The distinguished Jaafari Mufti Sheikh Ahmed Qabalan confirmed that the absence of consensual authority and internal unity is pushing Lebanon from “collapse to collapse,” stressing that protecting the south is an essential part of protecting Beirut and Baabda, and that the state’s sovereignty is first tested in its ability to protect its land and its people.
Qabalan’s words came during his sponsorship of the ceremony of the “Generations of Light – Generations of the Qur’an” association in the shrine of Sayyida Khawla in Baalbek, to honor 700 outstanding students in the central Qur’anic competition, with the support of the Iraqi Ansar Al-Imam Association, and in the presence of religious, municipal, optional and social events.
Qabalan said, “There is nothing more dangerous to Lebanon than killing political citizenship, and there is no greater betrayal of this country than betraying the idea of the homeland, citizenship, and the sovereignty of the South,” considering that his position stems from protecting Lebanon’s national identity and preventing it from turning into an arena of foreign influence.
He added, “Without a consensual reference and without internal unity, the country goes from collapse to collapse,” considering that an authority that loses its consensual reference loses its national function.
Regarding the south, Qabalan stressed that “the sovereignty of the south is the most important test of the state’s sovereignty,” demanding the restoration of the lands controlled by Israel in the south, and stressing that protecting this region is directly linked to protecting the Lebanese state as a whole.
Qabalan addressed the President of the Republic, Joseph Aoun, by saying, “The other Lebanese is your founding partner of the country, and protecting the other is part of protecting Lebanon, just as protecting the south is an important part of protecting Beirut and Baabda.”
He also considered that the state cannot be outside the concept of national establishment and internal consensus, warning against the authority relying on the outside to protect it, especially Washington, because this, according to him, has repercussions on its national function.
In another aspect of his speech, Qabalan affirmed his adherence to the “resistance” option, considering that its environment was not possible for its opponents, and that his position on it was based on what he described as the constants of faith, nationalism, and morals.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, the outstanding winners in the Central Qur’anic Competition were honored, after a speech by the President of the “Generations of Light – Generations of the Qur’an” Association, Sheikh Mahdi Al-Ahmar, in which he reviewed the association’s most prominent achievements and future projects.
