The Ministry of Culture held a unique cultural and literary poetry event last Friday evening in the town of Qamtiah, in the Aley district, commemorating the anniversary of the Prophet's birthday. After speeches from the participating speakers, Minister of Culture Mohammed Wissam Al-Mortada delivered a speech where he stated: "This year’s anniversary of the birth comes, like some of its predecessors, amidst a presidential vacancy and living crises, along with challenges at the level of the struggle against the enemy, in addition to social tensions arising from the Syrian displacement and the security and social threats it imposes. We know that the primary key to resolving these accumulated crises lies in electing a president for the republic, a Christian in the true sense of the word, and a nationally trusted figure by all Lebanese components.
President Nabih Berri aimed through his call for dialogue to make internal dialogue a means to Lebanese this entitlement, providing an opportunity to reach a climate of harmony and reassurance, allowing the election process to proceed without complications dictated by foreign wills. However, it is unfortunate that the refusal of dialogue has come from political entities, some of which call for making Lebanon a permanent academy for human dialogue on a global level. So, contemplate this contradiction, my friends: that all people can discuss our issues, which is acceptable to them, they cheer and rejoice and place hopes and analyses upon it, but that we discuss our issues, this is unacceptable.
I reaffirm here, on this honorable occasion, that dialogue is the only way to salvation, under any framework. What matters is that we sit together and talk, breaking down the barriers of division that stand between us; for the Prince of the Believers, Imam Ali, peace be upon him, said: 'Speak so that we may know you, for a person is hidden under his tongue.' Let our dialogues then be a revelation of the self before the other, and a discovery of him as he truly is, so that no one remains hidden under his tongue."
