Hizbullah Brigades: Islamic Nation Must Topple Saudi Regime

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In 2024, the anniversary of the demolition of the Muslim Al-Baqi cemetery in Saudi Arabia falls on April 21. The cemetery was demolished by the Saudi regime in the early 1920s. According to Muslim tradition, the cemetery was established by the Prophet Muhammad, and the Prophet's relatives and Companions are said to be buried there, as well as several Shi'ite imams. The graveyard was torn down twice by the Wahhabi regime which claimed that Islam prohibits the worship of graves. To mark the coming anniversary, the Hizbullah Brigades released a statement which asserts that the demolition of the cemetery contradicts the laws of the Quran and of Islam, and describes it as one of a series of crimes against Muslims perpetrated by the Wahhabis, their heirs the Saudi regime, and the Islamic State (ISIS). Hizbullah exhorted the Islamic nation to unite to topple the Saudi regime, which it claims implements Western agendas whose aim is to cut off the Muslims from their heritage and sully the image of Islam. This is not the first time that the Hizbullah Brigades have called for the downfall of the Saudi regime. In a message issued on September 29, 2023, Hizbullah expressed harsh criticism of Saudi Arabia for its readiness to normalize ties with Israel and claimed that the normalization of relations with Israel is part of the role for which Saudi Arabia was created, which, it contended, is mainly to undermine Islam. The organization vowed to continue its efforts to wipe Israel and those it described as "its tools" off the face of the earth."^[1] On February 18, 2023, Hizbullah Brigades spokesman Abu Ali Al-Askary called to "take the battle into the territory" of Saudi Arabia.^[2]

The following is a translation of the main points of the statement:[3]

"On the anniversary of the demolition of the graves at Al-Baqi…We take this opportunity to point out the danger of this step which contravenes the Quran… this serious crime that destroyed an important part of the Islamic heritage that is connected to the Prophet Muhammad and his pure relatives was perpetrated in the framework of a deliberate act led by [the forces] of global arrogance to cut off the Muslims from their esteemed history and from their important symbols.

"This heinous crime is an important part of the plot against Islam and its holy places. In addition to the demolition of the graves of the imams and the Companions of the Prophet, damage was also caused to the house where the first leader of Islam was born the exalted Prophet Muhammad, and to the Muslims' mosques and their holy places. All this was based on distorted religious rulings …

"This attack was accompanied by acts of destruction carried out by the House of Saud and the Wahhabis against every Muslim who opposed them and who did so much killing, that the city's waters ran with blood… This was similar to numerous other crimes of bloodshed and attack on holy places [to Islam] which were perpetrated by their [the Wahhabis'] heirs, the gangs of the sinful ISIS.

"As we mention the crimes of the Saudi entity, we stress that the Islamic nation should pay close attention to its [Saudi Arabia's] plans to implement the agendas of the [forces of] the global arrogance whose goals are to blacken the name of Islam, to distance the Muslims and distract them from their core issues, the most prominent of which is the oppression from which the Palestinian people suffer. [We call on the Islamic nation] to unify all the efforts to release the land with the two places that are holy to Islam [i.e. Saudi Arabia] from the rule of this collaborator family and from its takfiri[4] and Wahhabi perception."