Council of Muftis expresses concern as presidential vacuum continues

The Council of Muftis in Lebanon held a meeting chaired by Lebanon's Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdel-Latif Derian at Dar al-Fatwa, where national affairs were discussed.  

In a statement, the Council of Muftis called for adherence to moral values and the national constants of unity, coexistence, civil peace, and national reconciliation, and rejecting all strife. 

The Council believed that the continuation of the vacuum in the presidency fears destructive intentions for the homeland, and the negative results of obstructing the election of the President several months ago began to appear, including collapses at all levels, which is a dangerous indicator. 

The Council of Muftis considered that the positions of some who seek to obstruct local and foreign efforts to elect a president had become a matter of regret and concern, and it is in the form and intensity that seem to contradict facilitation and ignore the dangers besetting the homeland. 

The Council indicated that Lebanon does not lack qualified men who believe in its message of coexistence, but it lacks a mechanism for achieving national consensus around such men. 

The Council asked: "If the governor of Banque du Liban, who is supposed to be above suspicion, is wanted for an international investigation, then who will be responsible for saving Lebanon's financial reputation? How will he maintain its cash value? How will Lebanon regain its self-confidence, and the confidence of the international community in it, to get out of the ordeal and tragedy it has been floundering in for years without a glimmer of hope appearing from inside or outside?"

The Council hoped that the caretaker government would deal with this issue appropriately, so Lebanon would remain to preserve its entity and the future of its national currency. 

The Council of Muftis praised what was issued by the Arab League Summit in Jeddah, the wise role played by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Arab reunification, and the importance of the decisions and recommendations issued to address urgent issues in the homeland, appreciating the support of the Arab brothers by Lebanon. 

The Council of Muftis expressed its denunciation and condemnation of "what the Israeli enemy is doing in occupied Palestine, especially in Jerusalem, and its Judaization in defiance of international legitimacy and the national rights of the Palestinian people and their usurped right."