His Eminence the Sheikh Akl of the Unitarian Druze Community, Sheikh Dr. Sami Abi Al-Muna, stated that we are in dire need of taking initiative and starting serious consultation and sincere, frank dialogue to elect a President of the Republic before matters worsen and something even worse occurs, in light of the daily aggression and Israeli encroachment on southern Lebanon that we are witnessing.
His Eminence the Sheikh Akl delivered a speech at the Ashura council held at the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council – Airport Road, at the invitation of the Vice President of the Council, His Eminence Sheikh Allama Ali Al-Khatib, on the third day of Muharram.
This was preceded by a meeting between the two Eminences, which included discussions on a number of general Islamic and national issues. His Eminence the Sheikh Akl was accompanied by a delegation of sheikhs, members of the Madhhabi Council, and advisors, in the presence of a crowd of religious scholars, political, parliamentary, judicial, social, and media figures, and citizens.
After the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran and an introduction by the advisor to His Eminence Sheikh Al-Khatib, Dr. Ghazi Qanso, His Eminence the Sheikh Akl, Dr. Sami Abi Al-Muna, delivered his speech, saying:
“In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon the Master of Messengers and the Seal of the Prophets, and upon his pure and good family and companions.
His Eminence, my brother Sheikh Ali Al-Khatib, Vice President of the Supreme Shiite Council, honorable guests, faithful brothers…
I am honored to accept the esteemed council's invitation to commemorate this blessed Ashura night, looking only toward the national and religious brotherhood that unites us with His Eminence and all the loved ones in the noble Shiite Council, and toward the spiritual bond that connects us with the owner of the commemoration and the honored members of the Prophet’s House (peace be upon them), of whom God Almighty said: “God only wishes to remove all abomination from you, O members of the Family, and to make you pure and spotless.”
We come to you as Muslims, believers, and supporters struggling alongside the Messenger of God and his companions in the path of truth and Islam, following the path of the pure Imams, peace be upon them, comforting and offering condolences to the sincere Husseinists who are steadfast in their love and loyalty, chanting what we said yesterday:
To the heart of the Prophet’s House I came to console,
And offered condolences for the martyred grandson.
I contemplated how evil betrays humanity,
And chooses the sharpest of swords.
In history, from its very beginning, I encountered,
Darkness, oppressive tyranny, and persistent aggression.
But the religion will remain alive through its followers,
Despite those who turned it into tragedies.
And Hussein remains the path, inspiring the universe,
And the challenge to injustice remains echoing like thunder.
May the Merciful bless those who sacrificed their souls,
In redemption, giving meaning to life.
May the Almighty God multiply your rewards,
And reward those who came weeping to Ashura.”
Dear brothers, faithful loved ones,
I greet you on this occasion, which is dear to all our hearts, and I congratulate you first on the arrival of the new Hijri year, hoping it will bring with it the promises of hope for a better future for our country, our Arab region, the Islamic nation, and the entire world, and that the memory of Ashura remains a station for reuniting, reforming the situation, and the victory of the will to live over death, just as the blood of Hussein (peace be upon him) triumphed over the sword of injustice and the unjust.
Let that long span of time from the migration of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the migration of Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) to this day, with all the lessons and ideas they contain, be a glorious Islamic message carried by the migrant Prophet and his faithful companions, through which he completed the religion and perfected his grace: “This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favor on you and chosen for you Islam as a religion,” and a great human message carried by Imam Hussein and his righteous family, struggling to raise the banner of truth, sometimes with good, influential words and the language of reason and logic, and other times with jihad and decisive confrontation, realizing that this migration, jihad, and sacrifices were only to confirm that the word of God is supreme: “…And the word of those who disbelieved became the lowest, while the word of God is supreme; and God is Mighty, Wise.”
The Prophet (peace be upon him) entered Medina as a migrant from Mecca, overcoming the barriers and obstacles placed in his path, and through his message and guidance, it became “Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah” (the Enlightened City). Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) entered Karbala as a migrant, objecting to the reality of deviation and negligence in religion, championing Islam and its message. With his blood, he illuminated time and space, opening a new era for realizing truth and monotheism. Does truth and monotheism mean anything other than worshiping the One and Only God? And does worshiping the One and Only God mean anything other than knowing Him and living sincerely with Him? A knowledge without doubt, and a luminous life not overshadowed by darkness. That is the message that necessitated migration and confrontation, for it is a journey of pursuit and jihad to reach the ultimate goal: monotheism and worship. Monotheism of the One and Only God that shatters the idols of stone, thought, and backwardness, and worship of the Independent Master that goes beyond the worship of slaves and merchants to the worship of the noble and the free—that is Gnosis, and that is monotheism.
