Mufti of Tripoli Defends Hariri against Rifi's Attacks
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Mufti of Tripoli and North Sheikh Malek al-Shaar has thrown his support behind al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri in the face of the latest verbal attacks from resigned Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi.
“Minister Ashraf Rifi is a companion of our path but what is the benefit from launching 'incendiary missiles' at the leader of a sect whose father offered his life, money and time for Lebanon and not for his sect?” Shaar said.
“What has Saad Hariri committed? What is his crime? Is he guilty because he has engaged in dialogue with Hizbullah? We are with dialogue in general... A lot of people have said that dialogue has not achieved anything at all but I say that dialogue has rescued the country and prevented its explosion,” the mufti added.
“A leader such as Saad Hariri does not deserve all these attacks,” Shaar stressed, addressing Rifi.
He noted that Hariri visited Damascus as a premier because he was seeking to “preserve security, safety and peace in Lebanon” although Syria's regime is accused of ordering the assassination of his father, ex-PM Rafik Hariri.
“How can you say that Saad Hariri has renounced his father's principles? What are those principles? If Saad has committed a mistake, we all commit mistakes, but the advice must be whispered in his ear not shouted on television,” Shaar added.
“Tell me about a single national, Islamic, social, political or economic benefit from launching tirades against the Center House and the leader ex-PM Hariri,” the mufti went on to say.
Earlier this month, Rifi claimed that Hariri has lost his influence in the Sunni community, noting that “Saad Hariri is finished and the Sunnis are awaiting a new Hariri.”
The resigned minister has especially criticized Hariri's decision to nominate Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency.
A list backed by Rifi achieved a surprising victory in May's municipal polls in Tripoli in the face of a list backed by Hariri, ex-PM Najib Miqati, ex-ministers Mohammed Safadi and Faisal Karami, the Jamaa Islamiya, al-Ahbash and the Arab Democratic Party.
