Chapter (5) Political and Military Activity with the Kurdish Movement

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Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān on one of the fighting fronts in Kurdistan, Iraq (first half of 1960s).

We are called “The Messenger’s nation”, so what is the difference between a Shīʿī and a Sunnī? A Kurd and an Arab? A Persian and anyone else? We are all the Messenger’s nation. There is no difference between an Arab and a non-Arab, except in piety[1], “Indeed, the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you” (al-Ḥujurāt 49:13).

Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān (Sermon, 2 November 2013)

The Messenger (PBUH) loved worshipping and being alone with his Lord even before the Qur’an was revealed, but he was never cut off from society. He combined worshipping Allah alone and having a fully integrated social life. He was a mecca for those who wanted to trust something and was truthful in dealing with people. He was known as “the truthful, trustworthy one”. After the revelation of the Qur’an, his worship took a new dimension, which was calling people to Allah. The need to defend and spread his message caused him to combine his role as a prophet and messenger of Allah to people with leading the Muslims politically and militarily and protecting them.

Iranian officials visiting Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Kasnazān in Iran when he was on his way to meet the Shah in Tehran (1962).

As was the case with the Prophet (PBUH), the responsibilities of the spiritual leadership of Ṭarīqa and the extensive worshipping of the Shaikhs did not keep them away from people. They lived in the heart of society, enjoining people to do good and forbidding evil, changing what displeases Allah by hand, tongue, and heart, following the ḥadīth, “If anyone sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; if he is not able to do so, then [let him change it] with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart—and that is the weakest of faith”.[2] For instance, Imām ʿAlī Ibn Abī Ṭālib had an unparalleled record of carrying out armed jihad with the Prophet (PBUH) against the polytheists who wanted to deprive the Muslims of their right to choose their religion, as well as after the death of the Messenger in defence of the great principles of Islam against those who wanted to undermine them under the name of Islam. Likewise, Imām Ḥusayn displayed one of the finest acts of self-sacrifice when he confronted those who betrayed the will of the Prophet (PBUH) and tried to exploit Islam for personal gain.

Meeting of Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān with Prime Minister ʿAbd al-Karīm Qāsim. On Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad’s right is Shaikh Ṭāhir, son of Shaikh Ḥusayn al-Kasnazān, and on Qāsim’s left Mullā ʿAlī Laylān and then Mullā Muḥammad Amīn (1960).

The Greatest Ghawth, Shaikh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Gaylānī, also considered serving society, which included standing against injustice and aggression, as part of his duty to serve people and call them to God. He distanced himself from rulers and people of power in order to be completely free and independent in guiding people, unlike clerics who chose to be instruments in the hands of the powerful in return for worldly gain. Yet he did not hesitate to intervene in politics when the public’s best interest so required. In AH 541 (1146 CE), the Abbasid caliph al-Muqtafī li-ʾAmri Allah appointed Yaḥyā Ibn Saʿīd, known as Ibn Marjam, as a judge. He was unjust and accepted bribes but no one could confront or stop him. Shaikh ʿAbd al-Qādir took advantage of al-Muqtafī’s presence in the mosque one day and addressed him from the pulpit, “You have put the worst tyrant in charge of the Muslims. What will you say tomorrow, before the Lord of the peoples?” The caliph dismissed that unjust judge.[3]

Similarly, the Shaikh’s school in Baghdad was a preparation centre for Muslims fighting against the Crusaders, as he was a contemporary of the political and military leaders ʿImād al-Dīn Zinkī and his son, Nūr al-Dīn Zinkī.[4] The success of the Abbasid caliphate in restoring its authority and power after its decline in the Seljuk period, including the resurgence of the Abbasid ministry office, contributed to the victories of Nūr al-Dīn Zinkī and Saladin al-Ᾱyyūbī against the Crusaders. The Qādiri school and its great Master also played a big role in raising the awareness of and mobilising the public.[5] Shaikh ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, one of Shaikh ʿAbd al-Qādir’s sons, fought against the Crusaders. He took part in Saladin’s conquest of Ashkelon in AH 583 (1187 CE), then he went to Jerusalem.[6]

Iranian police facilitating the travel of Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Kasnazān in Sanandaj, Iran, due to the large number of people welcoming him (1962).

