“Lebanon Debate” – Nawal Nasr
A new February 14 has come. Sheikh Saad came – again – “on the scene.” He said what he said. Al-Fatihah was recited over and over again at the grave of the martyr. Blue flags were raised. The balloons flew. Dreams came true and here we are on February 15th. Time waits for no one. 21 years have passed since the testimony of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. As if it were yesterday. Four years have passed since Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s retreat. Four times he came, promised, and left. Is the implementation of “promises” possible today? Rafik Hariri, the son of the land, the aristocratic peasant who taught and lived, died. Are his offspring still fit, fertile, to be produced again?
Since that sunset that followed the afternoon of the assassination and the entry of Saad Hariri, the second son of the martyr, into Koraytem Palace, everything seemed to have changed. On the day of his martyrdom, the young man (35 years old) appeared confused, bewildered, and distracted. The eyes were bulging towards him, but his eyes looked like emptiness. It is not easy for a person to be “captured” from one place and transferred to another place while the blood of his father – the leader – is still on the ground. And… and the story began. Names came forward: Bahaa, Saad, Bahia, and Nazik… until finally – and not last – they landed on Saad.
The people – it is said – are a tool of expression. He chose Saad as his representative. He is close to the heart and his face looks sincere. Sunnis – and non-Sunnis – loved that about him. However, the burden of the political legacy on him was great. Comparison between Sheikhs Rafiq and Saad seemed impermissible since that painful February date. The first, according to those who knew him, was open, while the second seemed, at more than one point, withdrawn. But, is it required that the son be an exact copy of his father in order for political inheritance to be achieved?
One of the martyr’s friends speaks with great reverence and reverence about him, even 21 years after his passing. He says: “Rafik Hariri, who came from Arab nationalist backgrounds and a humble Sidon family, knew how to make Western friendships and become a difficult figure. He had the utmost ability to comprehend. He governed under all circumstances without emotion, establishing a political approach, not political Harirism. He visited Germany, met Holmut Kohl. He knew John Major. He met a prime minister. He met the President of the European Commission and the Prime Minister of Austria. He visited Russia during the days of Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin. He met the Prime Minister of Canada and met with former US President Bill Clinton and the presidents of Brazil, Argentina, Iran and Pakistan. He visited Tehran more than once during the days of President Mohammad Khatami. He visited Korea and China twice and Japan three times… This strong international presence made his name synonymous with the name of Lebanon in the world.
“He is working to ‘Islamize’ the country.” We heard it a lot. The injustice of the martyr. He was not a traditional man. He did not prepare the children to enter Lebanese politics. But it happened. Sheikh Saad inherited the legacy of the martyr and how much he was compared to him. “Comparing heirs with inheritors is an ugly issue in our Lebanon. The heir is another human being,” comments the martyr’s friend. Saad is not a friend.
Saad Saad Saad… The Sunnis called him a lot yesterday. The speakers blared. “Allah Hariri is the new way,” we heard it over the course of a few seconds. The Sunni community feels orphaned. All recent developments have increased their sense of the fragility of political Sunni politics. Only Saad, the presence of Saad, can make them feel safe. Their right. Nawaf Salam, Your Excellency the Prime Minister, knows the concerns of the Sunnis in the country, but his style is different. He is not a leader. He is a politician who came at the country’s most critical stage. We saw him dismantling a mine and another intercepted it. We saw him get angry, stubborn, complain, and withdraw, but he refused to resign. It is flexible and solid. Soft and hard. In all cases, he is honest. He felt let down at times. He is not a leader. He is a politician, a jurist, a judge, a diplomat, and the president of the International Court of Justice, and he knows that we are in a country in which everything has “unsuccessful aspects.” The corridors of politics do not resemble him, just as they did not resemble Saad when he came on February 14, 2005. However, the name Hariri was enough for the martyr’s fans.
In Saeb Salam’s memoirs, he conveyed what Egyptian President Anwar Sadat said to him one day: Be careful of the Syrians (the Assad family in particular). Rafik knew. Saad Araf. Nawaf Salam knows. However, everyone has their own style.
Songs continue to come out from the speakers: “Beirut is crying with a broken heart/ Al-Hajjar is talking about where she is.” It is voiced by Sunni Fadl Shaker. We are in the last week of the month of Shaban, and yesterday the Muslims prayed, “Oh God, make all our upcoming supplications true.” They wish.
