The Al-Abbas's (p) Shrine concludes the activities of the eighth cultural fatwa of the Holy Defense Festival

The Al-Abbas's (p) holy shrine has concluded the activities of the eighth edition of the annual fatwa of the Holy Defense cultural festival.

The closing ceremony of the festival was held in the presence of the secretary general of the holy shrine; Sayed Mustafa Mortada Aal Dia-Uddin, a number of its board members, heads of departments and officials, as well as the presence of official, academic and Hawza figures and families of martyrs.

The festival was organized by the Department of Intellectual and Cultural Affairs, the al-Wafi foundation for documentation and studies, and the Al-Ameed scientific and intellectual Association, in celebration of the anniversary of the launch of the Holy Defense fatwa, under the slogan (the religious authority is a fort of the Islamic nation) on the imam al-Hassan Hall(peace be upon him), and lasted for two days.

The first day of the festival witnessed a speech of the Senior Official of the holy shrine; His Eminence Sayed Ahmad al-Safi, followed by the unveiling of the latest version of the Encyclopedia of the fatwa of sufficient duty of defense, and a part of a documentary film about the moment of the announcement of the supreme religious authority of the fatwa of sufficient duty of defense.

The activities of the first day of the festival included presenting the opening paper of the head of the research and studies department at the Imamayn as-Sadeqayn Center (peace be upon them); Sheikh Ali al-Ghazi, during which he discussed the fatwa of the holy defense between al-Qommi and Sayed al-Sistani, in addition to the opening of an exhibition that includes many works of art, paintings and photographs that embody the heroism of the fatwa.

The second day included the holding of the fifth international scientific conference of the Holy Defense fatwas, which included the discussion of scientific research by specialized researchers from inside and outside Iraq, and the establishment of the conference on the martyrs of the Speicher massacre, organized by the Iraqi Center for documentation of extremist crimes of the Department of Intellectual and Cultural Affairs at the holy shrine, during which the center paid tribute to a number of families of the martyrs of the Speicher massacre, and presented a research paper on the massacre that occurred in 2014 in Salah al-Din province by the researcher Dr. Thaer Ghalib al-Khaqani, as well as a collection of poems.

The activities of the eighth edition of the Holy Defense fatwa cultural festival were concluded with a speech by the preparatory committee for the festival and a reading of its recommendations, delivered by the member of the administrative body of the Al-Ameed scientific and intellectual Association; Dr. Mushtaq Al-Ali, as well as honoring the winners of the vertical poem and short story competitions.

The festival is one of the most important events commemorating the fatwa of the supreme religious authority for the defense of Iraq and its holy sites, and the Al-Abbas's (p) holy shrine bore the responsibility to sustain the momentum of this anniversary and make it firm in the memory of generations.