Hussein carried the message, just as his grandfather, the trustworthy Messenger, carried it; confronting when trust required confrontation, and dialoguing when it called for arguing in the best way, cementing in both faith in hearts, virtues in society, and human unity in the one nation, calling for brotherhood among Muslims and equality among all people, realizing that migration or confrontation has no meaning or value if it is not for what the Prophet and the Imam intended—whether the intention was to avoid strife or to elevate the mission. Both are worthy of travel, migration, and confrontation. Through such a mission that carries the meanings of avoidance and elevation, the purpose is achieved and the message is preserved, just as the monotheistic spirit only lives through avoidance and acquisition, and human societies are only built by fighting ills and vices and cultivating morals and virtues.
There are many lessons and meanings in commemorating this blessed occasion, as it is the most eloquent evidence of attachment to the path of the Prophet’s House, the path of Hussein, his victorious martyrdom, and his fragrant life—an attachment to the truth he was entrusted with and the religion he was martyred for. He went out in its path, speaking the truth, confronting the swords of falsehood, moving toward the martyrdom of history, carrying all the human values for which his grandfather the Prophet was sent as a guide to the worlds, a mercy, and a shining lamp; values of goodness, guidance, and turning from the darkness of worldly ego to the light that gathers the people of truth to always be “brothers on thrones, facing each other.” He was faithful to the greater weight, taking that glorious, bloody path from Medina to Karbala, or rather from certainty to martyrdom, leaving behind the fleeting vanities of the world to confirm that the Hussein-like spirit, in its supreme meaning, transcended time, immediate circumstances, and sectarian divisions, and still does.
Facts and days have proven that Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) is a school, a path, and a model for all Muslims, indeed for all of humanity, such that it is impossible to “downsize him or sectarianize his memory.” He is the one who elevated jihad to its supreme meaning and Islam to the level of a message, for his cry was resounding in the face of the state of ongoing deviation—a jihad for the sake of honoring Islam and preserving the nation, martyrdom for the sake of truth, and a revolution against the unjust, regardless of their sect, whether they were followers of the Prophet’s Sunnah, children of the Imam’s Shiite followers, or all children of monotheism steadfast in their Islam and faith. Whether they carry this name or that banner, the most important thing is the unity of the religion and the unity of the nation, confirming the Almighty’s saying: “And indeed this, your religion, is one religion, and I am your Lord, so fear Me.”
Yes, brothers, I say again what I said in your esteemed council years ago: the message for which Hussein was martyred required lighting the oil of martyrdom so that the light of truth could spread, and Hussein's goal was not personal or superficial, but rather true reform in society and the nation. This is what we must strive for, starting with reforming the self and then reforming society, because the true believer is the one who “fears the station of his Lord and restrains the soul from desire,” and because the true revolution is by wielding the weapon of piety first, then standing in the face of injustice and its pillars—that is, by illuminating hearts and souls before revolting against tyranny and deviation.
Today, brothers, we stand before the anniversary again to draw lessons; we point to the similarity between a painful past and a bitter present. Here is Islam today being subjected to the ugliest forms of assault on its message and values from internal and external forces. Is it permissible to submit and surrender? Or should we do what Hussein did? We confront moral deviation and social dissolution with more education on faith, virtues, and preserving values, and we confront the spiteful enemies lurking with evil for the people of Arabism and Islam—foremost among them the usurping Zionist enemy—with more attachment to truth, land, cohesion, solidarity, and resistance.
As at the beginning of every year and on every cherished occasion, we emphasize the duty of being prepared to resist injustice and corruption and to confront attempts to fuel factors of division and discord among brothers. We call for a broad and wide Christian-Islamic understanding, of which we are the core and foundation, as gathered spiritual leaders, and for a national, fateful, and historical cohesion that all our sects are concerned with and in need of. Recalling the state of the people and the reality of our country, we remind so that the reminder may benefit the believers and wake the consciences of the officials. We raise our voices high, hoping that ears will hear and eyes will see, asking: Do the decision-makers not feel what the people feel of fear for the future and anxiety about the fate? Are they not worried about the collapse of the structure on its inhabitants in light of the painful, bloody events and ongoing Israeli attacks the region is witnessing? Do they not know that discord dissipates hopes and understanding generates achievements? How long must we wait? Can a homeland be built without a respected constitution and a followed system? Is a state governed without an organizing head and a heart that accommodates everyone?
