Shiite Religious Leaders Urge Unity, End of Siege
Lebanon's Shiite religious leaders called on Friday for unity and urged the Lebanese to steer clear of strife and for officials to end the country's “siege.”
“We should open a new page … of cooperation and (rejection) of strife,” Deputy Head of the Higher Islamic Shiite Council Sheikh Abdul Amir Qabalan said in his sermon on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr.
“We in Lebanon should be united and cooperative,” he said during prayers at the Council's headquarters.
Grand Jaafarite Shiite Mufti Sheikh Ahmed Qabalan appealed in his sermon during prayers at Imam al-Hussein mosque in Burj al-Barajneh for “Lebanese leaders to end the country's siege and turn the page on their rivalries and disputes.”
“We should together without preconditions find ways to come out of the danger zone,” he said.
Qabalan called for national reconciliation that would lead to a roadmap to rebuild the state and its institutions.
He also called for building the capabilities of the army to be able along with the resistance to confront challenges.
Qabalan warned against what he called security and economic “nightmares,” which he said that the Lebanese would overcome only through unity.
He called for the quick formation of an all-embracing government away from “ridiculous conditions.”
over 10 years
Talk is cheap.
over 10 years
Yes indeed Southern, this is exactly what he meant when he said:
“We should open a new page … of cooperation and (rejection) of strife.
He can always count on you to lead by example.
over 10 years
Qabalan called for national reconciliation that would lead to a roadmap to rebuild the state and its institutions................
Awesome thing to say. I like the sound of this.
over 10 years
He also called for building the capabilities of the army to be able along with the resistance to confront challenges.............
I agree with the first half only. I would change it to say: build the capabilities of the army so there will be no need for the resistance.
over 10 years
Ditto. Though I may not agree that HA should disarm so long as the Army's ill-equipped (would like to hear from HA supporters why they think this is so), I do agree that its use of weaponry for intimidation (would like to hear from M14 supporters of at least a dozen incidences) should not be.
In any case, the roadmap suggested by the "Shiite Religious Leaders" seems to be quite level-headed.
over 10 years
Va jouer!
Préparez-vous au déluge, bande de terroristes Diaboliques.
over 10 years
Please go home and keep your religion private and/or available to those who are otherwise willing to listen to you and take your advise. Or you may engage in meaningful discussions with other religious leaders of different denominations and collectively admit that there is only one true GOD, set your differences aside, pray together for that one true GOD, no more Sunni, Shiite, Catholic, etc. and then may be we'll consider if we should take you and those similarly situation seriously.
over 10 years
Secularism in Lebanese politics? Not for a long time, friend.
over 10 years
Fair enough. Meanwhile we'll have to plant the seeds, and this forum gives us that opportunity.
over 10 years
I'm trying to understand is Qabalan is giving a different message than HA. Is he trying to say that there is more to the shiite community than HA- some if us want to live in Lebanon and not in Hizbullahstan? Is he reflecting a dissatisfaction in the shiite community with HA?
over 10 years
Yes indeed, I feel the same way as well, especially his "ridiculous conditions" commentary (which have widely (and perhaps misleadingly) been attributed to HA).
I personally welcome a more centrist approach of sorts, and a return to sane dialogue. Perhaps it is to cushion HA's fallback to and on Lebanon once the war outside is over, trying to maintain its political balance.
That's a very positive message he is preaching: unity, cooperation, deterrence of strife. How come it is contingent only upon others being cooperative and unified?
Usually during and Eid message the imam focuses on his immediate community, but it seems this message is aimed at everyone else. If the Shia leaders truly want unity, they will abide by and respect the Baabda declaration. If the Shia leaders want cooperation, they will work with others without ridiculous preconditions.