Qabbani Holds Hariri, Saniora Responsible for 'Harms He May Suffer', Stresses Will Stay Mufti until Mandate's End
Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani on Tuesday held former premiers Saad Hariri and Fouad Saniora “responsible for any attempt on his life or any harm he may suffer”, expressing that they will be "stigmatized" for trying to release him from his duties.
"I will remain Lebanon's Mufti until the end of my mandate or until I am deceased,” Qabbani confirmed during a meeting with a Syndicate of Editors' delegation.
He added: "And if they succeeded in the attempt of releasing the Mufti from his duties, the al-Mustaqbal party leaders will be stigmatized”.
“The do not want a strong Mufti”.
The Mufti announced that a former prime minister politically intervened and contacted a judge who is closely following-up on the case.
"The Shura council's decision, is however, not binding any the Mufti does not have to abide by it”.
Qabbani said that some Sunni leaders are “offending the sect because of they are going after their proper ambitions”.
He elaborated that he is entrusted with holding the Higher Islamic Council's elections even if it was boycotted by some provinces: “I do support amendments after the elections”.
"They held talks on these changes before at Saniora's resident, and another one followed during which fraud took place,” the Mufti revealed, noting that investigation will shed the light on “misconduct that took place”.
Qabbani is refusing to hold any meetings at Dar al-Fatwa for considering that the HIC's term has expired.
The Council elects the mufti and organizes the affairs of Dar al-Fatwa, Lebanon’s top Sunni religious authority.
Last year, the Shura Council suspended a call for the elections after 21 HIC members, who are close to ex-Premier Saad Hariri's al-Mustaqbal movement, filed a challenge against Qabbani's invitation to hold the polls.
Differences between them spread when the 21 members extended the term of the council until the end of 2013 despite the objection of Qabbani, who argues that the extension is illegal and the council’s term has expired.
Commenting on the attacks against Dar al-Fatwa clerics Sheikh Mazen Hariri and Sheikh Ahmed Fakhran, Qabbani said that the incident would have lead to a sectarian Suni-Shiite strife: “The situation required dealing with it with wisdom”.
The clerics were beaten up earlier in March while passing through the Beirut area of Khandaq al-Ghamiq, state-run National News Agency reported.
As the news broke out, angry protesters blocked roads in the Beirut areas of Tariq al-Jedideh, Qasqas and Corniche al-Mazraa, as well as Sidon's entrance in the South and al-Masnaa's road in the Bekaa.
Mufti Qabbani urged calm and restraint after the attack, stressing that the perpetrators “will not go unpunished".
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