LEBANON: Radical Lebanese cleric Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir comes into the spotlight for his strong comments against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as his supporters, mostly Salafis, stage a protest in central Beirut

Record ID: 280634

  • Title: LEBANON: Radical Lebanese cleric Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir comes into the spotlight for his strong comments against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as his supporters, mostly Salafis, stage a protest in central Beirut
  • Date: 22nd March 2012
  • Summary: SIDON, LEBANON (FILE) (REUTERS) PEOPLE PROTESTING AGAINST SYRIAN PRESIDENT BASHAR AL-ASSAD AND CHANTING: ''The people want to declare Jihad.'' PROTEST WITH CLERIC AL-ASSIR ON STAGE MORE OF AL-ASSIR PROTESTERS CHANTING: ''The people want to overthrow the regime.''
  • Embargoed: 6th April 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Lebanon, Lebanon
  • Country: Lebanon
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA6ONMDLTUUWR4WDV8BZFDVS5WB
  • Story Text: A protest by bearded Sunni Islamists in the heart of Beirut has catapulted a relatively unknown cleric onto Lebanon's national stage and highlighted divisions in the country over the Syria crisis.
    The softly spoken Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir, from the southern coastal city of Sidon, brought hundreds of supporters into the centre of the capital just over two weeks ago in the first such protest by Salafist Sunnis against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad.
    Assad's year-long crackdown against a mainly Sunni uprising in neighbouring Syria has deepened sectarian divisions in Lebanon, pitting many Sunni Muslims who support the rebellion against Hezbollah and other Shi'ite groups who back Assad.
    Until Assir emerged, the voices against Assad had been mostly muted and limited to the northern city of Tripoli, where Sunni movements have a strong presence.
    But the Sidon cleric told Reuters he wanted to change that by sending out a message from the heart of the capital.
    ''Distancing yourself when Bashar al-Assad owns the killing machine means silence and accepting that Bashar al-Assad can kill and do what he wants. So the image that went out to the world was as if Beirut is not distancing itself but silent over the massacres,'' said Assir in an interview.
    "So we wanted to say no and of course we have millions of supporters behind us who feel the same way we do.'' His Beirut gathering attracted Lebanese pop star Fadel Shaker, who kissed Assir's forehead and called him a "Sunni lion". Assir said he wanted to see Assad put on trial. Assir said he also wants to see Arab troops move into to Syria to end the crisis there.
    Military intervention is an option that many countries neighbouring Syria and in the region are very cautious about endorsing for fear it might lead to even more violence.
    Assir's strident opposition to Assad contrasts with the position of Lebanon's government, led by by Sunni businessman Najib Mikati, who has sought to distance his fragile country of just four million people from the turmoil next door.
    Many anti-Assad politicians urged the government to take a stronger stance.
    Although he has attracted the support of Salafists, conservative Sunni Islamists who call Shi'ites infidels, Assir said he did not consider himself to be one. Assir said he also sought to allay Christians' fears that his and other Sunni movements target Christianity.
    Many Christians in the Middle East fear the uprisings in the Arab world would install radical Islamist movements in power and jeopardize their safety and security. They cite what happened to the Christians of Iraq, who have left en masse following the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, as an example.
    ''Yes my partners in the country are the Christians and it is in my interest to assuage this fear and to reassure them that not everyone with a beard means they target Christians or want to kill them,'' he said.
    Unlike many religious leaders in Lebanon Assir, born in 1968, does not come from a religious family. His father was a singer until the 1990s when Assir convinced him and his brother to stop singing and playing music because it is forbidden in conservative Islam.
    Sunni Islamist movements are usually strong among poor and deprived people but Assir also has wealthy backers who he says have funded him and the mosque he leads in a Sidon suburb.
    What started as a small mosque is now a three-storey building that receives up to 2,500 people on Friday prayers and offers religious classes to 400-500 people. His $150,000 office, facing the mosque, was a gift from one of his rich supporters.
    Sidon connects Beirut to southern Lebanon, a Hezbollah stronghold, and the port city is known as "the gate of the south."
    While Assir does not hide his disagreement with Hezbollah and its ally Iran, he stresses that his ideas are not based on sectarian differences. He says his mother is a Shi'ite believer and she practises her belief freely.
    But he said Hezbollah, the only militia in Lebanon not to disarm after the 1975-1990 civil war, needed to reassure its Sunni Muslim rivals.
    ''Yes, there are many Sunnis who are afraid especially since there was proof on the ground on May 7 and 9 (2008) in Sidon. Even when we started our movement in Sidon, all of those who came to advise us told us we agree with you, there is injustice in Syria but we are afraid. When I asked them why, they say 'we are afraid of the allies of Syria, like the Party of Resistance and Amal Movement who can harm us'. So it's their role to allay the fears,'' said Assir.
    On May 7, 2008 Hezbollah gunmen briefly controlled Beirut during a power struggle with the government led by the bloc of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Assir was referring to Hezbollah when he said 'Party of Resistance''.
    Hezbollah and Israel fought a month-long war in 2006, but two years later its supporters battled supporters of Sunni political leader Saad al-Hariri in worst sectarian clashes since the end of the civil war.
    While Sunni Muslims have no military power to match Hezbollah, Sunni Islamist fighters including Arab veterans from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have always found haven in Lebanon, especially in Palestinian refugee camps off-limits to security forces and in the northern Sunni city of Tripoli.
    Assir says his support for Syria's uprising is mainly because most Syrians are Sunni Muslims, rising up against an Alawite leader.
    Assir said he also didn't believe Islamist groups should rush to taking on power roles in the aftermath of the Arab uprisings. He said he feared it would hurt the image of Islam if they failed to meet the expectations of the people.
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