Mufti Visits Karami in Tripoli, Insists on Holding Elections of Higher Islamic Council

Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani said on Sunday that the elections of the Higher Islamic Council, which will become illegitimate after the end of its term, should be held within the legitimate timeframe.

Following a visit to former Prime Minister Omar Karami at his residence in the northern city of Tripoli, the mufti said the members of the Council will be elected after the list of names of eligible voters is issued.

“Its three-year term ends on Monday and it will no longer have legitimacy,” he said three days after he canceled his decision to call for the election of the 32-member Council.

Qabbani stressed that his deputy has no right to call for any Council session or chair any meeting in his absence.

Last week, the Shura Council suspended the elections set by Qabbani for Dec. 30 after 21 Higher Islamic Council members, who are close to ex-Premier Saad Hariri's al-Mustaqbal Movement, filed a challenge against the Mufti's call.

They described the elections for the Council that elects the mufti and organizes the affairs of Dar al-Fatwa as illegal over Qabbani's failure to consult them before making his call.

Karami stressed for unity following his meeting with the Mufti, urging Prime Minister Najib Miqati to “make a real initiative to find solutions” to the spat between the Council's members.

“The differences should be resolved through the elections to preserve the unity of the (Sunni) sect,” he said.

Miqati, who met with Qabbani the day he reversed his call for the elections, proposed holding elections within a period of two or three months with members of the current Council remaining in office until polls are held to avoid a vacuum.