Editing Ahmed al-Hasan (section)

== Supporters and opponents==
===Supporters===
The adherents of Ahmed al-Hasan collectively identify themselves as ''Ansar al-Mahdi'' ({{Literally}} supporters of the [[Imam Mahdi|Mahdi]], {{Langx|ar|أنصار المهدي|links=no}}),<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Ansar al-Mahdi and the Continuing Threat of the Doomsday Cults in Iraq|url=https://jamestown.org/program/the-ansar-al-mahdi-and-the-continuing-threat-of-the-doomsday-cults-in-iraq/|last=Rafid Fadhil Ali|date=22 February 2008|website=[[The Jamestown Foundation]]|language=en-US|access-date=30 May 2020}}</ref> (also ''Ansar al-Imam al-Mahdī''), and are sometimes called ''Ansars''. His followers have described his call as being universal,<ref name="Mahdiwatch Questions">{{Cite web |url=http://www.mahdiwatch.org/2008.03.01_arch.html#1205465357892 | title = Questions sent to Ahmad al-Hassan followers (Ansars) | date = 13 March 2008 | access-date = 30 July 2012 | publisher = Dr. Timothy Furnish | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418071841/http://www.mahdiwatch.org/2008.03.01_arch.html#1205465357892 | archive-date = 18 April 2012 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name="MERIP">{{Cite web |url=http://www.merip.org/mer/mer242/basra-reluctant-seat-shiastan | title = MERIP Basra analysis | date = 13 March 2008 | access-date = 30 July 2012 | publisher = Dr. Reidar Visser }}</ref> because his preaching addresses Muslims, Christians, Jews, and all of mankind.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Skelly|first=Joseph|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FPceAsg_bpwC&q=%22ahmad+al-hassan%22+jews+christians&pg=PA187|title=Political Islam from Muhammad to Ahmadinejad: Defenders, Detractors, and Definitions|date=25 November 2009|publisher=[[Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa]]|isbn=978-0-313-37224-7|pages=187|language=en}}</ref>

Many of his supporters are in his native land, Iraq. While his prominence has wained since his first burst of publicity,<ref name="Who"/> there are reportedly "more than 15 official public offices and representatives in major cities" there.<ref name="Who"/> 
He is believed to have followers in many other countries as well, including Iran, Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the United States and Australia. And his websites provide teachings in several languages.<ref name="Who"/> In Iran, the Yamani movement is said to have "more than 6,000" converts and to be more popular among clerics than lay people, especially due to clerics being more knowledgeable eschatological hadiths and because of the similarities between Ahmed al-Hasan's characteristics and the descriptions given of the promised al-Yamani in the Shīʿa scriptures. This support has begun to cause friction with the [[Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran|Iranian government]]. According to the chief of Basra police his followers are mostly intellectuals and educated people, including university professors, seminary graduates and engineers.<ref>{{cite news|title=شرطة البصرة تكشف معلومات عن 'رسول' المهدي المنتظر|trans-title=Basra police reveal information about the expected 'messenger' of Mahdi|last=Neouf|first=Hayan|url=https://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2008%2F02%2F03%2F45126|date=3 February 2008|work=[[Al Arabiya]]|language=ar}}</ref>

Ahmed al-Hasan has an official website and [[Telegram (software)|Telegram]] channels. There are many books devoted to supporting or debunking him.<ref>[https://almahdyoon.com/main/ansarlib/ Online Arabic library on official Ahmed Alhasan's website]</ref><ref name="Who"/>

===Arrests and fabricated charges===

Ahmed al-Hasan's supporters said that their cause is humanitarian, not terrorist, and that they have no worldly ambitions. Rather, their cause is reform as Sayeed Ahmed al-Hasan has said: "I did not come to demolish."

The group said that the judicial rulings that took place in Iraq and the charges that were falsely and slanderously imposed on people from the group are considered an infringement on the freedom of belief of a group with a non-utilitarian religious orientation. They raise demands to the relevant Iraqi authorities, whether judicial or governmental, to the governments of major countries, and to humanitarian organizations to intervene, reopen investigations with the detainees, and remove Article 4 terrorism charges against them. It is noted that the fatwas to arrest Sayeed Ahmed Al-Hasan, shed his blood, and target his group were issued by the Iraqi Shia authority, followed by the Iranian Shia authority. In 2008, sentences were passed against 43 individuals within days amidst continuous torture and coercion to confess to fabricated charges: 19 men were sentenced to life imprisonment, and 24 men from our group were sentenced to death.

Additionally, one of Sayed Ahmed Al-Hasan's followers was arrested while performing the Husseini rituals during the Arbaeen pilgrimage procession. He had no prior arrest warrant against him, and the charge was his affiliation with the Yamani group, which is Sayeed Ahmed Al-Hasan's group. This has no connection to terrorism, yet they included it under Article 4 terrorism and sentenced him to ten years in prison. The religious authorities in Iraq have influence over the government authorities, intelligence, and police departments, so it is no surprise that they are fighting Sayeed Ahmed Al-Hasan by pushing their agendas. They continue to incite against Sayeed Ahmed Al-Hasan's group through their channels and media, monitoring their movements, and fabricating charges against them whenever the opportunity arises.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.alwatanvoice.com/arabic/news/2013/11/27/464806.html | title=جماعة احمد الحسن بالعراق تستنكر اعتقال اتباع الجماعة على يد المرجعيات الشيعية | date=27 November 2013 }}</ref>

===Saraya al-Qaem===
[[File:Saraya al-Qaem.jpg|thumb|Riser Brigades poster in Basra]]
Ahmed al-Hasan founded the Riser Brigades in 2015 which fought together with the Iraqi Army against ISIS. Ahmed al-Hasan has stated that Riser Brigades were founded to fight ISIS and protect the Shia shrines and not against the government or the Sunni brothers.<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/Ahmed.Alhasan.10313/posts/pfbid02F9rNrBmou61LCzEyC72pSLmDzWBcWY5skaaAzb4qSSg4DaaatsXqEAXe2gxpoJ6wl Ahmed al-Hasan on why Saraya al-Qaem was founded]</ref> He also asked the members of Saraya al-Qaem to refrain from any armed demonstrations inside the cities unless they coordinate with the security authorities in those cities.<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/Ahmed.Alhasan.10313/posts/pfbid02oTF1UkVm9kdDs2bZV8YwttghUkjcrX9nVKuV9ZN6RPaiaczvokbq5zAHJGUu1ji4l?locale=ar_AR Ahmed al-Hasan message to members of Saraya al-Qaem]</ref>

According to a colonel from the police in [[Dhi Qar Governorate]] a number of officers and members of the security forces were within the ranks of Ahmed al-Hasan.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://al-akhbar.com/Arab/22517 | title="اليماني" يُطل برأسه مجدداً في جنوب العراق: حان اليوم الموعود | newspaper=الأخبار }}</ref>

===Declaration of disassociation===
In April 2023, the Najaf office published a declaration of disassociation, to explicitly reannounce that Ahmed al-Hasan and his office are disassociated from the group ''The Black Banners'' led by [[Abdullah Hashem]], and the group ''The Army of Anger'' led by Razaq al-Jaberi. The disassociation from Abdullah Hashem was also announced in 2015, and before that, the disassociation from Razaq al-Jaberi and his group took place in 2014. They stated that none of these people have ever met Ahmed al-Hasan.<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/Alnajafalashraf The post on April 16, 2023]</ref> Ahmed al-Hasan reposted this declaration on his Facebook account too.<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/Ahmed.Alhasan.10313 The post on April 17, 2023]</ref>

=== Opponents ===
The Shia clerics that are informed about Ahmed al-Hasan's call have largely condemned him, and issued corresponding ''[[fatwa]]''s classifying Ahmed al-Hasan as an impostor, a fabricator, a deceiver, an innovator, and a liar.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aqaed.com/faq/6586/|title=»الإجابة على الأسئلة العقائدية »مركز الأبحاث العقائدية|access-date=18 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://sh-alsagheer.com/index.php?show=news&action=article&id=677|title=سماحة الشيخ جلال الدين الصغير - الموقع الرسمي|access-date=18 August 2016}}</ref> According to Iraqi Basra police, investigations conducted revealed that his ancestry does not go back to the prophet.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2008/02/04/45160.html |title=Iraqi police expose doomsday cult chief |date=4 February 2008 |work=[[Al Arabiya]] |access-date=26 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151209213632/http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2008/02/04/45160.html |archive-date=9 December 2015 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> Shi'a Muslim scholars such as Sheikh [[Ali Al-Kourani|Ali al-Korani]] and [[Jalal al-Din Ali al-Saghir]] have expressed their negative views of Ahmed al-Hasan's claims in numerous TV broadcasts.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.alameli.net/|title=جديد مكتبة الوسائط |work=alameli.net}}</ref> He has been accused by his opponents of plotting to assassinate [[Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani]].<ref name="Who"/>

