Report: Qabbani to be Forced out after Ramadan
Political leaders of the Sunni sect might force out Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani after Ramadan despite his insistence to remain in his post until elections next year.
Informed sources told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat that such a decision would be delayed until after Eid al-Fitr out of respect for the holy month.
The issue was discussed by current and former premiers on Saturday at an Iftar banquet at ex-PM Omar Karami's residence in the northern city of Tripoli.
The statement, which was issued after the meeting that was attended in addition to Karami by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati, Premier-designate Tammam Salam and former PM Fouad Saniora, said the conferees agreed on “a number of steps that will be implemented consecutively.”
But reports emerged that Karami's stance on Qabbani's isolation was unclear.
Sources told al-Liwaa newspaper that the former premier had signed a petition against Qabbani but that he was in favor of urging him to leave his post and not sacking him out of respect for the seat of the mufti, who heads Dar al-Fatwa, Lebanon’s top Sunni religious authority.
The Higher Islamic Council, which elects the mufti and organizes the affairs of Dar al-Fatwa, has been at the center of controversy after 21 of its members, who are close to ex-Premier Saad Hariri's al-Mustaqbal Movement, extended its term until the end of 2013 despite Qabbani's objection.
But the mufti considered the extension illegal and held council elections.
The Tripoli meeting was held on Saturday in light of a petition that more than 80 members of the council’s electoral body signed. It calls for a session to vote on whether Qabbani should be sacked over financial, and legal violations.
The mufti's ties with al-Mustaqbal deteriorated in 2011 when he met with a delegation from Hizbullah the same day the Special Tribunal for Lebanon indicted four party members in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's February 2005 assassination.
Relations between the two sides were also shaken when the mufti met with Syrian Ambassador Ali Abdul Karim Ali, whom al-Mustaqbal and the March 14 opposition alliance have on several occasions said should be expelled.
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