18 April 2008

BEIRUT: "Muslim unity and Christian unity are two of the main pillars of the national unity that is being sought today," senior Muslim clerics declared after a meeting in Dar al-Fatwa on Thursday. The meeting between Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani, Higher Shiite Council vice president Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan, Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Naim Hassan and other high-ranking clerics sought to address the political crisis in Lebanon, specifically the threat of an intra-Muslim rift in the country.

In a statement read after the meeting, the lead organizer of the Islamic Spiritual Leaders  Summit, Mohammad Sammak, called for restraint and for resistance against attempts to cause sectarian strife among Muslims in particular, and Lebanese in general.

The clerics then urged the "political leadership to bring about an end to the crisis," expressed dissatisfaction with the stalled election of the Lebanese Armed Forces commander, General Michel Suleiman, as president - and demanded that political leaders "facilitate the implementation of the Arab League initiative" aimed at resoving the impasse.

Furthermore, the clerics said they fear the crisis will have negative repercussions on the social conditions and living standards of the Lebanese population, noting that the "Lebanese market has been stripped of its ability to attract Arab and international investment."

Also Thursday, at a meeting with a delegation from the International Committee for the Red Cross - Lebanon, senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah said that "we [the religious establishment] believe in the need for respecting humanity and preserving life even if a religious or political dispute exists."

"We desire a safe and secure existence for humanity, based on the respect for humans within the bounds of justice and responsible freedom, through a commitment to our rights and responsibilities," he added.

The clerical summit represents the second meeting among spiritual leaders of the various Lebanese Muslim communities since clashes between Sunni and Shiite youths in Beirut earlier this year increased fears of sectarian conflict, as religious tensions across the region continue to flare-up.

In January and February of this year, largely Sunni supporters of the pro-government Future Movement violently clashed with mostly Shiite members of the Amal opposition party in mixed neighborhoods of Beirut and near an opposition camp set up in the heart of the capital.

The February 13 assassination of senior Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh - coming on the eve of the commemoration of the slaying of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and as the clashes in Beirut persisted - further raised expectations of a communal rift.

Since a first meeting between the various Muslim spiritual leaders in early March, however, there has been an apparent reduction in violence, with no significant clashes having occurred since.

Sfeir blames political crisis on 'all of the Lebanese'

BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir said on Thursday that Lebanon was being "fragmented," adding that "all of the Lebanese" were to blame. 

"The political situation in Lebanon is the worst since the dark years of the [1975-1980] Civil War," Sfeir said, adding that "a president has not been elected for the past five months and the economic situation is insufferable." Sfeir made his remarks during an address to the Catholic Donors Convention held at the headquarters of the Secretariat General of Catholic Schools in the Metn region of Ain Najem.

Lebanon has been without a president since Emile Lahoud stepped down on November 23. While the governing coalition and the opposition have agreed on the election of the commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, General Michel Suleiman, as the new head of state, they remain at odds over the shape of the next government, and the formula for the electoral law.

Sfeir said that the political deadlock "has had an impact on the overall performance of the government."

"Some Cabinet ministers are energetic and enthusiastic, while others are being selective and only take interest in issues that could benefit them," he added. - Maroun Khoury

Copyright The Daily Star 2008.