A protester waving a Lebanese flag in Beirut, March 16, 2021. (Credit: AFP / JOSEPH EID)
BEIRUT — The Grand Mufti of Lebanon, Abdel Latif Derian, the highest Sunni dignitary in the country, along with Jaafarite Mufti Ahmad Kabalan, lamented on Wednesday the country's deterioration and warned of chaos, calling on leaders to end an ongoing political vacuum by electing a president and forming a government.
“Chaos whose features began to appear little by little ... has begun and citizens will pay the price,” Derian said in a speech to mark Ramadan, according to the state-run National News Agency.
Later on Wednesday, Kabalan matched those sentiments in a speech to mark Ramadan saying that "the international community wants Lebanon 'Tents, displacement, chaos, disorder and crimes.'"
Ramadan is set to begin Thursday according to Dar al-Fatwa, Lebanon's highest Sunni religious authority, and the office of Shiite cleric Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah.
Derian called on “resorting to the constitution and electing a president for the country, today rather than tomorrow."
"We cannot wait any longer and must respond to the demands and needs of the people, who have begun to lose the minimum necessities of life.”
Derian also commented on the Lebanese lira's Tuesday rollercoaster ride, where the national currency hit an all-time low of LL143,000 to the dollar on the parallel market before recovering to LL110,000.
“What are you waiting for when people suffer from hunger, poverty and the high cost of hospitalization? What kind of person are you? And what kind of officials are you?" said the sheikh, addressing politicians.
Kabalan also said that "Lebanon is at stakes."
"We go back and affirm that the solution is a quick presidential settlement," he added, saying that "it is in the hands of the political forces, and the door for it is the Parliament, and time is nearing its end, and Lebanon’s existence is at stake, and relying on international promises is useless."
Kabalan also addressed the Maronite Patriach Bechara Rai: "There are those who want to blow up the country, and the international game is very serious and its internal capabilities are great ... Protecting our national partnership is one of the most important duties."
"We will not compromise on the national partnership, the Islamic-Christian brotherhood, the unity of Lebanon, and the protection of the Lebanese political decision," Kabalan added.
The Maronite Patriarchate on Friday had invited all 64 Lebanese Christian MPs to a "day of prayer" set to take place on April 5, in the runup to the Easter holiday. His initiative comes at a time when Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Aoun's term in office ended on Oct. 31.
Meanwhile, both Derian and Kabalan welcomed this month's Chinese-broked deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran to restore diplomatic relations between the regional rivals.
"There is great hope for the Saudi-Iranian agreement, and Lebanon is in dire need of a settlement," Kabalan said. "Political estrangement is the worst threat to Lebanon."
Iran and Saudi Arabia said they will reopen embassies and diplomatic missions within two months, and implement security and economic cooperation agreements signed more than 20 years ago.
In 2016, Saudi Arabia cut ties after Iranian protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions following the Saudi execution of revered Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.