foreign ministers. So in light of this and its recent actions, can we really expect it to play a role? We are open to everybody, we never close our doors. But we should also be realistic and face the truth that they are unable to offer anything, particularly since a significant number of the Arab states are not independent. They receive their orders from the outside. Some of them are sympathetic to us in their hearts, but they cannot act on their feelings because they are not in possession of their decisions. So, no, we do not pin any hopes on the Arab League.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, this leads us to ask: if the Arab environment is as such, and taking into account the developments on the ground and the steadfastness, the Geneva conference and the negotiations, the basic question is: what if the political negotiations fail? What are the consequences of the failure of political negotiations?
President Assad: This is quite possible, because there are states that are obstructing the meeting in principle, and they are going only to avoid embarrassment. They are opposed to any dialogue whether inside or outside Syria. Even the Russians, in several statements, have dampened expectations from this conference. But we should also be accurate in defining this dialogue, particularly in relation to what is happening on the ground. Most of the factions engaged in talking about what is happening in Syria have no influence on the ground; they don’t even have direct relationships with the terrorists. In some instances these terrorists are directly linked with the states that are backing them, in other cases, they are mere gangs paid to carry out terrorist activities. So, the failure of the conference will not significantly change the reality inside Syria, because these states will not stop supporting the terrorists - conference or no conference, and the gangs will not stop their subversive activities. So it has no impact on them.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, the events in Syria are spilling over to neighboring countries. We see what’s happening in Iraq, the explosions in Al-Rihaniye in Turkey and also in Lebanon. In Ersal, Tripoli, Hezbollah taking part in the fighting in Al-Qseir. How does Syria approach the situation in Lebanon, and do you think the Lebanese policy of dissociation is still applied or accepted?
President Assad: Let me pose some questions based on the reality in Syria and in Lebanon about the policy of dissociation in order not to be accused of making a value judgment on whether this policy is right or wrong. Let’s start with some simple questions: Has Lebanon been able to prevent Lebanese interference in Syria? Has it been able to prevent the smuggling of terrorists or weapons into Syria or providing a safe haven for them in Lebanon? It hasn’t; in fact, everyone knows that Lebanon has contributed negatively to the Syrian crisis. Most recently, has Lebanon been able to protect itself against the consequences of the Syrian crisis, most markedly in Tripoli and the missiles that have been falling over different areas of Beirut or its surroundings? It hasn’t. So what kind of dissociation are we talking about? For Lebanon to dissociate itself from the crisis is one thing, and for the government to dissociate itself is another. When the government dissociates itself from a certain issue that affects the interests of the Lebanese people, it is in fact dissociating itself from the Lebanese citizens. I’m not criticizing the Lebanese government - I’m talking about general principles. I don’t want it to be said that I’m criticizing this government. If the Syrian government were to dissociate itself from issues that are of concern to the Syrian people, it would also fail. So in response to your question with regards to Lebanon’s policy of dissociation, we don’t believe this is realistically possible. When my neighbor’s house is on fire, I cannot say that it’s none of my business because sooner or later the fire will spread to my house.
Al-Manar: Mr. President, what would you say to the supporters of the axis of resistance? We are celebrating the anniversary of the victory of the resistance and the liberation of south Lebanon, in an atmosphere of promises of victory, which Mr. Hasan Nasrallah has talked about. You are saying with great confidence that you will emerge triumphant from this crisis. What would you say to all this audience? Are we about to reach the end of this dark tunnel?
President Assad: I believe that the greatest victory achieved by the Arab resistance movements in the past years and decades is primarily an intellectual victory. This resistance wouldn’t have been able to succeed militarily if they hadn’t been able to succeed and stand fast against a campaign aimed at distorting concepts and principles in this region. Before the civil war in Lebanon, some people used to say that Lebanon’s strength lies in its weakness; this is similar to saying that a man’s intelligence lies in his stupidity, or that honor is maintained through corruption. This is an illogical contradiction. The victories of the resistance at different junctures proved that this concept is not true, and it showed that Lebanon’s weakness lies in its weakness and Lebanon’s strength lies in its strength. Lebanon’s strength is in its resistance and these resistance fighters you referred to. Today, more than ever before, we are in need of these ideas, of this mindset, of this steadfastness and of these actions carried out by the resistance fighters. The events in the Arab world during the past years have distorted concepts to the extent that some Arabs have forgotten that the real enemy is still Israel and have instead created internal, sectarian, regional or national enemies. Today we pin our hopes on these resistance fighters to remind the Arab people, through their achievements, that our enemy is still the same. As for my confidence in victory, if we weren’t so confident we wouldn’t have been able to stand fast or to continue this battle after two years of a global attack. This is not a tripartite attack like the one in 1956; it is in fact a global war waged against Syria and the resistance. We have absolute confidence in our victory, and I assure them that Syria will always remain, even more so than before, supportive of the resistance and resistance fighters everywhere in the Arab world.
Al-Manar: In conclusion, it has been my great honor to conduct this interview with Your Excellency, President Bashar al-Assad of the Syrian Arab Republic. Thank you very much. President Assad: You are welcome. I would like to congratulate Al-Manar channel, the channel of resistance, on the anniversary of the liberation and to congratulate the Lebanese people and every resistance fighter in Lebanon.
Al-Manar: Thank you.
25:51
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[10 July 13] AU vs. ICC: Who is on trial? - English
On June 25 a number of important players will meet in Dakar to discuss issues related to the International Criminal Court. Senegal is one of many African states that were early supporters of the...
On June 25 a number of important players will meet in Dakar to discuss issues related to the International Criminal Court. Senegal is one of many African states that were early supporters of the court as an institution to make a decisive push in the fight against impunity.
Participants at the discussion in include high-level representatives from a number of French-speaking African countries. The ICC has received a lot of international attention in recent years due to a number of controversial cases being brought to its jurisdiction.
The fact that the cases have all been African has brought the credibility of the court into question, but there is no denying that it is now becoming a major force in Africa\'s desire to resolve issues of human rights abuses.
Another important factor is that a number of States have given practical votes of confidence to the court, in the form of referrals concerning crimes within their own territories - notably Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, Mali and Comoros.
The states that have made these referrals have demonstrated confidence that the ICC will be able to investigate crimes when the states themselves are not in a position to do so.
More...
Description:
On June 25 a number of important players will meet in Dakar to discuss issues related to the International Criminal Court. Senegal is one of many African states that were early supporters of the court as an institution to make a decisive push in the fight against impunity.
Participants at the discussion in include high-level representatives from a number of French-speaking African countries. The ICC has received a lot of international attention in recent years due to a number of controversial cases being brought to its jurisdiction.
The fact that the cases have all been African has brought the credibility of the court into question, but there is no denying that it is now becoming a major force in Africa\'s desire to resolve issues of human rights abuses.
Another important factor is that a number of States have given practical votes of confidence to the court, in the form of referrals concerning crimes within their own territories - notably Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, Mali and Comoros.
The states that have made these referrals have demonstrated confidence that the ICC will be able to investigate crimes when the states themselves are not in a position to do so.
2:27
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[23 July 13] Palestinians rage at israel plan to shut down Ibrahim Mosuqe - English
Israeli authorities will close the Ibrahim Mosque in Al Khalil Hebron in the occupied West Bank on the most important Muslim religious day in Ramadan.
Israelis have informed Palestininas that...
Israeli authorities will close the Ibrahim Mosque in Al Khalil Hebron in the occupied West Bank on the most important Muslim religious day in Ramadan.
Israelis have informed Palestininas that they will prohibit all Muslims from entering the mosque during the most important night of the Muslim calendar \'Lailat al-Qadr\' or \'The Night of Destiny\'.
More...
Description:
Israeli authorities will close the Ibrahim Mosque in Al Khalil Hebron in the occupied West Bank on the most important Muslim religious day in Ramadan.
Israelis have informed Palestininas that they will prohibit all Muslims from entering the mosque during the most important night of the Muslim calendar \'Lailat al-Qadr\' or \'The Night of Destiny\'.
Did Obama Lie about FATWA?? - Nuke Free World By Rehbar - English & Persian
DID OBAMA LIE ?????
September 30, 2013 – At his press briefing last Friday, Barack Obama practically ran to the podium to announce his “historic” phone call to Iran and to proclaim that the...
DID OBAMA LIE ?????
September 30, 2013 – At his press briefing last Friday, Barack Obama practically ran to the podium to announce his “historic” phone call to Iran and to proclaim that the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had issued a “fatwa” against nuclear arms.