From all the districts there are voices: Get up and say God. They chanted to express their deep desire for “pride” to be restored to them. Rafik Hariri was a “pride” to the people of the sect. Downtown Beirut is blue. Delegations arrived in the rain. This is how the weather was on the day Sheikh Rafiq was martyred. It was a rainy day. But today’s weather has improved. Will Saad’s presence warm the hearts of lovers? People bet on everything in difficult times.
A word to Saad? A question we asked his fans, and they answered repeatedly: We blame him, but we will remain loyal to the comrade’s approach.
We walk around, on February 14, 2026, as if we were on February 14, 2025, 2024, 2023, and 2022… Yes, the same phrases are repeated: “We demand and insist on Sheikh Saad to stay. We want him among us. There is no alternative to him.” People simply say everything: we want a leader. Saad Hariri made a mistake? They know this but they feel – we repeat – orphaned.
Everything changes. The whole area has changed. Bashar flew. Regimes that we considered eternal have emerged. The whole world is changing and alone, in Lebanon, we are still waiting for salvation from a leader, the son of a leader. Alone we continue to live in yesterday. Saad Hariri is a person who has much more honesty than the malice of many politicians, but he made a mistake in more than one way. He chose to seclude himself, while his father was a confrontational man. Rafik Hariri knew how to feel for the mines in front of him and walk, surrounded by minds of the caliber of Johnny Abdo, Zahi Al-Bustani, Bahij Tabbara, Bassem Al-Sabaa, Fouad Siniora, Farid Makari, and Fadel Shalak. We asked Al-Fadl Shalak about the Hariris, father and son? He replied: “Rafiq was friendly, but contrary to all claims, the number of people close to him did not exceed the fingers of one hand. There are people who claimed to be close to him. I worked with him for 25 years and we never sat together for more than ten consecutive minutes.” What about Hariri Jr? He answers, “Saad visited me after his father’s assassination and had with him the draft program of the Future Party. I read it and told him: It is not worth it. This is suitable for an advertising company, not a party program. It is a program based on privatization and the sale of state assets. It is a program created by a capitalist person. And capitalists usually create parties to serve them.” Shalak distinguishes between father and son. This is his opinion. But every man has his own style and outlook.
Get to the core? Saad Hariri today in Lebanon. The clock is approaching five minutes to one. Vehicles are still arriving from districts that live in deprivation and are the incubator of the Future Movement. This is the audience of the future. Future politicians often have a different opinion. They believe that the possibility of Saad Hariri remaining is almost impossible for technical, not political, reasons. The public is accustomed to the Hariri House’s generosity and Saad’s “short hand.” He would be remiss.
Blue umbrellas. “The winter” continues. The name of Ahmed Al-Sharaa (Syrian President) has been mentioned a lot. He is the other leader to many. The song “Lebanon will return and the sun will rise to decorate the sky of Beirut” increases people’s enthusiasm. Young people, the oldest of whom is not yet twenty, gather. These people have heard the name of Rafiq, know Saad, and expect that nothing will remove their state of orphanhood except him. We hear their excitement, hoping that the over-expected endings will not disappoint.
A great leader is one who inspires people to believe in themselves, not in him alone. The Lebanese masses still lack confidence in their ability to bring about change and renewal. The Lebanese Forces, the Phalange, and the Progressive Socialist Party participated. Time passes. It’s one-third. Sheikh Saad arrived. How much this man’s appearance has changed. He recited Al-Fatihah. The head of the woman kissed Bahia. He waved to the crowd. Really touching moments. His fans deserve him to come back or say: I will not come back. What will he say? What will he say? What will Rafik Hariri’s son Saad decide on the twenty-first anniversary of his father’s martyrdom? It’s time. He spoke for a quarter of an hour and said: “I will ransom you… after 21 years, you are still not a few, after all the rumors… I assure you that tomorrow is better… the future will not end… and the future will be your voice, and I will tell you what will be done, if there are elections. We will remain together.” A few words gave the “desperate people” some breath.
The date of “February 14” has expired… Will the renewed meeting take place on February 14, 2027? He promised a lot – if the elections happen. It means a promise “neither suspended nor absolute.”
