The distinguished Jaafari Mufti Sheikh Ahmed Qabalan believes that the anniversary of the martyrdom of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri falls this year and Lebanon is “suffering from the worst political nightmare and sovereign failure,” in light of “a radical catastrophe affecting the project of state administration, the concept of national partnership, and the core of the Lebanese family ties.”
Kabalan explained that attention is directed towards the legacy of the martyr Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, “who dealt as a sovereign entity with the outside world, and used his international relations as a strength for Lebanon and not against it,” stressing that Hariri “did not leave Lebanon without saving and rebuilding, but rather turned the devastation into a reconstruction workshop, invested in diversity and pluralism, and negotiated with the outside world from a position of equality and national interests.”
The excellent Mufti al-Jaafari pointed out that the martyred president “never apologized for his lack of money or capabilities, nor did he neglect Lebanon’s strength, especially its resistance,” noting that he “dealt with the south and its front as if it were Beirut, the capital, and fulfilled its sovereign needs without submission.”
He added that Hariri’s experience was an example of “managing the balance between international relations and the national interest, and in transforming external support into a lever for advancement, not a tool of pressure or blackmail.”
Qabalan stressed that what is required on the anniversary of Hariri’s martyrdom is “learning the lessons of sovereignty and reconstruction projects,” warning against underestimating Lebanon’s capabilities and national interests, and the “economic, living, construction, and social programs that this entails.”
At the conclusion of his speech, he warned that “political failure and sovereign negligence are the most dangerous door that threatens Lebanon’s existence,” calling for a responsible national vision that restores respect to the idea of a strong state and true partnership.
Mufti Al-Jaafari’s excellent statements come on the anniversary of the martyrdom of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, at a time when Lebanon is going through an unprecedented political and economic crisis, amid a renewed internal debate about the concept of sovereignty, the role of the state, and the relationship with the outside world. Hariri’s legacy is invoked on this occasion as a symbol of the post-war reconstruction and state-building phase, and the hopes for national partnership and openness to the world that accompanied it.
