Grand Mufti urges Lebanese to join ranks

Grand Mufti of the Republic, Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani, on Friday fervently condemned the "abominable" blast the shook the city of Tripoli this afternoon, leaving behind scores dead and hundreds maimed. In an address which Qabbani had delivered in the wake of the blast, he implored the Lebanese to join ranks and bridge the gap between them. "Lebanon shall fail to remain steadfast facing future terror plots if the Lebanese don't unite," he warned. "They plan to submerge the nation in regional conflicts and strife schemes," the Grand Mufti added, seeing in today's blast a terrorist act which aims to flare-up strife between Lebanon's Muslim Sunnis and Shiites. "They [terrorists] see strife as the easiest way to link Lebanon to regional Arab wars and destruction plans in a bid to turn Israel's desires into reality," added the Mufti, seeing in all this a Jewish arrangement to cast attention away from the Palestinian cause. He alerted the Muslim brethrens not to surrender to claims that Ruwais blast was perpetrated at the hands of Sunnis and Tripoli blast at the hands of Shiites. "Those who wish to bog Lebanon in regional conflicts are the ones that planted Dahiyah and Tripoli explosions," he added, noting that the Lebanese could only face strife plots by rising above existing wounds. On another level, the Mufti received a number of calls from each of Speaker of the House Nabih Berri, Islamic Shiite Council Deputy Head, Sheikh Abdul Emir Qabalan, as well as a number of official figures and dignitaries who deplored Tripoli's explosion.