Father Majdi Allawi, founder of the Bonheur du Ciel association, during a press conference in Maaysra (Kesrouan), Feb. 5, 2023. (Credit: Bonheur du Ciel/Facebook)
A fire broke out on Saturday in a house belonging to Father Majdi Allawi, founder of the charity association Bonheur du Ciel, in the village of Maaysra, Kesrouan. The blaze was later brought under control.
A Civil Defense source confirmed to L’Orient-Le Jour that the fire was extinguished by midday. The house, a wooden cabin built by the priest, was unoccupied at the time of the incident. The cause of the fire remains unknown and is under investigation.
L'Orient-Le Jour attempted to contact Father Allawi for comment but received no response.
Father Allawi, a Shia convert to Catholicism, is a well-known civil society figure in Lebanon who has been at the center of controversies and attacks. In the early years of his association, the Greek Catholic priest gained attention for his work with drug-addicted youth, whom he claimed to treat through prayer. His organization also provides food to the most vulnerable, especially since Lebanon’s economic crisis in 2019.
In February 2023, he told L’Orient-Le Jour that security forces were preventing him from renovating his centers and building new infrastructure, accusing him of "lacking the necessary permits and operating outside the law."
In 2021, his son Matthieu was found hanged in an apartment in Kesrouan. In 2019, he clashed with Électricité du Liban, accusing the company of cutting power to "the bakery of the poor," where he provided free meals to those in need.