The media salivated at the courageous, bold initiative by the president to negotiate with Iran and to obtain such a stunning diplomatic commitment. It sounded like the foreign policy coup of the century. And to think, all it took was a phone call. Not only that, it happened just days before Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to meet with Obama about the situation in Iran
September 30, 2013 – At his press briefing last Friday, Barack Obama practically ran to the podium to announce his “historic” phone call to Iran and to proclaim that the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had issued a “fatwa” against nuclear arms.
The media salivated at the courageous, bold initiative by the president to negotiate with Iran and to obtain such a stunning diplomatic commitment. It sounded like the foreign policy coup of the century. And to think, all it took was a phone call. Not only that, it happened just days before Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to meet with Obama about the situation in Iran
Reading Obama’s Iran speech
President Barack Obama addresses the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, September 24, 2013
President Barack Obama addresses the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Thu Sep 26, 2013 7:10PM GMT
2
Phyllis Bennis, The Nation
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All of a sudden we’re talking to Iran. Now, granted, that shouldn’t be such an astonishing bombshell. But given the reality of the last several decades, it pretty much is. And that’s all good. It’s been too long coming, it’s still too hesitant, there’s still too much hinting about military force behind it… but we’re talking. Foreign minister to foreign minister, Kerry to Zarif, it’s all a good sign.
There were lots of problem areas in the speech-President Obama was right when he said that US policy in the Middle East would lead to charges of “hypocrisy and inconsistency.” US policy-its protection of Israeli violations of international law, its privileging of petro-monarchies over human rights, its coddling of military dictators-remains rank with hypocrisy and inconsistency. And Obama’s speech reflected much of it.
But President Obama’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly reflected some of the extraordinary shifts in global-especially Middle East and most especially Syria-related-politics that have taken shape in the last six or eight weeks. And on Iran, that was good news. Yes the president trotted out his familiar litany that “we are determined to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.” But this time, there was no “all options on the table” threat. He added explicitly that “we are not seeking regime change and we respect the right of the Iranian people to access peaceful nuclear energy.” The reference to Iran’s right to nuclear energy represented a major shift away from the longstanding claim among many US hawks and the Israeli government that Iran must give up all nuclear enrichment.
Respecting Iran’s right to “access” nuclear energy is still a bit of a dodge, of course-Article IV of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) recognizes not just access but “the inalienable right of all the Parties to the Treaty to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination.” Iran is a longstanding signatory to the NPT, and is entitled to all those rights. Obama referred only that “we insist that the Iranian government meet its responsibilities” under the NPT, while saying nothing about Iran’s rights under the treaty. But the high visibility US recognition of any Iranian right to nuclear power-in the context of a new willingness to open talks-is still enormously important.
It was also important that President Obama spoke of Iran with respect, acknowledging Iranian interests and opinions as legitimate and parallel to Washington’s. He recognized that Iranian mistrust of the United States has “deep roots,” referencing (however carefully) the “history of US interference in their affairs and of America’s role in overthrowing an Iranian government during the Cold War.” In fact, his identification of the 1953 US-backed coup that overthrew Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister Mohamed Mossadegh as a product of the Cold War may have been part of an effort to distance himself and his administration from those actions. (It’s a bit disingenuous, of course. The primary rationale for the coup was far more a response to Mossadegh’s nationalization of Iran’s oil than to his ties to the Soviet Union.)
Obama also paid new attention to longstanding Iranian positions. He noted that “the Supreme Leader has issued a fatwa against the development of nuclear weapons, and President Rouhani has just recently reiterated that the Islamic Republic will never develop a nuclear weapon.” Now anyone following the Iran nuclear issue knows that the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, stated at least as far back as 2003 that nuclear weapons are a violation of Islamic law and Iran would never build or use one, and the fatwa, or legal opinion, was issued at least as far back as 2005. This isn’t new. But for President Obama to mention those judgments in the context of “the basis for a meaningful agreement” is indeed new.
Mainstream US press and officials have long derided those statements, claiming that fatwas are not binding, that 700-year-old religious laws can’t have a position on nuclear weapons, etc. But in so doing they ignore the real significance-that President Rouhani, the Supreme Leader and the rest of Iran’s government have to answer to their own population too. After years of repeating that nuclear weapons would be un-Islamic, would violate a fatwa, etc., it would not be so easy for Iran’s leaders to win popular support for a decision to embrace the bomb.
There is a long way to go in challenging aspects of President Obama’s speech at the United Nations-his embrace of American exceptionalism and his recommitment to a failed approach to Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, his view that war and violence can only be answered by military force or nothing, and more. He didn’t explicitly state a willingness to accept Iran’s participation in international talks on Syria. There is a serious danger that any move towards rapprochement with Iran would be matched with moves to pacify Israeli demands-almost certainly at the expense of Palestinian rights.
But in the broader scenario of US-Iran relations, this is a moment to move forward, to welcome the new approach in Washington now answering the new approach of Tehran.
More flexibility will be required than the United States is usually known for. The usual opponents-in Congress, in Israel and the pro-Israel lobbies-are already on the move, challenging the new opening. But these last weeks showed how a quickly organized demonstration of widespread public opinion, demanding negotiations instead of war, can win. We were able to build a movement fast, agile and powerful enough to reverse an imminent military attack on Syria and instead force a move towards diplomatic solutions to end the war. This time around, the demand to deepen, consolidate and not abandon diplomatic possibilities is on our agenda-and perhaps once again we can
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DID OBAMA LIE ?????
September 30, 2013 – At his press briefing last Friday, Barack Obama practically ran to the podium to announce his “historic” phone call to Iran and to proclaim that the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had issued a “fatwa” against nuclear arms.
The media salivated at the courageous, bold initiative by the president to negotiate with Iran and to obtain such a stunning diplomatic commitment. It sounded like the foreign policy coup of the century. And to think, all it took was a phone call. Not only that, it happened just days before Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to meet with Obama about the situation in Iran
September 30, 2013 – At his press briefing last Friday, Barack Obama practically ran to the podium to announce his “historic” phone call to Iran and to proclaim that the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had issued a “fatwa” against nuclear arms.
The media salivated at the courageous, bold initiative by the president to negotiate with Iran and to obtain such a stunning diplomatic commitment. It sounded like the foreign policy coup of the century. And to think, all it took was a phone call. Not only that, it happened just days before Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to meet with Obama about the situation in Iran
Reading Obama’s Iran speech
President Barack Obama addresses the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, September 24, 2013
President Barack Obama addresses the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Thu Sep 26, 2013 7:10PM GMT
2
Phyllis Bennis, The Nation
Related Interviews:
‘Rouhani’s remarks in US, conciliatory’
\\\\\\\'Rouhani speech, perfectly appropriate\\\\\\\'
Related Viewpoints:
Ziocons fume over Rouhani UN speech
All of a sudden we’re talking to Iran. Now, granted, that shouldn’t be such an astonishing bombshell. But given the reality of the last several decades, it pretty much is. And that’s all good. It’s been too long coming, it’s still too hesitant, there’s still too much hinting about military force behind it… but we’re talking. Foreign minister to foreign minister, Kerry to Zarif, it’s all a good sign.
There were lots of problem areas in the speech-President Obama was right when he said that US policy in the Middle East would lead to charges of “hypocrisy and inconsistency.” US policy-its protection of Israeli violations of international law, its privileging of petro-monarchies over human rights, its coddling of military dictators-remains rank with hypocrisy and inconsistency. And Obama’s speech reflected much of it.
But President Obama’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly reflected some of the extraordinary shifts in global-especially Middle East and most especially Syria-related-politics that have taken shape in the last six or eight weeks. And on Iran, that was good news. Yes the president trotted out his familiar litany that “we are determined to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.” But this time, there was no “all options on the table” threat. He added explicitly that “we are not seeking regime change and we respect the right of the Iranian people to access peaceful nuclear energy.” The reference to Iran’s right to nuclear energy represented a major shift away from the longstanding claim among many US hawks and the Israeli government that Iran must give up all nuclear enrichment.
Respecting Iran’s right to “access” nuclear energy is still a bit of a dodge, of course-Article IV of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) recognizes not just access but “the inalienable right of all the Parties to the Treaty to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination.” Iran is a longstanding signatory to the NPT, and is entitled to all those rights. Obama referred only that “we insist that the Iranian government meet its responsibilities” under the NPT, while saying nothing about Iran’s rights under the treaty. But the high visibility US recognition of any Iranian right to nuclear power-in the context of a new willingness to open talks-is still enormously important.