Today, we are in dire need of taking initiative and starting serious consultation and sincere, frank dialogue to elect a President of the Republic before matters worsen and something even worse occurs, in light of the daily aggression and Israeli encroachment on the resilient southern Lebanon. Have we lost the ability for an internal understanding that takes into account the required balances, or have we become hostage to an expected external understanding that considers international balances and solves the intractable knots?
Israel, the usurper of the land of Palestine, the greedy for the riches of Lebanon, and the one that strikes international decisions and the feelings of the whole world with disregard—through the violations and attacks it commits in southern Lebanon and the blatant brutal massacres in the Gaza Strip—must never be confronted with spiritual division, sectarian estrangement, social disintegration, official incapacity, administrative lethargy, presidential vacancy, or random political polarization. Instead, the confrontation must be with more responsibility, national solidarity, meeting on the higher Lebanese interest, and confirming national unity, so that it may be a tributary to the martyrdom of the heroic fighters and a support for the heroic, resistant action and the appropriate field response.
Brothers, loved ones,
How much we need to draw inspiration from that great historical event! Realizing that the march begins with purifying the self from ills, leading to purifying society from vices, then to purifying the homeland from obstacles, and by achieving reform here and there—that is, by taking the soul from the ordeal of doubt to the expanse of certainty, society from the ordeal of disintegration and dissolution to the oasis of social cohesion and adherence to values, and the homeland from the ordeal of despair, state impotence, institutional vacuum, and expected risks to the space of hope and the oasis of work.
We ask God Almighty to wake consciences, illuminate insights, and inspire everyone to the right path, by the blessing of the meanings of sacrifice, steadfastness, and victory for truth that this expressive occasion carries. May He return it to the believers and the Lebanese with goodness and peace, and inspire us and you with the paths of salvation and deliverance.
Salutations to the soul of Imam Hussein and the souls of all martyrs in the Karbala of Al-Taff, the Karbala of the South, and Palestine. Salutations to the virtuous scholars and the faithful fighters. Salutations to the family of the esteemed Supreme Shiite Council, and salutations to you all from the Sheikh Akl of the Unitarian Druze community and from your brothers, cousins, and countrymen. May God multiply your rewards, and peace be upon you and God’s mercy and blessings.
His Eminence the Sheikh Akl met at the community house in Beirut with the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers, Judge Mahmoud Mekkie. The meeting covered general issues, in the presence of Judge Sheikh Gandhi Makarem, member of the Madhhabi Council Sheikh Mohammed Ghannam, advisor Sheikh Dr. Ramzi Sarieddine, Director General of the Council Mr. Mazen Fayyad, and Director of the Sheikhdom of Akl Mr. Rayan Hassan.
He also met with former Mufti Sheikh Khaled Al-Solh, with whom he discussed general Islamic issues.
Furthermore, he received a delegation of sheikhs and administration of the Al-Irfan Unitarian Foundation, headed by Sheikh Nazih Rafeh, and discussed general issues and affairs related to holding events at the community level, in the presence of media advisor Sheikh Amer Zeineddine.
The Union of Lebanese Expatriate Depositors requested his support for their movement to find solutions to recover depositors' rights from banks and to end the situations of humiliation they are exposed to in front of banks.
Among the visitors to the community house was a delegation from “Wellminds Academy,” including the academy's executive director, Pascal Dahrour, and administrative coordinator, Joanna Ayyash, to inform His Eminence of the institution's goals and activities. Also, Mr. Fawzi Abu Mujahed, who presented him with a collection of books by the writer Dr. Renee Al-Hajj.
His Eminence the Sheikh Akl offered condolences at the community house for the late Umm Akram Nabila Mahmoud Al-Eid, wife of Abu Akram Camille Shakib Abdul Malik.
His Eminence Sheikh Abi Al-Muna received at his residence in Shanay a delegation from the people of Al-Aqaba-Rashaya to discuss the issue of endowment. He also received the representative of the Sheikhdom of Akl in New Jersey, Sheikh Sami Merhi, as well as the former mayor of Shanay, Dr. Amin Abi Al-Muna.
