Lebanon’s Supreme Islamic Sharia Council Calls for Cooperation with Mikati to Resolve Crisis

Lebanese Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian gestures during a ceremony for his appointment in Beirut August 10, 2014. (Reuters)
Lebanese Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian gestures during a ceremony for his appointment in Beirut August 10, 2014. (Reuters)
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Lebanon’s Supreme Islamic Sharia Council Calls for Cooperation with Mikati to Resolve Crisis

Lebanese Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian gestures during a ceremony for his appointment in Beirut August 10, 2014. (Reuters)
Lebanese Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian gestures during a ceremony for his appointment in Beirut August 10, 2014. (Reuters)

Lebanon’s Supreme Islamic Sharia Council expressed its support for Prime Minister Najib Mikati for laying out a roadmap to address the crisis with Saudi Arabia and Gulf States, calling for national cooperation in this regard.

During a meeting on Saturday headed by Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdullatif Derian, in the presence of former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, the Council denounced “persistent reluctance” in resolving the crisis.

“The most dangerous and worst thing that Lebanon is facing is that someone, who does not believe in this fraternity, has taken over the file of brotherly relations with Arab countries,” the Council said in a statement, warning of “disastrous consequences of such an immoral, unpatriotic and non-Arab policy.”

The Council declared its support for Mikati, “who expressed a firm position by drawing up a roadmap to resolve the crisis that Lebanon is experiencing in its relations with its Arab brothers, especially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

It also called on all Lebanese parties to cooperate with the premier to contain the repercussions of this crisis.”

The Council said it discussed with concern “attempts to obstruct the investigation into the Beirut Port blast.” It renewed its call to “continue the investigation transparently and comprehensively, by lifting the immunity of all officials who are supposed to be included in the probe.”

In remarks following the meeting, Siniora warned against “dangers threatening Lebanon and the supreme national interest.”

“Lebanon must return to its Arab fold, and the government should be keen on achieving this,” he underlined.



Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
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Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he would travel to Syria on Friday to encourage the country's transition following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by insurgents, and appealed on Europe to review its sanctions on Damascus now that the political situation has changed.
Tajani presided over a meeting in Rome on Thursday of foreign ministry officials from five countries, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the United States.
The aim, he said, is to coordinate the various post-Assad initiatives, with Italy prepared to make proposals on private investments in health care for the Syrian population.
Going into the meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their European counterparts, Tajani said it was critical that all Syrians be recognized with equal rights. It was a reference to concerns about the rights of Christians and other minorities under Syria’s new de facto authorities of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HT.
“The first messages from Damascus have been positive. That’s why I’m going there tomorrow, to encourage this new phase that will help stabilize the international situation,” Tajani said.
Speaking to reporters, he said the European Union should discuss possible changes to its sanctions on Syria. “It’s an issue that should be discussed because Assad isn’t there anymore, it’s a new situation, and I think that the encouraging signals that are arriving should be further encouraged,” he said.
Syria has been under deeply isolating sanctions by the US, the European Union and others for years as a result of Assad’s brutal response to what began as peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 and spiraled into civil war.
HTS led a lightning insurgency that ousted Assad on Dec. 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule. From 2011 until Assad’s downfall, Syria’s uprising and civil war killed an estimated 500,000 people.
The US has gradually lifted some penalties since Assad departed Syria for protection in Russia. The Biden administration in December decided to drop a $10 million bounty it had offered for the capture of a Syrian opposition leader whose forces led the ouster of Assad last month.
Syria’s new leaders also have been urged to respect the rights of minorities and women. Many Syrian Christians, who made up 10% of the population before Syria’s civil war, either fled the country or supported Assad out of fear of insurgents.