His Eminence the Sheikh Aql of the Unitarian Druze community, Sheikh Dr. Sami Abi Al-Muna, delegated his advisor and member of the Confessional Council, Sheikh Fadi Al-Attar, to represent him at the student gathering at the Raouf Abi Ghanem School in Kafrnabrakh, Chouf, where he delivered a guiding speech on the occasion.
It stated: In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Faithfulness is a challenge, it is a school
And a path based on knowledge and virtues
It is the victory of the soul's peace in our blood
Not hatred and war in the vortex of nations
Our Lebanon, its precious heritage unites us
Above the blood, the bleeding of the soul, and the pain
Our Lebanon is one in us and on its lips
The sweetest words in the most beautiful logic and mouth
Just as we protected it one day with swords as a sacrifice
We will always protect it with the sword of knowledge and values
To the honorable Principal of the Raouf Abi Ghanem Public Educator School,
The respected teaching staff,
Dear students and their esteemed parents.
Beloved guests, students of the Druze Orphanage in Abey, Ms. Rania Bou Hassan,
My colleagues in the Confessional Council,
Former mayors, Mukhtars,
Participating dignitaries,
All esteemed attendees.
To begin with, I would like to convey to you all prayers for success, accompanied by a greeting of love and appreciation from His Eminence, the Sheikh Aql of the Unitarian Druze community, Sheikh Dr. Sami Abi Al-Muna, who expressed great pleasure, valuing this commendable step taken by the school administration in hosting a group of students from the Druze Orphanage in Abey. At the same time, he congratulates the successful students, wishing them continued progress, success, and further advanced educational achievements for our school, represented by its administration, teaching staff, and beloved students.
We meet today in this place, which means a lot to me personally. It is the school where I studied in its classrooms, and I still carry the most beautiful memories that have taken root within me.
The most beautiful memories I lived among my peers and teachers whose favors to me and many of the people of my town and neighboring villages I cannot forget. When I read the new name of the school, which was given years ago during the term of the former mayor of Kafrnabrakh, my friend Bahij Al-Dalghan—may he be thanked—the naming changed from Kafrnabrakh Public School to the Raouf Abi Ghanem Public Educator School. This was nothing but a gesture of gratitude and loyalty to one of the town’s educational, humanitarian, and social pillars, who was and will remain in our memory.
A few weeks ago, Kafrnabrakh lost one of its former teachers, a polite man who loved his town, was concerned for its children, loyal to his noble educational mission, and a righteous educator who carried goodness, love, and humanity in his heart and on his tongue. He is the deceased of our town, the late Mr. Shafiq Nasr, whom we miss today and every day because he represented the role model and the example in his society and among his family.
When we speak of a role model, we find the field open to dive into the importance and deep meanings this word carries—meanings we inherited from our righteous predecessors and our elders who have departed in body but still live in our thoughts and consciences through the noble heritage they left for us.
They are the ones who taught us values and principles,
They taught us how to distinguish between what is permissible and what is forbidden, how to respect others, how to respect the elderly and defer to them, how to respect the professor and the teacher, how to address others, and how to occupy ourselves only with what concerns us and leave aside what has nothing to do with us. They are the ones who taught us not to backbite, not to harm anyone, and not to harbor ill intent toward anyone.
They taught us how to listen more than we speak, especially since God Almighty created for humans one tongue while giving them two ears, so that they might listen much more than they speak. This is if they intend to speak of good; what then if someone decides to unleash their tongue against others, their privacy, and their affairs?
I return to talk a little about the role model and the danger of targeting it in an era of development and chaotic cultural openness, through which some opportunists who carry suspicious projects in their hands and thoughts—foremost among them being the destruction of the role model—have decided to act.
How is this done?
When we diminish the value of a shepherd, it means we invalidate his respect in the hearts of his flock, and when the shepherd falls, the flock falls, and the reason is the targeting of the role model.
Likewise, when we transgress against a righteous man, we are striking at the role model; command and prohibition lose their effect, and advice goes with the wind, leaving the rational and wise person to withdraw into their home, looking with sorrow and regret at the ruin befalling the edifice that he and his companions, and those who preceded them, built upon foundations of values, honor, and dignity. The reason for this is also the targeting of the role model.
And when we accept for the role of the teacher to be reduced to just an instructor, after they had been the virtuous educator and the preacher father—who, in the opinion of the poet Ahmed Shawqi, was almost a messenger—to become merely the person entrusted with the apples of our eyes, is this not a blow and a strike against the role model?
And more dangerous than all that I have mentioned is the targeting of the most important role model, on whose shoulders nations were built: the one who raised, taught, nurtured, refined, pruned, and educated by the light of a lamp, under the weight of material poverty and in the harshest and most difficult circumstances.
It is the righteous mother, who alone can give a righteous nation. Where are we today regarding the mother's role and her responsibilities? I hope this is not taken as criticism or a diminishment of the value of women; on the contrary, absolutely not. I do not allow myself to hold anyone accountable, especially since we are all human and all are sinners. But it is necessary to talk about the mother's pioneering role in all societies. She was the guarantee for her home and family and was careful of every strand of hair on her children's heads; watching them, staying up for them and their comfort, their reputation, and their studies, monitoring their behavior, asking about them in their schools, smelling their breath to ensure they were not smoking or engaging in major matters, asking about their conduct among people.
The most important thing for mothers was watching over the upbringing of their daughters, who were often in the position of queens who were entrusted with the message and the responsibility to carry out its conditions and fulfill the duties it imposed upon them, then at the end of the road, pass it on to those who will come after them.
Where are we from all of that?
