Regarding the "State" imposing hijab and banning smoking
In the name of Allah, and prayers and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah.
Regarding the "State's" Enforcement of Hijab and Smoking Ban
My brothers, my stance on the mistakes of the group is known to those who have followed me for more than a year. However, I am displeased when I see people mocking and criticizing their enforcement of hijab or their ban on smoking.
It is no secret, my brothers, that more than four thousand Sunni women are in the prisons of the Safavids, subjected to torture, rape, slapping, and kicking, according to human rights organizations. Sunni women in Iraq, in general, were not safe from being arrested and subjected to such treatment.
When a group like the State liberates cities from the Safavids and protects the honor of women and preserves their dignity, it is unjust to overlook all of this and then criticize them for enforcing hijab on these women. Enforcing general Islamic appearance on Muslims is a duty of a righteous state that we also aspire to.
However, some of us remain silent when they see people criticizing the State for enforcing hijab on Muslim women, thinking to themselves: "Even if this is a mistake, they are wrong in their overall course." The worst is that people criticize them even for their right actions to deter others from their mistakes.
No, my brothers, by doing so, we forget that we lose our credibility when we acknowledge to people the mistake of what is not a mistake, but what we see as a necessity to do if we were to take care of people's affairs one day. Whether it is enforcing people with juristic efforts or opposing what we might see as a legitimate policy while ignoring their protection of women's honor and preserving their dignity.
Similarly, it is unjust to criticize their ban on smoking, for example, without praising their liberation of Sunni prisoners who were being tortured and having their heads drilled by the Safavids.
The Importance of Balanced Criticism
We must know what to criticize this group or others about, and I have explained in many instances the aspects of criticism and will not repeat them here to avoid digressing from the main idea. Our praise for the State's support of the Sunni people in Iraq does not mean we approve of their mistakes in Sham.
We must also maintain our balance so that the rudeness of some extremists of the group and their bad manners do not take us away from it. We should remain wanting good for the Muslims, striving for the guidance of those who have gone astray, and detaching ourselves from our personal desires, presenting the interest of the call and the unity of the Muslims.
When we criticize an entity, we should not want to reach the point where we criticize just for the sake of criticism. When you feel that you are rejected anyway and that I will carry all the good from you on the worst of assumptions, this widens the gap between the Muslims and makes understanding impossible.
May Allah rectify the youth of the State, aid them in the good they are in, purify them from the evil they are in, strengthen them against the disbelievers, and restrain their hands from the Muslims, and may He unite the hearts. Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.