The Kasnazānī Shaikhs fought foreign invaders and aggressors and emigrated when they needed to, just as their grand Master (PBUH) emigrated and fought before them. Shaikh ʿAbd al-Qādir Kasnazān released a fatwa that called for armed jihad against the Russian forces that invaded Iranian, then Iraqi, lands at the beginning of World War I, massacring and abusing many women, children, and elderly people and mutilating their bodies. As Shaikh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Gaylānī urged his sons to fight the occupation of the Crusaders, Shaikh ʿAbd al-Qādir Kasnazān instructed his son and the Shaikh of Ṭarīqa after him, Ḥusayn, to fight the foreign occupiers of the Muslim land in Kurdistan. He assembled an army and placed Shaikh Ḥusayn as its commander. This army teamed up with another force and entered into a fierce battle against the Russian army. After a few days of fighting, the small number of lightly armed Muslim fighters defeated the large Russian army, which was heavily armed with various kinds of weapons, causing many deaths and taking prisoners.[7]

Jalal Talabani’s visit to Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān after occuping centre of Qaradāgh, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq (September 1962).

Shaikh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Kasnazān also declared jihad against the British occupation in Iraq. On 22 May 1919, Shaikh Ḥusayn led one of the two forces that drew the British into an ambush between the villages of Karbchna and Kchan. The Muslim fighters killed some of the invaders and captured others. They also disarmed the convoy and seized the cash it carried and their horses.[8] Less than a month after their defeat at the Battle of Sangāw, the British mobilized a large army to retaliate and regain control of the areas they lost. The large difference in the number of troops favoured the invaders, who chased the Muslim fighters and went to Karbchna and burned it down. Shaikh ʿAbd al-Qādir and his family, including Shaikh Ḥusayn, had to migrate to Iran. The Shaikh died there about three years later. Shaikh Ḥusayn brought his father’s coffin to Karbchna and later, in the second half of 1923, he permanently returned from Iran to settle there. The anger of the British administration in Iraq at Shaikh ʿAbd al-Qādir can be seen in the description of him by one of its high-ranking officials as a “turbulent and dangerous agitator”.[9]

Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad became involved in the Kurdish movement in northern Iraq in 1959. In early February, Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm had to leave Karbchna to live in the village of Būbān in the Iraqi city of Penjwin, northeast of Karbchna, on the Iraqi-Iranian border. Naturally, our Shaikh accompanied his father. This migration was triggered by the chaos that spread with the unmanaged implementation of the Agrarian Reform Law that was introduced by the first government after the bloody removal of the monarchy in July 1958. This nationwide law failed to take into account the specifics of the situation in Kurdistan, whose agricultural lands depended mainly on rain rather than irrigation. This further exacerbated the Kurds’ feeling of the violation of their national rights. The disagreement between the tribal and political leadership of the Kurds and the Iraqi government continued to escalate until it developed into armed confrontation.

Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān, and on his right is his cousin Karīm Riḍā and the political poet Kāmrān Mukrī (1960s).

Our Shaikh entered politics after the migration of Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm. In addition to being the son of a Shaikh of Ṭarīqa, his rise to prominence was helped by his wide network of contacts and his influential personality. He was treated like a tribal chief despite his young age. He possessed leadership qualities, including bravery that made him fear no one and nothing, and he earned the trust of others. He always had a military force under his command to protect the takya from aghas and other people of power and influence who might be tempted to harm Ṭarīqa. He also provided support to the oppressed, some of whom sought refuge in the takya in Būbān.

Brigadier General ʿAbd al-Karīm Qāsim, who led the military coup against the monarchy and became prime minister, knew Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm; he and officers in his regiment had visited him in the early 1950s. In 1960, he heard that Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm had moved to Penjwin because of the developments caused by the misapplication of the Agrarian Reform Law and the way he was dealing with Kurdish national rights. He sought to mend the situation and please the Shaikh, so he sent one of his advisers, who was a Kurd, to invite the Shaikh to Baghdad to meet him in person. The Shaikh thanked the envoy for the invitation but he graciously declined it. Instead, he sent Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad as his representative, with a small delegation. Qāsim’s generosity with the delegation did not solve the fundamental issue that caused Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm to leave Karbchna. Also, his exceptional treatment of his representatives did not reflect a change in his policies in dealing with the Kurdish problem. The relations and trust between the government and the Kurdish movement continued to deteriorate.

Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm al-Kasnazān in the Iraqi village of Halālāwa on the borders with Iran, after the withdrawal of Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad and the Peshmerga fighters following the Battle of Darbandikhan (September 1961).

In the latter half of 1961, in the presence of Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm, under his auspices, and with his religious backing, tribal chieftains assembled and swore on a muṣḥaf to work together and not to betray one another or the cause. It must be noted that the support of Shaikhs ʿAbd al-Karīm and Muḥammad al-Muḥammad for the Kurdish movement to have the national rights of the Kurds acknowledged was given within the framework of the unity of Iraq. The Kasnazānī Shaikhs always stood against any proposal to divide Iraq, whether on national, sectarian, or any other grounds. Shrines of Shaikhs of Ṭarīqa Kasnazāniyya bless Iraq from north to south and east to west. Our Shaikhs have rejected any action that would create borders between these holy shrines.