An example of his opposition is a question and answer in the pro-Islamic Republic of Iran, Shi'i website "Al-Islam": <br />
Question: What do scholars say about Ahmed al-Hasan, who "makes a various claims, including being the son, messenger, vicegerent, and executor of the affairs of Imam Mahdi, al-Yamani, an infallible Imam, the first of 12 Mahdis."<br />
Reply: "He is a liar. He has been appointed and financially supported by our enemies to create dispute and cause trouble among the followers of Ahlul Bayt" (i.e. Shia Muslims).<ref name="Al-Islam 2022">{{cite web |website=Al-Islam |title=What is the opinion of the Maraji on Ahmad al-Hassan who makes various claims including being the son, messenger, vicegerent, and executor of the affairs of Imam Mahdi, al-Yamani, an infallible Imam, and the first of 12 Mahdis? |date=2022 |url=https://www.al-islam.org/person/ahmad-al-hassan |access-date=19 March 2023}}</ref>

Sheikh [[Ali Al-Kourani|Ali al-Korani]] says about the Yamani: "And from them are those who will not obey him! And the reason is, that the clerics and the Hawzas will find it from the difficult matters to accept what opposes what they have studied about and were used to in their concepts and [[Sharia]] rulings."<ref>AlYamanyoon Qadimoon, page 150</ref>

Ahmed al-Hasan claims that Shia Muslims are being "deceived" by the [[Marja']].<ref name="Who"/> He claims that imitating (following and obeying) a scholar is not obligatory for Muslims, and it is considered ''Shirk'' (polytheism) to blindly follow a scholar.

=== Muhammad al-Sadr ===
{{Very long section|date=July 2025}}
The Shia scholar [[Muhammad al-Sadr (jurist)|Muhammad al-Sadr]] has said that there is a Messenger from the 12th Imam [[Muhammad al-Mahdi]] in 1999 and Ahmed al-Hasan's followers bring it forward as proof. Sayyid al-Sadr has said that "the man with the Iqala is the Messenger of the Imam and this must be kept a secret".<ref>50 positions with Shaheed al-Sadr, volume 4, page 58.</ref> Another statement made by al-Sadr which is connected with the first one is when he said 12 days before his martyrdom that "Basra has great advantage over the rest of the nations and that there is a great point in Basra but that they should not speak about it now and it should remain a secret".<ref>Magazine Amal AlMawood 1424 of Thi Qi'da 10th count first print, page 39.</ref> al-Sadr was also teaching his followers that al-Yamani will not come from Yemen and that this was a common misconception, rather he was tied to Iraq.<ref name="Sayyid al-Sadr's approach about the Yamani">{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAWpQlq32Ag | title=سيد محمد صادق الصدر لا يعتقد بان اليماني من اليمن Sayed AlSaders approach about the Yamani | via=[[YouTube]] | date=5 September 2013 }}</ref>

Another Shia figure Sheikh [[Jalal al-Din Ali al-Saghir]] has said in a lecture that al-Yamani has nothing to do with Yemen but Iraq. al-Saghir has said: "There are those who say that Yamani's emergence has nothing to do with Yemen at all. And his army has nothing to do with Yemen at all. Rather, his army and this is what I say: His army, his personality and the map of his movements is all tied to the awaited Iraqi area."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mQURCcSyq8 | title=Sheikh Sagheer:Yamani is not from Yemen | via=[[YouTube]] | date=27 October 2014 }}</ref>

