Al-Asir's Mother Says Son Staunch Supporter of Army
The parents of Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir stressed on Saturday that their son has been a staunch supporter of the Lebanese army, considering that he survived an assassination bid.
“Whatever I said no one will listen to us after he (al-Asir) was accused of killing army officers,” the mother of al-Asir, who remained unnamed, told An Nahar newspaper.
She described the recent clashes in the southern town of Abra, near the city of Sidon, as an attempt to assassinate the controversial cleric.
“He was forced to carry arms to defend himself and his supporters... He had continuously demanded that the state controls the arms” of Hizbullah, the mother of al-Asir added.
“I am his mother and I am a Shiite... He was only against the dominance of arms,” she said.
Al-Asir, a 45-year-old cleric who is no where to be found since last month's deadly gunbattles between his gunmen and the Lebanese army, resurfaced Thursday in an alleged audio message in which he described the clashes as a plot against him.
The cleric called on the Sunni community to “break the barrier of fear and fear only God,” urging them to protest “in a peaceful and civilized manner” after Friday prayers “in coordination with the Muslim clerics.”
State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr charged on Thursday 27 people for their involvement in the Abra battles where Bilal Bin Rabah mosque is located.
Ten of them were charged in absentia, including al-Asir and a onetime prominent singer-turned Salafist Fadel Shaker.
The cleric teamed up with Shaker when around two years ago he began agitating for Hizbullah to disarm.
If convinced, the suspects face the death penalty.
Hilal al-Asir, the father of Sheikh Ahmed, expressed regret the assault against reporters in comments published in An Nahar.
“Those who attacked reporters were shoved into (Friday's) protest,” Hilal said, considering that they tarnishes the image of al-Asir family.
Hundreds of men and women supporting al-Asir marched from Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque after Friday prayers, heading to al-Karameh roundabout in the southern city of Sidon.
The protesters assaulted TV crews in Abra, smashing the windows of their cars and breaking their cameras during the march, prompting the Lebanese army to ask journalists to leave Sidon and the northern city of Tripoli until the end of the protest.
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