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General Soleimani hailed as a global hero
The cultural consulate of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran organized the martyrdom anniversary to honour General Qassem Soleimani’s legacies and contributions to the world in an event that attracted media partners, scholars, religious and opinion leaders from Uganda.
Soleimani was assassinated in a targeted U.S. drone strike on 3 January 2020 in Baghdad, which was approved by U.S. President Donald Trump. The strike was strongly condemned by some, including the Iranian government, and a multi-city funeral was held in Iraq and Iran for Soleimani and other casualties, however his assassination was welcomed by ISIS.
According to Iran, Qassem Soleimani became a Martyr due to his exemplary services in the Middle East.He left Iran to go to Iraq on official invitation but the West martyred him on the foreign land which is state terrorism.
He was called the shadow commander by the West due to his strategic intelligence in military planning and technics in fighting terrorist groups, he lived and inspired many people in the Middle East and beyond and his assassination created loopholes in the foreign policy.
Alhaji Muhammad Reza Ghezelsofla, the Cultural Counselor of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran said death has many messages to all everyone.
“One day, a man asked his neighbour why his cock no longer makes a sound as before, he replied that some of his neighbours complained about the noise of the cock and it was slaughtered as it was disturbing their sweet sleep in the early morning and the man said that he learnt something from the incident as on many occasions some people who wakes up others are slaughtered like the cock,” he said.
Ghezelsofla said Soleimani’s assassination was revenge against the great nations that stood up to conspiracies and Zionism and thwarted the enemies’ plots
He added that Soleimani was a symbol of peace and love, as he stood for peace Unity and awakening those left to sleep.
“He did not differentiate between the Lebanese, Syrian, Iranian, Palestinian or Yemeni people. Any aggression against people, their money and their honour was a red line for him,” he remarked.
He added “In this case, Soleimani was waking up Nations from oppression and suppression engineered by the Western powers, this has been the case since the beginning of mankind including the prophets who faced hard times with rulers and kings by them but there are always two sides of the story; the truth and lies”.
Ghezelsofla said Talking about Soleimani’s legacies would take alot of time since he wasn’t for only Iranians but a global peace ambassador who fought terrorism and injustices across boarders.
He described Soleimani as a commander of hearts and he was a person who had many talents and capabilities which he used positively and selflessly.
“He was among the best followers of the holy prophet and he defended freedom and Unity, a school of thought, University and away for many though enemies miscalculated by assassinating him Iran is the country which is awakening Nations and this was one of the traditions of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh),” Ghezelsofla said.
William Balikuddeme the Uganda Science Journalists Association President said knew about Qassem Soleimani after his assassination, adding, “I got an opportunity to travel to Iran under science journalism by the Al-mustafa foundation and I learnt that BBC was misinforming the World about the true image of Iran,”.
Dr. Tajudeen Sanni from Kampala International University said people are living in the world where reality is painted in different colours, quoting Malcolm X “Be careful so that those who are by you are not painted as against you”.
“Today, we’re blessed with different media, some of which are independent from international hegemony and others are agencies of foreign powers if Iran was like other nations, it would collapse immediately due to a lot of pressure such as sanctions, assassination of scientists, and media propaganda among others from western Nations.” He said.
Tajudeen said Iran has been an island of resistance for more than forty years and it produced military Generals like Qassem Soleimani who became a nightmare in front of western Nations.
“As a scholar I talk with different western scholars and these describe Soleimani’s killing as an incident as lawlessness and terrorism which they said US tops the list, As Africans, we should know our true friends and enemies,” he said.
Prof. Adam Ssebyala from Al-Mustafa Islamic College said that when Muslims kept quiet when Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons, they contributed to his death. Muslims are contributing to the killing of fellow Muslims because they’re collaborating with the enemies in executing their plans and agenda.
Ashiraf Zziwa Muvawala, the Public Relations Officer from Uganda Muslim Supreme Council said that Qassem Soleimani was a symbol of resistance towards tyranny and terrorism. He thanked the Islamic Republic of Iran for standing against Western powers who want to colonise everyone.