Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai surrounded by religious leaders invited to the Bkirki spiritual summit, Oct. 16, 2024. (Credit: The Maronite Patriarchate's X account)
All eyes were focused on Bkirki, where religious leaders met yesterday under the leadership of Patriarch Bechara al-Rai to take a unified stance on the war in Lebanon. Sheikh Ali Khatib, head of the Shiite Higher Council, was the star of the event. His presence is the first sign pointing to the openness of the Shiite community, and Hezbollah in particular, to the Maronite Church after months of icy relations.
The patriarch had repeatedly and vehemently lambasted Hezbollah’s unilateral decision to drag the country into the war with Israel in support of Hamas.
The Bkirki summit took place against a backdrop of serious setbacks inflicted on Hezbollah on the ground. This prompted Khatib, and behind him Hezbollah, which seeks national support, to endorse the statement issued at the end of the meeting.
In addition to the presidential election, the statement called for the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006) “in its entirety,” with particular reference to Hezbollah’s withdrawal from areas south of the Litani River. It also called for an end to Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty.
Apostolic Nuncio to Lebanon Paolo Borgia attended the summit, along with several figures close to the religious authorities. Shortly before the start of the meeting, the head of the Maronite Church extended a warm welcome to his guests, including Khatib.
“We didn’t want to boycott the spiritual summit, which is being held in difficult circumstances,” a member of the Shiite Higher Council told L’Orient-Le Jour.
It is noteworthy that Jaafari Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Kabalan, who is perceived as the unofficial spokesman for Hezbollah who responds to the Maronite patriarch, was part of the Higher Shiite Council delegation, a participant in the meeting said.
Bkirki’s approach clearly points to its desire to project an image of unity, at a time when there are fears that the Shiite community could be marginalized if its political representatives were weakened.
The patriarch’s opening speech actually focused on this point. “This religious summit is an opportunity to debate responsibly and brotherly, without anyone feeling marginalized or that some want to push through things at the expense of others,” he said, deploring “a tragedy from which all Lebanese are suffering.”
After opening the summit, Rai gave the floor to the rest of the religious leaders. They all called for an immediate cease-fire and condemned Israeli aggression against Lebanon, lamenting the Israeli violations of international law and U.N. resolutions. The participants also praised the Lebanese people for the solidarity they have shown since the start of the war in the country on Sept. 23.
Lebanese-style compromise
Khatib denounced “the Israeli aggression against all of Lebanon,” calling on his counterparts to “take a stance commensurate [with the gravity] of the genocidal war waged by Israel.”
While he paid tribute to the memory of Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah (assassinated on Sept. 27 in an Israeli strike), and to the “courageous resistance’s men,” he noted that his community has not left the state’s fold.
“On the contrary, we are keen on the state building, its strength and its power. But it is the state that has for decades abandoned its sovereignty and shown itself incapable of defending its people,” he said.
In this vein, he called for building up a strong state that is and can meet its responsibilities to preserve the dignity of its people. To do so, he said, a “consensus” president who would be supported by all the Lebanese needs to be elected.
With these words, he thus reiterated his support for the process Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt initiated two weeks ago towards a broader agreement on the future president.
But while all participants agreed on the need to elect such a president, the final point in the statement triggered debate. L’Orient-Le Jour learned that some religious leaders were in favor of a formal election as stipulated in the Constitution. A Lebanese-style linguistic compromise was finally reached: The Bkirki summit called for the rapid election of “a president who has the confidence of all Lebanese, on whom there is the broadest agreement and strong consensus.”
The participants unreservedly endorsed the point concerning “the implementation of Resolution 1701 in its entirety, particularly the army’s deployment south of the Litani River.” However, Khatib did not mention this point in his speech. “We are in favor of Resolution 1701 because we want a cease-fire as soon as possible,” said a source close to the Shiite High Council. The source noted that the statement issued following the meeting in Ain al-Tineh is along these lines. Similarly, the religious leaders urged the U.N. Security Council “to meet immediately and pass a resolution establishing a cease-fire,” and called on the cabinet and parliament to “shoulder their responsibilities” in this respect. In a statement, Mikati welcomed their stance and praised them for “establishing a roadmap for the next stage.”
This article was originally published in L'Orient-Le Jour and translated by Joelle El Khoury.