02 April 2007

BEIRUT: Sermons on the consecutive holidays of the Prophet Mohammad's birthday on Saturday and Palm Sunday a day later centered on themes of national unity and encouraged the adoption of tolerant and positive attitudes amid Lebanon's four-month-old political deadlock.

Speaking during a Mass marking Palm Sunday at the open-air altar of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Bkirki, Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir called on the Lebanese to follow the path of Jesus Christ, "which was full of humility, and innocence."

"Let us all ask God to help us become more tolerant and loving," the prelate said.

Palm Sunday processions with children wearing their newest clothes and holding creatively designed candles could be seen in the squares of various Lebanese towns and villages, including Beirut, Koura, Batroun, Bsharri, Akkar, Nabatiyeh, Tyre and Marjayoun.

The head of the Maronite Diocese of Beirut, Boulos Matar, urged people to perform "a self-evaluation" and to think deeply about past experiences, "so as to save our children and our country from all the sufferings we have been through for the past 30 years or so."

"We want Lebanon to be in peace where children celebrate Palm Sunday freely and where youth seek a better future within the borders of Lebanon and not elsewhere in a faraway country," he added.

Matar asked the Lebanese "to work and pray" for Lebanon to prosper "and become the safe haven we all dream of."

Following the sermon, Matar inaugurated a new playground outside the Saint Georges Cathedral in Downtown Beirut.

At Tripoli's Saint Maroun Church, Archbishop Georges Abou Jaoude expressed hopes for more unity among the Lebanese, "in order to be able to build our country on the proper foundations."

"All Lebanese groups claim that they work for the welfare of Lebanon, but in reality, the actions of all those prove the contrary," he said.

Abou Jaoude added that the Lebanese "fight and quarrel and attempt to divide their country," instead of working on having it develop and prosper.

Meanwhile, Grand Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qabbani said Saturday said that "minor tensions" between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in Lebanon "are likely to fade away very soon, for Lebanon is known to be able to withstand any crises."

Qabbani was speaking from Cairo, where he went to celebrate the Prophet's birthday.

"Muslims in Lebanon will overcome this contingency and unite for the welfare of their country," Qabbani said.

Senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah urged politicians to renounce personal interests and start thinking about the general welfare of Lebanon before "we are cornered by strife and wars."

Fadlallah added that the United States had long been working "to plant the seed of hatred among Muslims and to use Arabs to fuel further strife and deadly conflicts."

The vice president of the Higher Shiite Council, Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan, urged Lebanese Muslims to unite and "act as role models for all Sunnis and Shiites of the world."

Qabalan said the Lebanese should take advantage of the "current united Arab stance reflected by the Arab summit in Riyadh" and work toward finding "immediate solutions to the prevailing crisis."

He also called on Lebanese politicians to seek out Speaker Nabih Berri so that dialogue is re-launched "in an attempt to revive accord and cooperation among Lebanese."

Sidon hosted a parade on the occasion of the Prophet's birthday, where ritual sword and shield dances were performed while traditional Muslim chanting, or madaeh, was played.

Meanwhile, a number of Sidon clerics condemned a common practice performed extensively during the Prophet's birthday in which fakirs attempt to pierce their skin with a skewer withoutdrawing blood.

"Such extreme and harmful pseudo-Sufi practices ought to be put an end to because Islam strictly condemns self-mutilations," Sheikh Abdel-Rahman Habli said. - Additional reporting by Mohammed Zaatari