Where have we reached in the age of the internet and social media, this misleading term which is, in reality, social alienation or social sabotage? I will give an example of this:
If we say there is a family staying up in one room consisting of a father, mother, and three children, if we observe the scene, we will find that the television no longer has value in our time, for it has been replaced and its stardom stolen in our homes by smartphones. The father, mother, and children, each of them in the same room, hold their phone and talk to their friends; meaning each member of the family is staying up in a different place in content. Thus, the family gathering becomes formal, but the content is separation and fragmentation.
Where has our society gone, whose values we see collapsing day after day before our eyes? Where is the mother's role? Where is the father's prestige and stature?
This is the most dangerous battle we face, and we will pay a high price if we do not unite to confront it, the result of which will be family disintegration and then the unraveling of the unique social fabric that was the basis of the structure and which, God forbid, our negligence will be a cause of its collapse if we do not cooperate and join hands to renew the covenant and return to what we were raised on.
My dear ones, we are facing today the ugliest types of wars waged against our society.
We are in a battle with corrupt cultures imported from the world's waste.
We are facing destructive cultures whose early signs we have begun to see appearing before us,
Among them are deviancy, drugs, absolute freedoms that do not accept or recognize restrictions and controls, and religious atheism, which they recently dressed in the guise of yoga falsely—and I intended to say falsely because many immerse themselves in it, taking them out of the framework of religion into another world, which is something Kamal Jumblatt would not have been pleased with, even if he had mastered the practice of yoga, not the belief.
The time has come, dear brothers, to begin the task of reform before it is too late, and this requires us to be one hand and one heart.
By the way, I remember when we were young, the conversations that used to take place between the elders. One would ask the other, "How is the season's blooming?" The answer would be, "The blossoms are plentiful, God willing, they will set." In the next session, the answer would become, "They have set, God willing, they will be safe from hail and blows." In the last session, we would hear them say, "The season turned out well, thank God," or "We were not successful this year." Here, I hope we work hard and diligently, for our upcoming season of new youth is our inevitable responsibility, which is subject only to the noble values, high principles, and good thoughts we plant in our children.
My dear students,
The road is long, and you will be the bright candle in the midst of this pitch darkness. You are the hope for a prosperous future.
You are the ones who will take the banner from your families to continue the journey of the fathers and grandfathers.
Draw closer to your fathers, mothers, siblings, relatives, and honorable friends.
As for those who have lost their parents or one of them, we say that we are their family and that the Druze Orphanage in Abey, a pioneer in its role and ancient history, is what was and will remain, with God's help, the safe haven and the fortified stronghold, despite the black cloud that passed—and thank God it passed in peace—and the role was restored again with the wisdom and care of the orphanage administration. I specifically mention Mr. Anwar and Mrs. Hind Al-Nakadi, extending to them from here a special tribute of appreciation and high regard, especially after I met with them more than once by order of His Eminence the Sheikh Aql, where I found a deep understanding of the concerns and great cooperation to activate the action plan launched by His Eminence the Sheikh, which placed at the forefront of its program a guidance and orientation plan for the new youth and following their progress through their academic stages, supporting and developing them scientifically, literarily, and culturally, while at the same time fortifying them from the evil of devastating plagues and corrupt cultures.
His Eminence the Sheikh has begun working with his aides to support the guidance and orientation program by establishing a fund to finance the project, which needs many resources, the first of which is forming an integrated team of people of knowledge and expertise. Communications have begun with many people of generosity and merit to secure the money in preparation for starting this task, which is worthy of attention and support.
As for the other project, which is no less important than the one I spoke about, it is the Family Care Foundation project, which includes following up with partners starting from the beginning of the engagement period up to a full awareness of the meaning of marriage before the marriage contract; the meaning of marriage, which is a divine constitution that made it a path for survival.
"And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy."
Marriage is a contract of the highest partnership contracts, and partnership means a lot and has many foundations and conditions. If we maintain the conditions of the contract, we will inevitably reach the noble goal, which is building the family on sound foundations, and this means for us continuity and survival with righteous generations capable of carrying the trust and handing it over to those who will come after them.
Dear students,
Draw closer to your teachers, listen to them, and acquire from them useful knowledge, for it is the best thing you can acquire.
Love one another and be brothers and sisters.
Do not go near what or whom takes you away from God Almighty, for the head of wisdom is the fear of God.
God is the conscience, God is love, God is tolerance, God is goodness and giving that do not end, God is the light that does not go out.
God Almighty is present in us and with us; He is in every place and every time and every era.
It has been said: If you want to disobey your Lord, go to a place where He does not see you.
Is there any place in this universe that is hidden from His majesty and glory?
My dear ones,
God's anger at the disobedient will not be a strike or injustice, but rather a deserved result for those who disobeyed Him, translated into a deprivation of the blessings I mentioned earlier. When we respect love, tolerance, goodness, and light (i.e., we are deprived of those blessings), we end up in the harsh darkness that those with sight cannot bear.
Finally, I would like to conclude my speech with some verses of poetry I selected from a poem by His Eminence the Sheikh Aql, which stated:
Knowledge, then knowledge, how many times
I have proclaimed it, and the tongue of my poetry is eloquent
Knowledge for nations is the foundation of their construction
And ignorance destroys, and stagnation is a retreat
Knowledge is a door to life, wide open
Knowledge is a light for guidance, shining
With knowledge, not with ignorance, we enrich our religion
With knowledge, we live our glory and defend
Knowledge is the charter of life and its secret
Knowledge is a monastery for prayer and a gathering place
Knowledge is the seclusion of a devout believer
And the paths of piety are a wide test
Nothing saves a person from the blindness of darkness
Except traveling and useful knowledge
Our depths are humbled in obedience
And the free person through piety is obedient and humble
With knowledge and honest work in balance
And realization, this is the magnificent beauty
Thank you all, and may the peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you.
