Fadlallah, Nasrallah touch base on political crisis

Source: Daily Star, 03-2-2007
BEIRUT: Lebanon`s senior Shiite cleric, Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, and Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday stressed the need to hold together the internal situation in Lebanon and to encourage efforts at dispelling political tensions. Nasrallah met with Fadlallah on Friday to discuss the latest developments in Lebanon and the region, as well as what was described as a US attempt to instigate Sunni-Shiite strife in the country.
Fadlallah and Nasrallah urged religious and political leaders not to "exploit" political discord to instigate security and sectarian tension in the country, and to uncover what they said were America`s new plans.
Fadlallah and Nasrallah also urged leaders to support all "unifying steps," settle political discords through "wise Islamic means" and not to be dragged into conflict by rumors and "inflammatory" speeches.
Later in the day, Fadlallah met with Liberation and Development bloc MP Ali Hassan Khalil, representing Speaker Nabih Berri, for talks on the latest developments and on ways to get out of the current political deadlock.
No comments were released after the meeting.
Meanwhile, Fadlallah warned against intra-Muslim and intra-Christian strife "which only aims to destroy Lebanon."
In his weekly Friday sermon delivered from the Imam Hassanayn Mosque in Haret Hreik, Fadlallah called on security and judicial forces to "punish criminals and trouble-makers that ignited strife" last week.
The cleric was referring to riots that occurred during an opposition strike on January 23 and to clashes that erupted at the Beirut Arab University two days later between government and opposition supporters.
"Security forces and the Lebanese Army should protect the whole country and not a certain party," Fadlallah said.
Fadlallah urged the Lebanese to be aware of the fact that the current crisis "is linked to political discords in the ruling of the country, government and Constitution."
"The crisis has nothing to do with the Sunni, Shiite or Christian sects," he said.
In a separate development, Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani called the Higher Shiite Council`s vice president, Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan, and the Druze community`s sheikh akl, Naim Hassan, to discuss Lebanon`s current crisis.
They also discussed organizing a public meeting among Muslims at Dar al-Fatwa to warn the Lebanese against the dangers of divisions and to promote "cooperation and tolerance" among them.
In his phone call, Qabbani also tackled the issue of an Islamic-Christian summit and discussed with the two sheikhs various possible ways of organizing such a meeting with a number of Christian religious leaders.