Ahmed al-Hasan has said: "First, it is necessary to know that Mecca is from Touhama and that Touhama is from Yemen. Sheikh AlMajlesy: He (Prophet (p)) said that because Imaan (faith) started from Mecca which is Touhama from the region of Yemen and so it was called: The Yamani Kaaba.<ref>Sheikh Ali AlNumazi v.10 p.602</ref><ref>Bihar Al-Anwar v.22 p.1</ref> Thus, Muhammed℗ and the Holy Family of the Muhammed℗ are all "Yamanis" (they are from Yemen). Muhammed℗ is "Yamani", Ali ℗ is "Yamani", Imam Al Mahdi ℗ is "Yamani", the twelve Mahdis are "Yamani", and First Mahdi is also "Yamani". The working jurists in the past knew that (May God's mercy be upon them). "Now there hath succeeded them a later generation whom have ruined worship and have followed lusts. But they will meet deception." (Maryam: 59). Also Al-Majlisi (may God's mercy be upon him) in the book of [[Bihar al-Anwar|Bihar Al-Anwar]], named the speech of the progeny of Muhammed℗ as the "Yamani wisdom."<ref>Bihar Al-Anwar volume 1 p. 1</ref> That was also reported by the messenger of God℗, as he named Abd Al-Mutalib℗ the sacred house the Yamani Ka’aba.<ref>Bihar Al-Anwar. Volumes. 22, 51, 75</ref> Concerning the Features defining Al Yamani's character, it was narrated by Al-Imam Al-Baqir℗ "There is no banner better than that of the banner of Yamani, it is the banner of guidance because he calls to your companion, so if the Yamani comes out, selling weapons to people or any Muslim becomes prohibited, and if the Yamani appears, stand up to him, because he’s banner is the banner of faith, and it is prohibited for any Muslim to turn away from him, and whoever turns away from him, then he’s from the people of hell because he calls to the truth and to the right path."<ref>Al-Ghaybah – Muhammed Ibn Ibrahim A’ Nomani p. 264</ref> In this account there is the following:- First: "and its prohibited for any Muslim to turn away from him, and whoever turns away from him, then he’s from the people of hell"... : and this means that Al Yamani has the role of a Divine vicegerent because no character can be a Hujjah (i.e. proof) upon people to a point that if they turn away from him they will enter hell, even if they pray, fast, unless they are the vicegerents of God on his earth and they are Prophets, messengers, Imams and Mahdis. Second: "because he calls to the truth and to the right path": And the call to the truth and the straight path means that this person never makes a mistake where it will make people enter into falsehood or takes them out of the path of truth. Therefore, this person is an infallible and his infallibility is mentioned in a text. And based on that meaning, this constraint or limitation to his character will be useful for us to determine the character of the Yamani. So if one makes his own assumption to the meaning of this narration "because he calls to the truth and to the right path", is rendering the words of the Imams ℗ useless since there will be no limits or restrictions to the character of the Yamani, and may [[God Forbid|God forbid]] people saying such a thing about our holy Imams℗. The result of what was discussed above (in the first and second part) is that Al Yamani is one of the proofs of God on His earth and he is infallible, his infallibility is mentioned in a text. And it has also been proven by many frequently narrated accounts and irrefutable texts that the proofs after the Prophet Muhammed℗ are the 12 Imams℗ and after them, there are 12 Mahdis and that there is no proof from God on this earth who is infallible other than them. And through them is the completion of favors and the perfection of religion and the heavenly messages are sealed. Additionally speaking, the 11 Imams ℗ have all been deceased and there only remains imam al Mahdi℗ and the 12 Mahdis℗. The Yamani calls to imam al Mahdi℗. Therefore, the Yamani must be the First of the Mahdis because the 11 Mahdis after him are from his progeny "They were descendants one after another. God is the Hearer and Knower." (34 Al-Imran) They also come after the period of the appearance of Imam al-Mahdi℗, indeed they arrive during the state of divine justice and what is known and is proven is that the first Mahdi will be during the time of imam al Mahdi and he is the first believer in imam al Mahdi℗ when he first emerges. His aim is to provide the necessities for the emergence of imam al Mahdi as it was narrated in the will of Prophet Muhammed℗. And from the characteristics of the Yamani become limited to the fact that the Yamani is the first Mahdi and he is from the 12 Mahdis..."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.saviorofmankind.com/yamani-evidence/ | title=Evidence of the Yamani }}</ref>

=== Battle of Najaf ===
Shortly after the January 2007 [[Battle of Najaf (2007)|Battle of Najaf]], conflicting reports and news coverage emerged as to who exactly was involved in the clashes. The ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' and RFERL identified the leader of the Soldiers of Heaven group as [[Dia Abdul Zahra Kadim]], who was killed in the clashes.<ref name="7 la times">{{Cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jan-31-fg-village31-story.html | title = Cult had dug in for huge battle |newspaper=Los Angeles Times | date = 31 January 2007 | access-date = 19 May 2012 | first1=Saad |last1=Fakhrildeen |first2=Borzou |last2=Daragahi}}</ref><ref name="rferl">{{Cite news |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1074465.html | title = Iraq: Al-Najaf Mystery Reflects Iraqi Divisions | date = 2 February 2007 | access-date = 21 May 2012 | work = RFERL free press}}</ref> However, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that Iraqi officials at a press conference had named the group that was involved in the clashes as [[Soldiers of Heaven]] (''Jund al-Samaa’''), but offered several names for the group's leader, including Ahmad Ismail and Diyah Abdul Zahraa Khadom. The ''Times'' article also reported that Diyah Abdul Zahraa Khadom was the same person as Ahmed al-Hasan al-Yamani, and whose alleged role was deputy of the group, not the leader.<ref name="NY times">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/01/world/middleeast/01iraq.html?_r=3 | title = Mystery Arises Over Identity of Militia Chief in Najaf Fight| date = 1 February 2007 | access-date = 19 May 2012 | first = Damien |last=Cave |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

Timothy Furnish of mahdiwatch.org wrote, "Security officials say that Ansar Ahmed [al-Hasan] al-Yamani and the Jund al-Samaa [Soldiers of Heaven] are one and the same, while National Security Minister Shirwan al-Waili denies any relation between the two [groups]."<ref name="Mahdiwatch 2/2">{{Cite web |url=http://www.mahdiwatch.org/2008.02.01_arch.html#1201988991880 | title = Dr. Timothy Furnish reporting on Battle of Najaf | date = 2 February 2008 | access-date = 19 May 2012 | work = mahdiwatch.org | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414081649/http://www.mahdiwatch.org/2008.02.01_arch.html#1201988991880 | archive-date = 14 April 2012 | url-status = dead }}</ref>{{Unreliable fringe source|date=May 2015}}

Sheikh Saadiq al-Hasnawi, who is a teacher in the Scientific Hawza of Honorable Najaf says, "This movement (Soldiers of Heaven), we have never heard about it before, and we used to guess that the leader of it is Sayed Ahmad al-Yamani, and they told me about the book Qathi al-Sama which was spread around in multitudes and by anonymous people, and when I read the content of the book I was shocked in its strange ideas completely, over the method of Ahmad al-Hasan al-Yamani."<ref name="Akhbaar">{{Cite web |url=http://www.akhbaar.org/home/2007/02/24518.html | title = Sheikh al-Hasnawi on Soldiers of Heaven | date = 1 February 2007 | access-date = 10 January 2018 | work=akhbaar.org}}</ref>

Sayyed Hasan bin Muhammad Ali al-Hamami (son of the late Marja Sayed Muhammad Ali Musawi al-Hamami) states that Soldiers of Heaven was led by Dhiyaa' [Abdul-Zahra] Al-Qara'wi, who had rejected the 12 Imams of Shia Islam, had claimed to be the 12th Imam Mahdi himself, and had later died in the battle.<ref name="8 hamami">{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfePFfJ0POA  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211214/MfePFfJ0POA |archive-date=2021-12-14 |url-status=live| title = Interview with the son of the late Marja Sayed Muhammad Ali Musawi Alhammamy |date=2 February 2012 | access-date = 19 May 2012 | publisher = Ansar Imam Mahdi |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Ahmed al-Hasan himself and representatives of his group Ansar of Imam al-Mahdi have denied any involvement in these clashes, and claim they have no links to the group Soldiers of Heaven.<ref name="historiae.org">{{Cite web | url = http://www.historiae.org/mahdism.asp | title = Analysis of what happened in the Battle of Najaf | date = 13 March 2008 | access-date = 30 July 2012 | publisher = Dr. Reidar Visser | archive-date = 31 January 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130131025212/http://www.historiae.org/mahdism.asp | url-status = dead }}</ref>