It was also important that President Obama spoke of Iran with respect, acknowledging Iranian interests and opinions as legitimate and parallel to Washington’s. He recognized that Iranian mistrust of the United States has “deep roots,” referencing (however carefully) the “history of US interference in their affairs and of America’s role in overthrowing an Iranian government during the Cold War.” In fact, his identification of the 1953 US-backed coup that overthrew Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister Mohamed Mossadegh as a product of the Cold War may have been part of an effort to distance himself and his administration from those actions. (It’s a bit disingenuous, of course. The primary rationale for the coup was far more a response to Mossadegh’s nationalization of Iran’s oil than to his ties to the Soviet Union.)
Obama also paid new attention to longstanding Iranian positions. He noted that “the Supreme Leader has issued a fatwa against the development of nuclear weapons, and President Rouhani has just recently reiterated that the Islamic Republic will never develop a nuclear weapon.” Now anyone following the Iran nuclear issue knows that the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, stated at least as far back as 2003 that nuclear weapons are a violation of Islamic law and Iran would never build or use one, and the fatwa, or legal opinion, was issued at least as far back as 2005. This isn’t new. But for President Obama to mention those judgments in the context of “the basis for a meaningful agreement” is indeed new.
Mainstream US press and officials have long derided those statements, claiming that fatwas are not binding, that 700-year-old religious laws can’t have a position on nuclear weapons, etc. But in so doing they ignore the real significance-that President Rouhani, the Supreme Leader and the rest of Iran’s government have to answer to their own population too. After years of repeating that nuclear weapons would be un-Islamic, would violate a fatwa, etc., it would not be so easy for Iran’s leaders to win popular support for a decision to embrace the bomb.
There is a long way to go in challenging aspects of President Obama’s speech at the United Nations-his embrace of American exceptionalism and his recommitment to a failed approach to Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, his view that war and violence can only be answered by military force or nothing, and more. He didn’t explicitly state a willingness to accept Iran’s participation in international talks on Syria. There is a serious danger that any move towards rapprochement with Iran would be matched with moves to pacify Israeli demands-almost certainly at the expense of Palestinian rights.
But in the broader scenario of US-Iran relations, this is a moment to move forward, to welcome the new approach in Washington now answering the new approach of Tehran.
More flexibility will be required than the United States is usually known for. The usual opponents-in Congress, in Israel and the pro-Israel lobbies-are already on the move, challenging the new opening. But these last weeks showed how a quickly organized demonstration of widespread public opinion, demanding negotiations instead of war, can win. We were able to build a movement fast, agile and powerful enough to reverse an imminent military attack on Syria and instead force a move towards diplomatic solutions to end the war. This time around, the demand to deepen, consolidate and not abandon diplomatic possibilities is on our agenda-and perhaps once again we can
47:56
|
Enjoining Good & Social Media - An Islamic Perspective - Sh. Mansour Leghaei - English
In this lecture Sheikh Mansour talks about two important issues: the importance of the obligation and the conditions of amr bil ma\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'roof wa nahi anil munkar (enjoining good and...
In this lecture Sheikh Mansour talks about two important issues: the importance of the obligation and the conditions of amr bil ma\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'roof wa nahi anil munkar (enjoining good and forbidding evil). He also elaborates on the importance of fulfilling this obligation, and ties this all in to the comtemporary issue of how we use Social Media, and the most Islamic way to use this platform and not to fall into the trap of shaytan. A really important lecture for anyone seeking to gain closeness to Allah (swt) through fulfilling the obligation of enjoining good and forbidding evil.
Also, since this lecture was delivered in Muharram, he concludes with a majlis for the infant son of Imam Husain (as).
www.ihic.org.au
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Description:
In this lecture Sheikh Mansour talks about two important issues: the importance of the obligation and the conditions of amr bil ma\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'roof wa nahi anil munkar (enjoining good and forbidding evil). He also elaborates on the importance of fulfilling this obligation, and ties this all in to the comtemporary issue of how we use Social Media, and the most Islamic way to use this platform and not to fall into the trap of shaytan. A really important lecture for anyone seeking to gain closeness to Allah (swt) through fulfilling the obligation of enjoining good and forbidding evil.
Also, since this lecture was delivered in Muharram, he concludes with a majlis for the infant son of Imam Husain (as).
www.ihic.org.au
32:31
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[02 Apr 2014] Zavia Nigah - زاویہ نگاہ - Urdu
[02 Apr 2014] Zavia Nigah - زاویہ نگاہ - Haftey bher mai runumah honey waley ehem waqeat - Urdu
[02 Apr 2014] Zavia Nigah - زاویہ نگاہ - Haftey bher mai runumah honey waley ehem waqeat - Urdu
1:14
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Dear Youth, Make Full Use of the Spring of Spirituality | Imam Sayyid Ali Khamenei | Farsi sub English
We are approaching the end of the holy month of Rajab. After Rajab comes Sha\\\'baan. How important are these months, which precede the holy month of Ramadhan? Why is it especially important for...
We are approaching the end of the holy month of Rajab. After Rajab comes Sha\\\'baan. How important are these months, which precede the holy month of Ramadhan? Why is it especially important for young people? The Leader speaks.
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We are approaching the end of the holy month of Rajab. After Rajab comes Sha\\\'baan. How important are these months, which precede the holy month of Ramadhan? Why is it especially important for young people? The Leader speaks.
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2:13
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What Every Muslim Should Do in Hajj | Imam Sayyid Ali Khamenei | Farsi sub English
Many of us have the mistaken notion that Hajj is simply about performing a few rituals: we go round the House of Allah 7 times, go back and forth between to hills 7 times, throw 7 stones at 3...
Many of us have the mistaken notion that Hajj is simply about performing a few rituals: we go round the House of Allah 7 times, go back and forth between to hills 7 times, throw 7 stones at 3 different pillars, slaughter a goat, wear two towels and shave our heads. While these rituals are extremely important, given the current situation of the Muslim world, we have an additional and far more important responsibility; a responsibility which the cursed House of Saud, by stopping Muslims from performing Hajj, intend us not to fulfill. #Hajj2016 #AlSaudHijacksHajj
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Description:
Many of us have the mistaken notion that Hajj is simply about performing a few rituals: we go round the House of Allah 7 times, go back and forth between to hills 7 times, throw 7 stones at 3 different pillars, slaughter a goat, wear two towels and shave our heads. While these rituals are extremely important, given the current situation of the Muslim world, we have an additional and far more important responsibility; a responsibility which the cursed House of Saud, by stopping Muslims from performing Hajj, intend us not to fulfill. #Hajj2016 #AlSaudHijacksHajj
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3:38
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Our Duty Towards The Oppressed | Shk. Usama Abdulghani - English
Why is the issue of Palestine the most important issue for the Muslim Ummah? Why is attending and supporting the Intentional Day of Quds strategically more important, and how will defeating the...
Why is the issue of Palestine the most important issue for the Muslim Ummah? Why is attending and supporting the Intentional Day of Quds strategically more important, and how will defeating the zionist regime lead to the end of oppression committed by the puppet regimes, in the Muslim World?
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Why is the issue of Palestine the most important issue for the Muslim Ummah? Why is attending and supporting the Intentional Day of Quds strategically more important, and how will defeating the zionist regime lead to the end of oppression committed by the puppet regimes, in the Muslim World?
5:37
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Who is Hossein? | Amazing info - Must watch - English
Who is Hossein? | Amazing info - MuAmazing and Inspirational video Clip, Today we are sharing some important information about a man who is known as a father of Free people and his name is Hussein....
Who is Hossein? | Amazing info - MuAmazing and Inspirational video Clip, Today we are sharing some important information about a man who is known as a father of Free people and his name is Hussein.
For Detail watch video: Who is Hussain and why He is a inspirations for millions peoples and why people follow him?
You Can visit below links to Read/watch The Full Story of Hussain ibn Ali:
Video : https://goo.gl/aBWZ79Amazing and Inspirational video Clip, Today we are sharing some important information about a man who is known as a father of Free people and his name is Hussein.
For Detail watch video: Who is Hussain and why He is a inspirations for millions peoples and why people follow him?
You Can visit below links to Read/watch The Full Story of Hussain ibn Ali:
Video : https://goo.gl/aBWZ79
Website: https://goo.gl/UFrBC3
Website: https://goo.gl/UFrBC3st watch
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Who is Hossein? | Amazing info - MuAmazing and Inspirational video Clip, Today we are sharing some important information about a man who is known as a father of Free people and his name is Hussein.
For Detail watch video: Who is Hussain and why He is a inspirations for millions peoples and why people follow him?
You Can visit below links to Read/watch The Full Story of Hussain ibn Ali:
Video : https://goo.gl/aBWZ79Amazing and Inspirational video Clip, Today we are sharing some important information about a man who is known as a father of Free people and his name is Hussein.
For Detail watch video: Who is Hussain and why He is a inspirations for millions peoples and why people follow him?
You Can visit below links to Read/watch The Full Story of Hussain ibn Ali:
Video : https://goo.gl/aBWZ79
Website: https://goo.gl/UFrBC3
Website: https://goo.gl/UFrBC3st watch
1:37
|
Quick Recipes - Instant Jalebi Recipe - English
Important Tips:
Timings are very important in this recipe.
Yeast fermentation required 15 mins.
After making Jalebi batter let it sit for maximum10 mins, texture will be slightly changed....
Important Tips:
Timings are very important in this recipe.
Yeast fermentation required 15 mins.
After making Jalebi batter let it sit for maximum10 mins, texture will be slightly changed.
Never leave batter for long and do not store it. Use batter within 10-15 mins
Dip jalebis in warm sugar syrup immediately after frying.
Dip in Sugar syrup for 5-10 seconds. Fold in syrup and take them out.
Instant Jalebi
Recipe in English:
Ingredients:
Sheera (Sugar syryp):
-Paani (Water) 1 cup
-Cheeni (Sugar) 2 cup
-Hari elaichi (Green cardamom) 2-3
-Leemo ka rus (Lemon juice) 2 tsp
For Jalebi:
-Paani (Water) lukewarm 2-3 tbs
-Cheeni (Sugar) 1 tsp
-Instant yeast ½ tsp
-Maida (Flour) 1 cup
-Orange Food color 1 tsp or as required
-Ghee melted 1 tbs
-Baisan (Gram flour) 1 tbs
-Paani (Water) as required
-Desi ghee for frying
Directions:
For Sheera (Sugar syrup):
-In pot,add water,sugar and green cardamom,mix it and cook until syrup thickens.
-In the end, add lemon juice, stir well and set aside.
-Sheera is ready.
For Jalebi:
-In lukewarm water,add sugar and instant yeast,mix & let it sit for 15 minutes.
-In bowl add flour, orange food color,ghee melted,gram flour,yeast mixture,water and make a batter of desired consistency. Let it rest for 10 minutes and consume immediately (within 10-15 minutes).
-Now pour this batter in the sneezing bottle.
-In frying pan, heat desi ghee and squeeze the bottle and make centric rings with the batter.
-When one side is cooked, turn over and fry the other side.
-After frying, immediately put the fried jalebis in the sugar syrup. The sugar syrup should be slightly warm when you add jalebis in it.
-Turn over after a minute so that both sides are coated with the syrup.
-Keep them in the sugar syrup for about 2-3 minutes.
-Remove jablebis with the help of tong and shake lightly so that excess sugar syrup.
-Jalebi is ready to serve.
Recipe in Urdu:
Ajza:
Sheera (Sugar syryp):
-Paani (Water) 1 cup
-Cheeni (Sugar) 2 cup
-Hari elaichi (Green cardamom) 2-3
-Leemo ka rus (Lemon juice) 2 tsp
For Jalebi:
-Paani (Water) lukewarm 2-3 tbs
-Cheeni (Sugar) 1 tsp
-Instant yeast ½ tsp
-Maida (Flour) 1 cup
-Orange Food color 1 tsp or as required
-Ghee melted 1 tbs
-Baisan (Gram flour) 1 tbs
-Paani (Water) as required
-Desi ghee for frying
Directions:
- For Sheera (Sugar syrup):
-Pot mein pani,cheeni aur hari elaichi shamil ker k mix karein,sheera garha hunay taka paka lein.
-Akhir mein leemo ka rus dal ker mix karein aur side per rakh dein.
-Sheera tayyar hai
For Jalebi:
-Neem garam pani mein cheeni aur instant yeast dal ker mix karein aur 15 minutes kliya rakh dein.
-Bowl mein maida,orange food color,ghee melted,baisan,yeast mixture aur paani dal ker mix karein aur desired consistency ka batter tayyar karein aur 10 minute kliya chor dein aur foran istamal ker lein (10-15 minutes).
-Ab is batter ko sneezing bottle mein dal dein.
-Frying pan mein desi ghee garam karein aur squeeze bottle ki madad sa batter k centric rings bana lein.
-Jab ek side sa jalebi fry ho jaye tou turn ker k dosri side ko fry ker lein.
-Frying k foran bad fried jalebi ko sugar syrup mein dal dein.Sugar syrup halka garam huna chahiya.
-Sugar syrup mein jalebi ko turn ker lein ta k dono sides sa syrup coat ho jaye.
-2-3 minutes kliya sugar syrup mein chor dein.
-Tong ki madad sa jalebi ko syrup sa nikal lein aur halka sa shake karein ta k ezafee sugar syrup nikla jaye.
-Jalebi tayyar hai.
More...
Description:
Important Tips:
Timings are very important in this recipe.
Yeast fermentation required 15 mins.
After making Jalebi batter let it sit for maximum10 mins, texture will be slightly changed.
Never leave batter for long and do not store it. Use batter within 10-15 mins
Dip jalebis in warm sugar syrup immediately after frying.
Dip in Sugar syrup for 5-10 seconds. Fold in syrup and take them out.
Instant Jalebi
Recipe in English:
Ingredients:
Sheera (Sugar syryp):
-Paani (Water) 1 cup
-Cheeni (Sugar) 2 cup
-Hari elaichi (Green cardamom) 2-3
-Leemo ka rus (Lemon juice) 2 tsp
For Jalebi:
-Paani (Water) lukewarm 2-3 tbs
-Cheeni (Sugar) 1 tsp
-Instant yeast ½ tsp
-Maida (Flour) 1 cup
-Orange Food color 1 tsp or as required
-Ghee melted 1 tbs
-Baisan (Gram flour) 1 tbs
-Paani (Water) as required
-Desi ghee for frying
Directions:
For Sheera (Sugar syrup):
-In pot,add water,sugar and green cardamom,mix it and cook until syrup thickens.
-In the end, add lemon juice, stir well and set aside.
-Sheera is ready.
For Jalebi:
-In lukewarm water,add sugar and instant yeast,mix & let it sit for 15 minutes.
-In bowl add flour, orange food color,ghee melted,gram flour,yeast mixture,water and make a batter of desired consistency. Let it rest for 10 minutes and consume immediately (within 10-15 minutes).
-Now pour this batter in the sneezing bottle.
-In frying pan, heat desi ghee and squeeze the bottle and make centric rings with the batter.
-When one side is cooked, turn over and fry the other side.
-After frying, immediately put the fried jalebis in the sugar syrup. The sugar syrup should be slightly warm when you add jalebis in it.
-Turn over after a minute so that both sides are coated with the syrup.
-Keep them in the sugar syrup for about 2-3 minutes.
-Remove jablebis with the help of tong and shake lightly so that excess sugar syrup.
-Jalebi is ready to serve.
Recipe in Urdu:
Ajza:
Sheera (Sugar syryp):
-Paani (Water) 1 cup
-Cheeni (Sugar) 2 cup
-Hari elaichi (Green cardamom) 2-3
-Leemo ka rus (Lemon juice) 2 tsp
For Jalebi:
-Paani (Water) lukewarm 2-3 tbs
-Cheeni (Sugar) 1 tsp
-Instant yeast ½ tsp
-Maida (Flour) 1 cup
-Orange Food color 1 tsp or as required
-Ghee melted 1 tbs
-Baisan (Gram flour) 1 tbs
-Paani (Water) as required
-Desi ghee for frying
Directions:
- For Sheera (Sugar syrup):
-Pot mein pani,cheeni aur hari elaichi shamil ker k mix karein,sheera garha hunay taka paka lein.
-Akhir mein leemo ka rus dal ker mix karein aur side per rakh dein.
-Sheera tayyar hai
For Jalebi:
-Neem garam pani mein cheeni aur instant yeast dal ker mix karein aur 15 minutes kliya rakh dein.
-Bowl mein maida,orange food color,ghee melted,baisan,yeast mixture aur paani dal ker mix karein aur desired consistency ka batter tayyar karein aur 10 minute kliya chor dein aur foran istamal ker lein (10-15 minutes).
-Ab is batter ko sneezing bottle mein dal dein.
-Frying pan mein desi ghee garam karein aur squeeze bottle ki madad sa batter k centric rings bana lein.
-Jab ek side sa jalebi fry ho jaye tou turn ker k dosri side ko fry ker lein.
-Frying k foran bad fried jalebi ko sugar syrup mein dal dein.Sugar syrup halka garam huna chahiya.
-Sugar syrup mein jalebi ko turn ker lein ta k dono sides sa syrup coat ho jaye.
-2-3 minutes kliya sugar syrup mein chor dein.
-Tong ki madad sa jalebi ko syrup sa nikal lein aur halka sa shake karein ta k ezafee sugar syrup nikla jaye.
-Jalebi tayyar hai.
1:04
|
Education Before & After Islamic Revolution-World Statistic. Eng subtitle
One capacity is our educated youth. This is very important. We have ten million graduated youth in the country. We have more than four million students who are busy pursuing their education. This...
One capacity is our educated youth. This is very important. We have ten million graduated youth in the country. We have more than four million students who are busy pursuing their education. This is 23 times more than the beginning of the Revolution. In the beginning of the Revolution, we had 170, 180 thousand students. Today, we have more than four million. This means that our students are 23 times more. This is a very important capacity for the country. Even if we exclude young students, the youth who are busy studying in Islamic seminaries and the youth who are busy working in practical arenas are very large in number. They have many capabilities and they can play their part in science, in industry, and in matters related to experience and education.
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Description:
One capacity is our educated youth. This is very important. We have ten million graduated youth in the country. We have more than four million students who are busy pursuing their education. This is 23 times more than the beginning of the Revolution. In the beginning of the Revolution, we had 170, 180 thousand students. Today, we have more than four million. This means that our students are 23 times more. This is a very important capacity for the country. Even if we exclude young students, the youth who are busy studying in Islamic seminaries and the youth who are busy working in practical arenas are very large in number. They have many capabilities and they can play their part in science, in industry, and in matters related to experience and education.
11:58
|
The Trials of Marriage | BISKIT | English
What does having a pet cat named Mr. Tibbles have to do with marriage in Islam? Well, the short answer is nothing. Whether one has a pet cat or not should not hinder one from the divine prospect of...
What does having a pet cat named Mr. Tibbles have to do with marriage in Islam? Well, the short answer is nothing. Whether one has a pet cat or not should not hinder one from the divine prospect of marriage. Similarly, there are many things which Muslims take into account before deciding to marry or when selecting a spouse - the person’s skin colour, how wealthy they are, whether or not they are Sayyid… but are such things what Islam tells us to consider before marrying?
A quick disclaimer; the purpose of this episode is not to say that men should not work hard and strive to earn a halal living while saying, “I’m pious, so let me marry!”. No. It is the duty of Muslim men everywhere to work. Similarly, it is an important duty for us to study and educate ourselves.
The underlying message in this BISKIT is that FAITH ought to be given priority over all other things before we marry. Neither wealth, nor education, nor beauty, nor lineage, nor nationality are even remotely as important as faith. As Muslims we must remember that in front of faith, all the other things are as irrelevant as a pet cat named Mr. Tibbles!
More...
Description:
What does having a pet cat named Mr. Tibbles have to do with marriage in Islam? Well, the short answer is nothing. Whether one has a pet cat or not should not hinder one from the divine prospect of marriage. Similarly, there are many things which Muslims take into account before deciding to marry or when selecting a spouse - the person’s skin colour, how wealthy they are, whether or not they are Sayyid… but are such things what Islam tells us to consider before marrying?
A quick disclaimer; the purpose of this episode is not to say that men should not work hard and strive to earn a halal living while saying, “I’m pious, so let me marry!”. No. It is the duty of Muslim men everywhere to work. Similarly, it is an important duty for us to study and educate ourselves.
The underlying message in this BISKIT is that FAITH ought to be given priority over all other things before we marry. Neither wealth, nor education, nor beauty, nor lineage, nor nationality are even remotely as important as faith. As Muslims we must remember that in front of faith, all the other things are as irrelevant as a pet cat named Mr. Tibbles!
48:49
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[1/5](ENGLISH DUBBED) Interview with Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah - Sept 2019
Masseer Especial Journal, which belongs to Khamenei.ir, has conducted an interview with Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Lebanon\\\\\\\'s Hezbollah, which is published for the...
Masseer Especial Journal, which belongs to Khamenei.ir, has conducted an interview with Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Lebanon\\\\\\\'s Hezbollah, which is published for the first time. The following is part one of the interview:
I would like to start the interview by asking you how the situation in the region was, at the time when the Islamic Revolution became victorious. How was the situation in the West Asian region? Particularly given that one of the important dimensions of the Islamic Revolution is its regional and international implications, what changes occurred in the regional equations following the Islamic Revolution and what events have we witnessed? With the Islamic Revolution gaining victory, what took place in the region in general and in Lebanon in particular?
In the name of God the Beneficent, the Merciful. First, I would like to welcome you. If we go back to the past and observe the developments, we will find that, very shortly before the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, a very significant incident took place in the region, namely the withdrawal of the Arab Republic of Egypt from the Arab-Israeli conflict and the signing of the Camp David Treaty. This event—due to the important and effective role of Egypt in the aforementioned conflict—had a very dangerous impact on the region as well as on the Arab-Israeli confrontation over the issue of Palestine and the future of Palestine.
After that incident, in the first place, it seemed that the confrontation was going on largely in favor of Israel. This was mainly because other Arab countries and Palestinian resistance groups were not able to confront major powers without the help of Egypt at that time. So, firstly, the occurrence of such an incident led to the emergence of a deep division among Arab countries.
Secondly, you remember that at the time, there was a US-led Western bloc opposing the USSR. Therefore, there existed a split in our region: the gap between the countries associated with the Soviet Union—that is, the Eastern bloc—and the countries depending on the United States, the Western bloc. Accordingly, we could see a deep divide among the Arab countries in the region, and this gap had devastating consequences for the nations and of course, also had an impact on the Arab-Israeli conflict. At the time, the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States essentially affected our region and its developments.
In the case of Lebanon, it should be said that Lebanon is also part of this region, and thus, it has been severely affected by its developments, including Israeli actions, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the divisions in the region. At that time, Lebanon faced domestic problems as well, and was suffering from the civil war. The Israeli enemy occupied parts of southern Lebanon in 1978, that is one year before the Islamic Revolution, and then created a security zone called the \\\\\\\"border strip\\\\\\\" on the Lebanese-Palestinian borders. The Israeli enemy, through this security zone, continued its daily aggression against Lebanon, its cities, villages and people. Indeed, we faced a very serious problem: the Israeli occupation in parts of southern Lebanon and its daily aggressions. Israeli warplanes and their artillery bombed southern Lebanon; abduction operations and multiple explosions by the Zionist regime continued in its worst form, and people were displaced following these brutal acts. These events also took place between 1977 and 1979; that is, not long before the victory of the Islamic Revolution.
#Iran #IRGC #israel #Lebanon #Sayyed_Hassan_Nasrallah #Nasrallah #Hezbollah #Khamenei
More...
Description:
Masseer Especial Journal, which belongs to Khamenei.ir, has conducted an interview with Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Lebanon\\\\\\\'s Hezbollah, which is published for the first time. The following is part one of the interview:
I would like to start the interview by asking you how the situation in the region was, at the time when the Islamic Revolution became victorious. How was the situation in the West Asian region? Particularly given that one of the important dimensions of the Islamic Revolution is its regional and international implications, what changes occurred in the regional equations following the Islamic Revolution and what events have we witnessed? With the Islamic Revolution gaining victory, what took place in the region in general and in Lebanon in particular?
In the name of God the Beneficent, the Merciful. First, I would like to welcome you. If we go back to the past and observe the developments, we will find that, very shortly before the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, a very significant incident took place in the region, namely the withdrawal of the Arab Republic of Egypt from the Arab-Israeli conflict and the signing of the Camp David Treaty. This event—due to the important and effective role of Egypt in the aforementioned conflict—had a very dangerous impact on the region as well as on the Arab-Israeli confrontation over the issue of Palestine and the future of Palestine.
After that incident, in the first place, it seemed that the confrontation was going on largely in favor of Israel. This was mainly because other Arab countries and Palestinian resistance groups were not able to confront major powers without the help of Egypt at that time. So, firstly, the occurrence of such an incident led to the emergence of a deep division among Arab countries.
