BEIRUT:
Friday is the first day of the holy month Ramadan in Lebanon, a statement from
Grand Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qabbani said, while the Higher Shiite Council
declared Saturday the start of the month of fasting.
Delivering
a Ramadan message, the mufti called for resolving the issue of Islamist
detainees, five years after they were rounded up in the wake of the Nahr
al-Bared battles between the Lebanese Army and Islamist extremists.
“With
the start of this holy month, we remember our people, Islamist detainees, who
have been detained for many years without trial,” Qabbani said. “The judiciary
should take an actual step to resolve their case.”
Detainees
who have been charged should receive trial, he said, calling for the immediate
release of detainees who received no charges.
Around
180 Islamists were detained for alleged ties to Fatah al-Islam which fought the
Lebanese Army in summer 2007, reducing the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr
al-Bared to rubble. More than 10 detainees were released in two batches over
the past month.
Shortly
before Qabbani’s message, Investigative Judge Ghassan Oweidat issued indictments,
asking for the death penalty for 148 individuals, of whom more than 80 are in
custody.
He
called for working in the interest of the country, stressing that current
divisions will never lead to one group defeating the other. He said that in the
end, all parties would reach a consensus. “So why don’t we spare our nation and
people ... pain and destruction?”
The
grand mufti also urged Muslims to engage in charity works during Ramadan and to
refrain from lies and anything that God has forbidden, as the concept of
fasting during the month was not limited to refraining from food and drink
during daylight hours.
For
his part, the vice president of the Higher Shiite Council, Sheikh Abdel-Amir
Qabalan, announced that Ramadan would begin Saturday.
In
a statement, Qabalan congratulated Muslims on the advent of the holy month and
hoped it would be an occasion for them to emphasize their unity and solidarity
in the interest of Lebanon.
Separately,
President Michel Sleiman extended his congratulations to the Lebanese,
particularly Muslims, on the occasion of Ramadan and telephoned a number of
Arab heads of state to express his well wishes.
The
office of the late Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, which relies on
astronomical calculations, last week said Ramadan would start Friday.
Ramadan will also start
Friday in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Jul-20/181288-qabbani-ramadan-message-urges-justice-for-detainees.ashx#axzz20mFkUNDx
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