The distinguished Jaafari mufti Sheikh Ahmad Qablan addressed the Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rai, stating: "He who buries his head in the sand will be torn apart by beasts, and Lebanon is part of a region where American-Zionist maps are inflamed, which necessitates securing a national sovereign power commensurate with the equation of the army, the people, and the resistance, as a fundamental guarantee for the Lebanese entity; otherwise, Lebanon will vanish, just as it did during the Israeli invasion, which was accompanied by the greatest support from Washington to Tel Aviv, followed by multinational forces to confirm the ultimate Zionist occupation of this country."
He added: "Today is like yesterday, and the maps have not changed, the enemy is poised, the world is more divided, weakness is defeat, and vengeful projects are at their peak, while the international community is in alliances, and neutrality is surrender. The existential sovereign interest of Lebanon without an army, people, and resistance is merely an illusion, just as sovereignty, borders, and the entity’s existence for Lebanon without resistance means Israel swallowing it and obliterating Lebanon."
Qablan emphasized that "what is required is to strengthen Lebanon's power and secure a sovereign margin for it, not to sell it in the auction of powers that are racing to seize it. We must be nationalistic based on Lebanon's interests, not based on the wolves of the world. The era of sovereign forfeiture is forever over. Plurality, diversity, and dialogue are wealth for Lebanon, while fanaticism, sectarianism, and division are its slaughter. May God have mercy on our noble martyrs who offered their lives in defense of their homeland and to prevent its Zionization."