Secondly, you remember that at the time, there was a US-led Western bloc opposing the USSR. Therefore, there existed a split in our region: the gap between the countries associated with the Soviet Union—that is, the Eastern bloc—and the countries depending on the United States, the Western bloc. Accordingly, we could see a deep divide among the Arab countries in the region, and this gap had devastating consequences for the nations and of course, also had an impact on the Arab-Israeli conflict. At the time, the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States essentially affected our region and its developments.
In the case of Lebanon, it should be said that Lebanon is also part of this region, and thus, it has been severely affected by its developments, including Israeli actions, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the divisions in the region. At that time, Lebanon faced domestic problems as well, and was suffering from the civil war. The Israeli enemy occupied parts of southern Lebanon in 1978, that is one year before the Islamic Revolution, and then created a security zone called the \\\\\\\"border strip\\\\\\\" on the Lebanese-Palestinian borders. The Israeli enemy, through this security zone, continued its daily aggression against Lebanon, its cities, villages and people. Indeed, we faced a very serious problem: the Israeli occupation in parts of southern Lebanon and its daily aggressions. Israeli warplanes and their artillery bombed southern Lebanon; abduction operations and multiple explosions by the Zionist regime continued in its worst form, and people were displaced following these brutal acts. These events also took place between 1977 and 1979; that is, not long before the victory of the Islamic Revolution.
#Iran #IRGC #israel #Lebanon #Sayyed_Hassan_Nasrallah #Nasrallah #Hezbollah #Khamenei
6:41
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What is the Coronavirus telling us | Ali Reza Panahian Farsi sub English
What is the Coronavirus telling us?
One of the very valuable statements from Imam Baqir (‘a) is a letter he wrote to Sa’d. In the beginning of the letter, the Imam mentions a...
What is the Coronavirus telling us?
One of the very valuable statements from Imam Baqir (‘a) is a letter he wrote to Sa’d. In the beginning of the letter, the Imam mentions a subject, which is needed by today’s society. “In the Name of God, the Companionate, the Merciful. I advise you to have ‘Taqwa’ (be careful of your duty to Allah). Because, this brings well-being from devastation and benefit when returning (to God).” [Osul Kafi, vol. 8, p. 52] Taqwa saves you from destruction. Your assets won’t be wasted. Your talents won’t be destroyed. It will become something valuable for your Hereafter.
The tradition continues, “Because of their Taqwa, Noah and the ones who were with him (the believers) in the ship were rescued.” Salih and his people were rescued from lightning with Taqwa. What does Taqwa mean? Vigilance. Be careful. That person is a careful person. What do doctors constantly say about this virus that has appeared? Take care. Wash your hands. Don’t kiss others. Be careful not to touch unclean environments. Right? This is taking care. Is it something bad?
Some people are not careful at all. When you remind them and they start being careful, they experience a new feeling. What is the difference between Taqwa and an ordinary being careful? An example of an ordinary being careful is when it’s dark and you touch things carefully and are careful not to bump into anything. This is for when you yourself are taking care of your world. This is like these regular sanitary measures and other ways of taking care. It’s like being careful when driving not to have an accident. This is a minimum amount of being careful. It’s very stylish and beautiful too.
Another kind is for people to be careful about carrying out God’s commands. Being careful in this case is a thousand times more. The Commander of the Faithful, Ali (‘a), said, “Whoever is careful about God’s commands, God will take care of him/her.” The effect of God taking care of us is much more than us taking care of ourselves. Sometimes a person takes care of his greatest benefit. He/she is careful about God’s opinion. This is Taqwa. You are careful like a child who is careful but is in his parent’s embrace. One hundred times more than the child, his father takes care of him not to fall or be injured. If one tries to hit this child, he will bring his hand forward as a shield to protect himself. But, more important than this is the father’s hand, which suddenly comes forward and protects the child.
We should take care for our interests to be protected. Taking care is the first condition to being successful in life. Taking care means paying attention. A pious person is the one who is careful. “Taking care” is something nice and it doesn’t get old. This is not like saying, “You like to be religious, but I don’t!” A doctor is careful. You like a careful and watchful person. God likes such a person too. This is a very chic life.
Then, the tradition continues, “With Taqwa, God protects His servant from whatever does not come to his mind.” Whatever his mind doesn’t understand, God will compensate for him. Imam Baqir (‘a) is mentioning in this tradition whatever doesn’t come to your mind and is hidden from you. How should I know which environment is infected by virus and which environment isn’t. Should I enter it, or not?
One of those who has fallen ill with Coronavirus is putting posts in his page. He said, “I became sick and went to the hospital.” He’s healing now. He said, “No matter how much I think about how I got this virus, nothing comes to my mind.” A person doesn’t understand! But, what if God takes care of a person? What is this virus telling us? It is saying, “Be more careful.” All of life is this. If the most important thing that you want to take care of is God’s satisfaction, God will open the way for you so that you may pass through problems when everyone is stuck in a dead end.
Whoever sees his problems in life have increased should be more careful. He should pray more on time and with more attention. When you are careful about God’s opinion, that He is not ignored, He is not disrespected, and are careful about His command, all of your worldly benefits will be provided better. This is what Imam Baqir (‘a) was saying. We need to be careful in misfortunes. If you want to be saved from this illness or any other fatal problem, you need Taqwa, Taqwa of the tongue, ears, and eyes. Increase this Taqwa and you will clearly see its effects.
===================================
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Subscribe https://www.youtube.com/c/PanahianEnglish
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More...
Description:
What is the Coronavirus telling us?
One of the very valuable statements from Imam Baqir (‘a) is a letter he wrote to Sa’d. In the beginning of the letter, the Imam mentions a subject, which is needed by today’s society. “In the Name of God, the Companionate, the Merciful. I advise you to have ‘Taqwa’ (be careful of your duty to Allah). Because, this brings well-being from devastation and benefit when returning (to God).” [Osul Kafi, vol. 8, p. 52] Taqwa saves you from destruction. Your assets won’t be wasted. Your talents won’t be destroyed. It will become something valuable for your Hereafter.
The tradition continues, “Because of their Taqwa, Noah and the ones who were with him (the believers) in the ship were rescued.” Salih and his people were rescued from lightning with Taqwa. What does Taqwa mean? Vigilance. Be careful. That person is a careful person. What do doctors constantly say about this virus that has appeared? Take care. Wash your hands. Don’t kiss others. Be careful not to touch unclean environments. Right? This is taking care. Is it something bad?
Some people are not careful at all. When you remind them and they start being careful, they experience a new feeling. What is the difference between Taqwa and an ordinary being careful? An example of an ordinary being careful is when it’s dark and you touch things carefully and are careful not to bump into anything. This is for when you yourself are taking care of your world. This is like these regular sanitary measures and other ways of taking care. It’s like being careful when driving not to have an accident. This is a minimum amount of being careful. It’s very stylish and beautiful too.
Another kind is for people to be careful about carrying out God’s commands. Being careful in this case is a thousand times more. The Commander of the Faithful, Ali (‘a), said, “Whoever is careful about God’s commands, God will take care of him/her.” The effect of God taking care of us is much more than us taking care of ourselves. Sometimes a person takes care of his greatest benefit. He/she is careful about God’s opinion. This is Taqwa. You are careful like a child who is careful but is in his parent’s embrace. One hundred times more than the child, his father takes care of him not to fall or be injured. If one tries to hit this child, he will bring his hand forward as a shield to protect himself. But, more important than this is the father’s hand, which suddenly comes forward and protects the child.
We should take care for our interests to be protected. Taking care is the first condition to being successful in life. Taking care means paying attention. A pious person is the one who is careful. “Taking care” is something nice and it doesn’t get old. This is not like saying, “You like to be religious, but I don’t!” A doctor is careful. You like a careful and watchful person. God likes such a person too. This is a very chic life.
Then, the tradition continues, “With Taqwa, God protects His servant from whatever does not come to his mind.” Whatever his mind doesn’t understand, God will compensate for him. Imam Baqir (‘a) is mentioning in this tradition whatever doesn’t come to your mind and is hidden from you. How should I know which environment is infected by virus and which environment isn’t. Should I enter it, or not?
One of those who has fallen ill with Coronavirus is putting posts in his page. He said, “I became sick and went to the hospital.” He’s healing now. He said, “No matter how much I think about how I got this virus, nothing comes to my mind.” A person doesn’t understand! But, what if God takes care of a person? What is this virus telling us? It is saying, “Be more careful.” All of life is this. If the most important thing that you want to take care of is God’s satisfaction, God will open the way for you so that you may pass through problems when everyone is stuck in a dead end.
