18 May 2012

SIDON, Lebanon: As bloody fighting raged in north Lebanon for a sixth day, the southern city of Sidon remained bustling with activity Thursday as factions from across the political spectrum ruled out a spillover of violence.

With the city’s municipality racing against the clock to finalize the vast public works projects ahead of the summer season and the city’s two newly inaugurated malls packed with shoppers, it appears as if Sidon is far away from the troubles currently being witnessed by its neighbor to the north.

Yet there also seems to be an informal accord between the city’s various political groups to ensure that the coastal city avoids a deterioration in the security situation.

Sidon’s two main political groups, the Future Movement and the Popular Nasserite Movement, but also the numerous Islamist factions that are gaining significant ground in the city and its suburbs, say that Sidon, which they all markedly dub as “the gateway to south Lebanon,” is immune to strife.

“The political dynamics in Sidon differ from those of Tripoli, where the conflict [between Sunnis and Alawites] has historical roots,” says Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya official Bassam Hammoud.

“In Sidon,” he adds, “there is an implicit, unwritten agreement not to harm the stability of the city.”

Hammoud goes on to say that factors leading up to tension in Sidon were practically nonexistent.

“Unlike Tripoli, Sidon lacks geographical proximity to Syria and is not home to the bulk of Syrian refugees,” he adds.

Meanwhile, the restive Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh, on the outskirts of Sidon, is also likely to remain calm in the upcoming weeks.

The camp, known to be a hub for outlaws and extremist groups, has been the scene of bloody clashes between Palestinian security forces and Islamist groups.

A security source told The Daily Star that a series of reconciliations have taken place between, the camp’s leading force, the Fatah Movement, and several extremist groups, whereby parties have settled to end their hostility.

“Up until now, the Ain al-Hilweh camp has been immune to strife,” says Sheikh Maher Hammoud, the imam of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Sidon.

But although they are confident their city will not witness a repeat of the Tripoli events, Sidon’s Islamist factions do not hide what they describe as the “frustration” felt by Lebanon’s Sunni community but also deep bitterness toward Hezbollah.

They blame Hezbollah for its stances on domestic issues, and for the party’s blatant support for Syrian President Bashar Assad – who according to Sidon’s Islamists – is in the process of slaughtering his people.

The Islamists, in fact, also accuse the Syrian leadership of masterminding the violence in Tripoli’s slums.

Controversial Sheikh Ahmad Assir, the imam of the Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque in Sidon and a vocal critic of Hezbollah, says Assad aims to target Tripoli “because the city is the headquarters of the moral and logistical support for the Syrian revolution.”

Hammoud, from Al-Jamaa, argues that Damascus has benefited from the clashes in Tripoli to “deal a blow to all those helping Syrian refugees and drive attention away from the massacres being committed across Syria.”

Hammoud, who cites injustice as the key motive behind many young people turning their support to fundamentalist organizations, says Sunnis feel “discriminated against, humiliated and oppressed.”

He slams the detention of dozens of Islamists, held without trial for almost five years, following the battle between the Army and Al-Qaeda-inspired Fatah al-Islam militants at the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in 2007.

“Double standards are rife when it comes to Sunnis and this creates resentment,” he adds.

In his office in a spacious apartment of the Sidon suburb of Abra, Assir concurs. He says that since the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, there has been a systematic campaign “to target and oppress Sunnis.”

Assir, who is preparing to launch a satellite channel from funds he says he gathered from his thousands of followers, maintains that “Sunnis have been unjustly treated.”

“The teachings of Islam tell us to eliminate injustice and oppression,” says the sheikh, whose main influences are religious scholars from India and Pakistan.

In contrast to the fiery manner he uses when delivering his Friday sermons, Assir calmly explains that his rivalry to Hezbollah stems from the fact that the party has “monopolized power and arms.”

“In 2006 during the war with Israel they accused us of being traitors and with conspiring with Israel and on May 7 [2008] they attacked us and killed us and then called it a glorious day,” he says. His comment refers to Hezbollah’s takeover of swathes of west Beirut to protest a government decision to dismantle the party’s private telecommunication network.

But Sheikh Hammoud, a close ally of Hezbollah, disagrees and dismisses claims about a “conspiracy against Sunnis.” He also accuses some Islamist factions of distorting and undermining the historical role of the Sunni sect.

Hammoud explains that Hezbollah has espoused the historical slogans of the Sunnis.

“They came to us,” he adds. “Hezbollah embraced our grand slogans and principles, including our struggle against Israel and our battle to liberate Palestine.”

Hammoud adds that although Hezbollah has committed several “lethal mistakes” including calling the May 2008 events “glorious,” and remaining silent when it comes to oppression in Syria, the party should not be blamed for the diminishing role of Sunnis.

“Being the larger group and the bigger brother, Sunnis should embrace their brothers in the Shiite community,” Hammoud says.

“And even when this smaller brother commits some mistakes, the bigger brother should be able to forgive.”

Copyright The Daily Star 2012.