As the situation between the government and the Kurds worsened, the army upped its activity in the region and started preparation for fighting. Some tribal fighters started cutting off roads for the army. On 7 September 1961, Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad led an armed force that attacked and occupied a police station on the road between Penjwin and Darbandikhān, seizing its weapons to secure the supply route between the two areas. This was one of the first military operations of the Kurdish revolution. Our Shaikh played a significant role in the Kurdish movement for several years until the struggle against the government for the national rights of the Kurds turned into an inner conflict between the two wings of the Kurdish movement, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the tribal side. This led him to lose his enthusiasm for military action. In the middle of 1966, his increased disillusionment with the Kurdish movement evolved into a decision to retire from armed action. Readers who are interested in detailed information on the history of Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad in the Kurdish movement may consult the relevant chapter in our comprehensive biography of him.[10]

Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān and to his left Shaikh Laṭīf, son of Shaikh Ḥusayn al-Kasnazān, on one of the battle fronts in Kurdistan, Iraq (first half of 1960s).

During his years of military action, our Shaikh was exposed to many dangers, yet divine care kept all harm away from him. He mentions that during one battle, the army shelled them with artillery from a mountaintop in Ṭūz Khūrmātū. He felt what he thought was dust caused by the shelling hitting his body now and then. When he looked closer, he saw that what felt like dust was, in fact, shell fragments. Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm would reassure our Shaikh’s mother and his family about his welfare during his years of involvement in the Kurdish movement, saying, “He will not be killed. I will not let any harm come his way”.[11]

On 11 March 1974, the Iraqi government announced the implementation of the autonomy accord that it had struck with the Kurdish leadership four years earlier. But the implementation was unilateral because the Kurds demanded the recognition of Kirkuk as part of the autonomous region, which the government rejected. The government sought the help of Kurdish leaders, including well-known figures who had a history with the Kurdish movement, that saw in the autonomy agreement a real opportunity for the Kurds to obtain their national rights within the unity of Iraq. It sought practical support from these individuals for the accord. Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad was one of these leading figures, becoming a member of the Legislative Council of the Autonomous Region in its second cycle in 1977. He put his membership of the council on hold, however, after Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm’s death, to dedicate himself to Ṭarīqa. Assuming the Shaikhdom of Ṭarīqa marked a radical turning point in all aspects of his life.

Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān with Jalal Talabani and members of the Political Bureau of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (1964).

Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad struggled for human rights and against injustice, just like the Shaikhs of Ṭarīqa Kasnazāniyya before him: his grandfather, Shaikh ʿAbd al-Qādir; his uncle, Shaikh Ḥusayn; and his father, Shaikh ʿAbd al-Karīm. Those six years of jihad (1961-1966) played a significant role in building his character and shaping his development. They were a phase in the formation of a spiritual Master for whom Allah had decreed greatness.

[1] The Prophet (PBUH) said in his Farewell sermon, “O people, your Lord is one and your father Adam is one. There is no superiority for an Arab over a foreigner, nor for a foreigner over an Arab, and neither for a white-skinned person over a black-skinned, nor for a black-skinned over a white-skinned, except by piety: ‘Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most pious of you’ (al-Ḥujurāt 49:13)”. See Al-Bayhaqī, Shuʿab al-ʾῙmān, IV, no. 5137, p. 289.

[2] Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ, I, no. 49, p. 69.

[3] Al-Tādifī, Qalāʾid al-jawāhir, 6.

[4] Al-Gaylānī, Hākathā ẓahara jīl ṣalāḥ al-dīn, 170, 249-255.

[5] Al-Ṣallābī, Al-Dawla al-zangiyya, 640.

[6] Al-Tādifī, Qalāʾid al-jawāhir, 43; Al-Gaylānī, Al-Shaikh ʿAbd al-Qādir, 273.

[7] Al-Kasnazān, “Al-Mujāhid al-Akbar”.

[8] Ḥamdā, Al-Kurd wa Kurdistan 72-73; Bell, Review of the civil administration of Mesopotamia, 64-65.

[9] Edmonds, Kurds, Turks and Arabs, 356.

[10]  Fatoohi, Shaikh Muhammad al-Muhammad, 165-207.

[11]  Shaikh Muḥammad al-Muḥammad al-Kasnazān, sermon, 18 June 2018.

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