Whoever sees his problems in life have increased should be more careful. He should pray more on time and with more attention. When you are careful about God’s opinion, that He is not ignored, He is not disrespected, and are careful about His command, all of your worldly benefits will be provided better. This is what Imam Baqir (‘a) was saying. We need to be careful in misfortunes. If you want to be saved from this illness or any other fatal problem, you need Taqwa, Taqwa of the tongue, ears, and eyes. Increase this Taqwa and you will clearly see its effects.
===================================
Follow us:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Panahianen/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PanahianEN/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PanahianEN
Telegram: https://telegram.me/Panahianen/
===================================
Subscribe https://www.youtube.com/c/PanahianEnglish
===================================
See our pages in various languages: https://panahian.net/
===================================
10:40
|
[ Condolence message] Passing of Syed al-Jalāli & Dr Kalbe Sadiq; Knowledge without Tarbiyyat - Maulana S Muhammad
- A conversation between Kumayl bin Ziyad and Imam Ali, regarding the importance of knowledge over wealth
- Commemorating the deaths of two important figures in the Shi\'a world
- Allāmah Sayyid...
- A conversation between Kumayl bin Ziyad and Imam Ali, regarding the importance of knowledge over wealth
- Commemorating the deaths of two important figures in the Shi\'a world
- Allāmah Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-Jalāli who passed away at age 78 in Chicago
- Maulana Dr. Syed Kalbe Sadiq of Lucknow who passed away on Tuesday
- Discussing their contributions to the Deen and the important roles they played
- Why education and knowledge on it\'s own is good, however it also requires \'tarbiyyat\', for strongly grounded principles
- Quoting Suratul Juma in relation to the above
- Discussing a person who has an education, but no concern for others or for doing the right thing
More...
Description:
- A conversation between Kumayl bin Ziyad and Imam Ali, regarding the importance of knowledge over wealth
- Commemorating the deaths of two important figures in the Shi\'a world
- Allāmah Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-Jalāli who passed away at age 78 in Chicago
- Maulana Dr. Syed Kalbe Sadiq of Lucknow who passed away on Tuesday
- Discussing their contributions to the Deen and the important roles they played
- Why education and knowledge on it\'s own is good, however it also requires \'tarbiyyat\', for strongly grounded principles
- Quoting Suratul Juma in relation to the above
- Discussing a person who has an education, but no concern for others or for doing the right thing
50:37
|
Zakat Fully Explained - Maulana Syed Muhammad Rizvi | English
Visit al-m.ca/zakat for a paper on this topic
- Discussing the concept of zakat, especially in relation to khums
- Zakat is included in the Furu\'-e-Din, one of the core tenets of Islam
-...
Visit al-m.ca/zakat for a paper on this topic
- Discussing the concept of zakat, especially in relation to khums
- Zakat is included in the Furu\'-e-Din, one of the core tenets of Islam
- It\'s occured 32 times in the Qur\'an, 27 of which are alongside salat
- Important to note that the frequency of occurence does not mean one item is more important than others; Hajj and fasting were only mentioned once!
- The importance of understanding the Qur\'an, and the meaning behind the word \'zakat\', whether it means the technical term, or a general term of charity
- Observing the context of various verses, and when they were revealed in relation to the Prophet
- Looking at examples in the Qur\'an, especially the famous incident with Imam Ali and his ring
- Looking at verses from Sura Maryam, quoting Prophet Isa regarding zakat
- Allah\'s interchangeable use of the words \'sadqa\' and \'zakat\' in various places
- Listing the items upon which Zakat is wajib
- What is the basis of this list?
- Narrating various ahadith regarding this wajib items list
- Looking at other ahadith which counter the above ones
- Let us not exercise the ijtihad of ignorance in religious matters and not impose our views on the views of the Prophet and his Ahlul Bayt
- Remember: sawm + zakatul fitr. If this is not paid, fasting is not complete and not accepted. Similarly, salat + salawat on Muhammad & Al-e Muhammad. If this salawat is not part of the salat, then the salat is not a salat!
Thursday Night Majlis
Recited By: Maulana Syed Muhammad Rizvi
Date: December 24th, 2020
Youtube: https://youtube.com/islamicentre
Podcasts: https://anchor.fm/islamicentre
Facebook: https://facebook.com/IslamiCentre.org
Website: https://islamicentre.org
https://facebook.com/sayyidmrizvi
https://instagram.com/sayyidmrizvi
https://twitter.com/sayyidmrizvi
More...
Description:
Visit al-m.ca/zakat for a paper on this topic
- Discussing the concept of zakat, especially in relation to khums
- Zakat is included in the Furu\'-e-Din, one of the core tenets of Islam
- It\'s occured 32 times in the Qur\'an, 27 of which are alongside salat
- Important to note that the frequency of occurence does not mean one item is more important than others; Hajj and fasting were only mentioned once!
- The importance of understanding the Qur\'an, and the meaning behind the word \'zakat\', whether it means the technical term, or a general term of charity
- Observing the context of various verses, and when they were revealed in relation to the Prophet
- Looking at examples in the Qur\'an, especially the famous incident with Imam Ali and his ring
- Looking at verses from Sura Maryam, quoting Prophet Isa regarding zakat
- Allah\'s interchangeable use of the words \'sadqa\' and \'zakat\' in various places
- Listing the items upon which Zakat is wajib
- What is the basis of this list?
- Narrating various ahadith regarding this wajib items list
- Looking at other ahadith which counter the above ones
- Let us not exercise the ijtihad of ignorance in religious matters and not impose our views on the views of the Prophet and his Ahlul Bayt
- Remember: sawm + zakatul fitr. If this is not paid, fasting is not complete and not accepted. Similarly, salat + salawat on Muhammad & Al-e Muhammad. If this salawat is not part of the salat, then the salat is not a salat!
Thursday Night Majlis
Recited By: Maulana Syed Muhammad Rizvi
Date: December 24th, 2020
Youtube: https://youtube.com/islamicentre
Podcasts: https://anchor.fm/islamicentre
Facebook: https://facebook.com/IslamiCentre.org
Website: https://islamicentre.org
https://facebook.com/sayyidmrizvi
https://instagram.com/sayyidmrizvi
https://twitter.com/sayyidmrizvi
25:10
|
Is AI dangerous to humans ? Find out the missing parameter ! | French Sub English
📢 Dear beloved subscribers, we\'re happy to share with you our new video
Is AI dangerous to humans ? Find out the missing parameter !
Today, the transition to artificial intelligence is...
📢 Dear beloved subscribers, we\'re happy to share with you our new video
Is AI dangerous to humans ? Find out the missing parameter !
Today, the transition to artificial intelligence is becoming a standard. Has humanity asked itself the right questions before entering this race? Are we really going in the right direction? Is there a dark side to AI that we haven\'t grasped? If so, what is the solution to avoid falling into the AI trap? These questions are important and decisive for the future of our humanity, so it is important that each of us becomes aware of them, in order to be an actor in the construction of our world and not a simple spectator...
📰 For reading lovers, please check it on our blog
https://www.timetowitness.com/is-artificial-intelligence-machine-robot-dangerous-to-humans-find-out-the-missing-parameter/
🎥 For video lovers, please check it on our Youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2ay9XpqrjE
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More...
Description:
📢 Dear beloved subscribers, we\'re happy to share with you our new video
Is AI dangerous to humans ? Find out the missing parameter !
Today, the transition to artificial intelligence is becoming a standard. Has humanity asked itself the right questions before entering this race? Are we really going in the right direction? Is there a dark side to AI that we haven\'t grasped? If so, what is the solution to avoid falling into the AI trap? These questions are important and decisive for the future of our humanity, so it is important that each of us becomes aware of them, in order to be an actor in the construction of our world and not a simple spectator...
📰 For reading lovers, please check it on our blog
https://www.timetowitness.com/is-artificial-intelligence-machine-robot-dangerous-to-humans-find-out-the-missing-parameter/
🎥 For video lovers, please check it on our Youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2ay9XpqrjE
If you like our work, please don\'t forget to share it and to spread it, and don\'t forget to follow us on our social platforms
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25:11
|
Is Artificial Intelligence (machine, robot) dangerous to humans ? Find out the missing parameter ! | French Sub English
Today, the transition to artificial intelligence is becoming a standard. Has humanity asked itself the right questions before entering this race? Are we really going in the right direction? Is...
