As much as I love the Syrian war where The Muslim Brotherhood and al Qaeda are taking on Bashar Assad, Iran and Hizb’Allah, another one might be brewing in Lebanon. Muslim Brotherhood linked Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir is now openly challenging Hizb’Alah and their ally Amal. he went on the Lebanese channel Al-Jadeed and threatened Nasrallah. Currently al-Assir is leading a sit in that has shut down a 200 yard stretch of the main highway between Sidon and Beirut.
A Lebanese Salafist cleric who has emerged over the past year from obscurity to become a leading and controversial Sunni activist has launched a sit-in in this port city to press for the disarming of the powerful Shiite Hezbollah organization
A year ago, Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir was known only to a small group of followers who attended his sermons at the Bilal bin Rabeh mosque in Sidon. But with neighboring Syria mired in ever worsening violence, the sheikh’s calls for support for the Syrian rebels and his outspoken criticism of Hezbollah have earned him a national platform and drawn admirers among frustrated Lebanese Sunnis who feel overshadowed by their powerful Shiite rival.
[….]
Sheikh Assir and his followers have blocked off a 200-yard stretch of the main highway bypassing the city center which connects south Lebanon to Beirut, 23 miles north of Sidon. The Lebanese security authorities have chosen for now not to intervene to avoid a confrontation with the cleric.
[….]
n an interview on Lebanon’s Al-Jadeed television on June 23, Sheikh Assir accused Hezbollah and the leader of the Shiite Amal Movement of using their political weight to dominate Lebanon and isolate the Sunni community.
“Either we live as equal partners or else, I swear by God, O Hassan Nasrallah and Nabih Berri, I, Ahmad Assir, will shed every drop of my blood to prevent you from relaxing until balance is restored to Lebanon,” he said.
I hope Hizb’Allah and the Muslim Brotherhood/Salafists go to blows. Islamic vs. Islamic violence is a great thing. Unfortunately, our elites in both parties will probably back Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir. we never learn to stay out of situations that are not our concern.
Tags: Arab Spring, Popular Uprising, Salafists, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir
