Fadlallah: Lebanese must stand firm against foreign incitement

Source: Daily Star, 23-2-2008
BEIRUT: Senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah urged the Lebanese on Friday not to give in to foreign forces and keep united for the welfare of their country.
"The Lebanese should not surrender to foreign powers working on sowing the seeds of violence, hatred, and sectarianism among the Lebanese," Fadlallah said during the weekly sermon at the Imam Hassanayn Mosque in Haret Hreik.
Fadlallah added that Lebanon should avoid "entering in the vicious circle of sectarianism.
"It is time we learn lessons from the past ... Chaos and violence will reflect on all the Lebanese and not just on one sect or religion," he added.
Street clashes erupted in Beirut between government and opposition supporters over the weekend, leaving 24 people injured and setting shops and buildings ablaze. Lebanese Armed Forces troops stepped in to restore order.
Muslim spiritual leaders stressed Thursday that sectarian fighting was forbidden by God and urged a "milder and less fiery" political rhetoric. An Islamic Spiritual Summit was held at the headquarters of the Higher Islamic Shiite Council in Haret Hreik, gathering Sunni Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani, vice president of the Shiite Council Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan and Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Naim Hassan.
The outcome was a joint emphasis on the prohibition of internal fighting and the formation of a committee for consultation and coordination among Islamic spiritual leaders in Lebanon. The meeting condemned the "violation of spiritual references, and the insult of spiritual symbols and religious values."
On behalf of the participants, Qabalan said the summit was addressed to "people in Beirut and throughout the country, to tell them that fighting is prohibited by Islam. This includes targeting institutions, shops and houses in Beirut."