Today, the transition to artificial intelligence is becoming a standard. Has humanity asked itself the right questions before entering this race? Are we really going in the right direction? Is there a dark side to AI that we haven\'t grasped? If so, what is the solution to avoid falling into the AI trap? These questions are important and decisive for the future of our humanity, so it is important that each of us becomes aware of them, in order to be an actor in the construction of our world and not a simple spectator...
https://www.timetowitness.com/is-artificial-intelligence-machine-robot-dangerous-to-humans-find-out-the-missing-parameter/
🔗 Original video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ejISryaDvY
🔗 Official channel : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1KF8_Ly41H-LifRhd8KAcA
🔗 Sheikh Jamel Tahiri official website : https://tahiri.fr/
Sheikh Jamel Tahiri is a cleric who completed 7 years of religious studies at the \"Imam Mountadhar\" theological institute in Lebanon.
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Two robots debate the future of humanity : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y3XdwTa1cA
Are We Approaching Robotic Consciousnesses? : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTOMNkZJRao
Artificial Intelligence | Is AI More Dangerous Than We Think?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHSRiJUtjt8
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More...
Description:
Today, the transition to artificial intelligence is becoming a standard. Has humanity asked itself the right questions before entering this race? Are we really going in the right direction? Is there a dark side to AI that we haven\'t grasped? If so, what is the solution to avoid falling into the AI trap? These questions are important and decisive for the future of our humanity, so it is important that each of us becomes aware of them, in order to be an actor in the construction of our world and not a simple spectator...
https://www.timetowitness.com/is-artificial-intelligence-machine-robot-dangerous-to-humans-find-out-the-missing-parameter/
🔗 Original video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ejISryaDvY
🔗 Official channel : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1KF8_Ly41H-LifRhd8KAcA
🔗 Sheikh Jamel Tahiri official website : https://tahiri.fr/
Sheikh Jamel Tahiri is a cleric who completed 7 years of religious studies at the \"Imam Mountadhar\" theological institute in Lebanon.
🔎 Related videos
Two robots debate the future of humanity : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y3XdwTa1cA
Are We Approaching Robotic Consciousnesses? : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTOMNkZJRao
Artificial Intelligence | Is AI More Dangerous Than We Think?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHSRiJUtjt8
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28:27
|
[Imam Khamenei | 28Jun21] To Judiciary Officials | امام خامنہ ای] عدلیہ عہدیداروں سے خطاب] - Urdu
[28 June 2021][Full Urdu Dubbed speech] Address to High officials of Judiciary (including President-elect Raesi) | حضرت آیت اللہ العظمی سید علی خامنہ ای
کا...
[28 June 2021][Full Urdu Dubbed speech] Address to High officials of Judiciary (including President-elect Raesi) | حضرت آیت اللہ العظمی سید علی خامنہ ای
کا ہفتہ عدلیہ کی مناسبت سے عدلیہ کے سربراہ اور اعلی عہدیداروں سے اہم خطاب
Important points | اہم موضوعات
- The great favour of Shaheed Beheshti on the country and the nation | ملک و قوم پر شہید بہشتی کا بڑا احسان
- The arrogance of the West, support for the Hypocrites and the claim of human rights | مغرب والوں کی ڈھٹائی، منافقین کی حماہت کرنا اور انسانی حقوق کا دعوی بھی
- Jihadi motivation in Judiciary, the cause of public confidence in institutions of the Islamic Republic | عدلیہ میں جہادی مہم، اسلامی جمہوریہ کے اداروں پر عوامی اعتماد کا سبب
- The process of change in the judiciary needs to continue | عدلیہ میں تغیر کا عمل جاری رہنے کی ضرورت
- Documentary plan for change in the judiciary; Solid and enforceable | عدلیہ میں تبدیلی کی دستاویز؛ ٹھوس اور نافذ العمل ہے
- Revival of public rights, important and legal responsibility of the judiciary | حقوق عامہ کا احیاء، عدلیہ کی اہم اور قانونی ذمہ داری
- Need for liaison/interaction of the judiciary with the people and activists of the society | عوام اور معاشرے کے سرگرم گروہوں سے عدلیہ کے رابطے کی ضرورت
- Election Achievement; a slap in the face of boycotters and opponents | انتخابات کا کارنامہ بائيکاٹ کرنے والوں اور مخالفین کے منہ پر طمانچہ
- Incorrect analysis of rejected votes | مسترد ووٹوں کے بارے میں غلط تجزیہ
- The embarrassing situation of those who objected to Iran\'s elections | ایران کے انتخابات پر اعتراضات کرنے والوں کی شرمناک حالت
- Election Candidates\' Opinion: There is a solution to the country\'s economic problems | انتخابات کے امیدواروں کی رائے: ملک کے اقتصادی مسائل کا حل موجود ہے
البلاغ : ادارہ فروغ ثقافت اسلامی پاکستان
#ImamKhameneiUrdu #IranElections2021 #JudiciaryWeek2021
More...
Description:
[28 June 2021][Full Urdu Dubbed speech] Address to High officials of Judiciary (including President-elect Raesi) | حضرت آیت اللہ العظمی سید علی خامنہ ای
کا ہفتہ عدلیہ کی مناسبت سے عدلیہ کے سربراہ اور اعلی عہدیداروں سے اہم خطاب
Important points | اہم موضوعات
- The great favour of Shaheed Beheshti on the country and the nation | ملک و قوم پر شہید بہشتی کا بڑا احسان
- The arrogance of the West, support for the Hypocrites and the claim of human rights | مغرب والوں کی ڈھٹائی، منافقین کی حماہت کرنا اور انسانی حقوق کا دعوی بھی
- Jihadi motivation in Judiciary, the cause of public confidence in institutions of the Islamic Republic | عدلیہ میں جہادی مہم، اسلامی جمہوریہ کے اداروں پر عوامی اعتماد کا سبب
- The process of change in the judiciary needs to continue | عدلیہ میں تغیر کا عمل جاری رہنے کی ضرورت
- Documentary plan for change in the judiciary; Solid and enforceable | عدلیہ میں تبدیلی کی دستاویز؛ ٹھوس اور نافذ العمل ہے
- Revival of public rights, important and legal responsibility of the judiciary | حقوق عامہ کا احیاء، عدلیہ کی اہم اور قانونی ذمہ داری
- Need for liaison/interaction of the judiciary with the people and activists of the society | عوام اور معاشرے کے سرگرم گروہوں سے عدلیہ کے رابطے کی ضرورت
- Election Achievement; a slap in the face of boycotters and opponents | انتخابات کا کارنامہ بائيکاٹ کرنے والوں اور مخالفین کے منہ پر طمانچہ
- Incorrect analysis of rejected votes | مسترد ووٹوں کے بارے میں غلط تجزیہ
- The embarrassing situation of those who objected to Iran\'s elections | ایران کے انتخابات پر اعتراضات کرنے والوں کی شرمناک حالت
- Election Candidates\' Opinion: There is a solution to the country\'s economic problems | انتخابات کے امیدواروں کی رائے: ملک کے اقتصادی مسائل کا حل موجود ہے
البلاغ : ادارہ فروغ ثقافت اسلامی پاکستان
#ImamKhameneiUrdu #IranElections2021 #JudiciaryWeek2021
1:40
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The Believer List | One Minute Wisdom | English
I know, I know; there are so many lists that we\\\'ve got to get done in our busy lives.
But you\\\'ll agree, some lists are more important than others. I mean, who loves to go through their...
I know, I know; there are so many lists that we\\\'ve got to get done in our busy lives.
But you\\\'ll agree, some lists are more important than others. I mean, who loves to go through their chores list?!
Yet, in this One Minute Wisdom, Sayyid Shahryar uses the wise words of Imam Mohammad ibne Ali al-Baqir (A) to tell us one of the most important lists we need to accomplish; \\\"The Believer List\\\".
Check.
#IslamicPulse #OneMinuteWisdom #OMW #Akhlaq #Ethics #Morality #Islam #Quran #AhlulBayt #List #Believer #BucketList
More...
Description:
I know, I know; there are so many lists that we\\\'ve got to get done in our busy lives.
But you\\\'ll agree, some lists are more important than others. I mean, who loves to go through their chores list?!
Yet, in this One Minute Wisdom, Sayyid Shahryar uses the wise words of Imam Mohammad ibne Ali al-Baqir (A) to tell us one of the most important lists we need to accomplish; \\\"The Believer List\\\".
Check.
#IslamicPulse #OneMinuteWisdom #OMW #Akhlaq #Ethics #Morality #Islam #Quran #AhlulBayt #List #Believer #BucketList
Video Tags:
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Quran,
AhlulBayt,
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