Representative of Supreme Religious Authority: Documenting Crimes Today Preserve...

The representative of the Supreme Religious Authority, Sheikh Abdul-Mahdi Al-Karbalai, emphasized that documenting crimes at present represents a race against time, especially while the traces of crimes and events remain evident and can be relied upon to reveal truths and clarify the consequences left behind by deviant ideas and ideologies. His remarks came during his receipt of the first copy of the Encyclopedia of Al-Qaeda and ISIS Terrorism in Iraq, prepared by the Imam Hussain Holy Shrine with the participation of more than (100) academic figures.

The representative of the Supreme Religious Authority stated that "the importance of this work lies in documenting facts and safeguarding them from falsification, particularly since many pages of history have suffered from distortion, making the documentation of events, evidence, and traces a necessity to preserve the truth for coming generations."

He explained that "documenting crimes at present represents a race against time, especially when the traces of crimes and events are still visible and can be drawn upon to uncover facts and illustrate the outcomes left by deviant thoughts and methodologies," pointing out that "documenting physical traces and real-world evidence contributes to presenting a clear image of the reality of those ideas away from the images that may be promoted."

He added that "among the objectives of the encyclopedia is also bringing justice to the nation, heroes, scholars, and everyone who played a role in preserving the faith, homeland, and people, giving those with genuine roles their rightful place in the pages of history, far from attributing achievements to other parties or individuals."

He indicated that "the encyclopedia contributed to documenting the crimes and intellectual deviance of the Al-Qaeda and ISIS organizations, revealing the reality of practices committed against Iraqis, in addition to documenting the positions and heroic acts witnessed in various regions—including what occurred in Amerli—alongside documenting the crimes and violations suffered by societal groups."

He continued that "the next phase requires delivering these facts to the widest possible scope, particularly regional and international institutions and organizations, as well as relevant government entities, by preparing accurate translations and appropriate summaries of the encyclopedia, and conveying them to international institutions concerned with human rights, documentation, and culture."

He noted "the importance of utilizing multiple mediums to convey the content of the encyclopedia to various segments of society, including literature, stories, novels, theater, and dramatic works, alongside writing and documentation, in a way that contributes to introducing generations to the documented facts and crimes committed in Iraq."

He further pointed out that "the work completed by the Bayyinah Center represents an important effort in preserving national memory and documenting facts," calling for "establishing an integrated plan to translate the encyclopedia and convey it to international and regional institutions, taking advantage of various means that allow delivering information and evidence to the largest possible number of recipients."

It is worth noting that the Encyclopedia Documenting Al-Qaeda and ISIS Terrorism in Iraq was completed after more than five years of work, comprising (50) volumes distributed across five main axes, as part of the efforts of the Bayyinah Center for Intellectual and Cultural Security, affiliated with the Imam Hussain Holy Shrine, to document events, crimes, and traces associated with terrorism in Iraq.