Ali Bilhaj’s remarks on his visit to the Iraqi government.

The questioner : Praise be to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our own souls and the badness of our deeds. Whoever Allah guides is the rightly guided, and whoever He leaves astray has no guide. I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is His slave and His Messenger. As for what follows, the most truthful speech is the Book of Allah the Exalted, the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and the worst of matters are those newly introduced, for every newly introduced matter is a religious innovation, every religious innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire. Regarding the answer to the question you posed, the answer is that we contacted the leadership in Iraq, specifically Vice President Saddam Hussein, who is 'Izzat Ibrahim. The subject of our discussion revolved around the means of cooperation between the Muslim people of Algeria and the Muslim people of Iraq. The means of cooperation he proposed were things we had already initiated, praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and a large part of it was completed, meaning on the second day of the invasion, such as donating money, collecting blood, and gathering provisions. There is also another aspect of cooperation regarding volunteers. We found a formula, which is that we send volunteers from Algeria to Iraq, but we send them, if Allah wills, in batches. If the state agrees to send them, praise be to Allah. If it does not agree, there is another means through the embassies, between the Iraqi embassy and the Jordanian embassy, and the Algerian government, to send these volunteers, whether they are volunteers for jihad and repelling the aggressor, or volunteers for medical care and treating the wounded, and other categories of volunteers. This is the field in which the discussion on cooperation took place. There are other points, which are a call to Allah the Exalted and Glorious, because we have not practiced pure political work, as it is said, but rather we added to it adherence to the Islamic Shari'ah. It is not permissible for us to raise Islam as a slogan and leave it as a Shari'ah. Also, spreading pure Islamic education among the armies; they promised well and said that there is also a group of preachers. We also spoke with the Minister of Awqaf, Abdullah Fadhil, about how they conduct this religious education in the camps to boost the morale of the army. These are the points. There may be other points that we cannot disclose, in any case, through the recording.

The Shaykh : Good, if Allah wills.

The questioner : These, perhaps, evenThe Shaykh : what we were unable to speak about, because they are secret matters, we thinkThe Shaykh : understands these issues.

The Shaykh : In your speech, if the state agrees, do you mean your state?

The questioner : Yes, indeed.

The Shaykh : Fine, then you moved on and said via the embassy, and what embassy? It seemed to me that there was some contradiction in it.

The questioner : It appears that there is a contradiction, but this is resolved, as is the case with apparent contradictions, by interpretation and sound reasoning. This is from the legal perspective. Also, from the practical perspective, there are other ways.

The Shaykh : I mean, do you not fear here that interpretation will do its work?

The questioner : Where?

The Shaykh : Here, in this apparent and hidden.

The questioner : No, this is a practical issue, Shaykh, more than a scientific issue we are verifying.

The Shaykh : I mean, the intended question is this, which is, by your admission, a contradiction. Does it not open the door for interpreting the speech contrary to what you intend?

The questioner : No, Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Do you leave it as it is?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Fine, Professor, what do you have?

The questioner : I, Shaykh, still have, Shaykh, some issues in which I would like to see your opinion, if Allah wills.

The Shaykh : And the opinion is shared.

The questioner : If Allah wills, Shaykh.