Islamic Endowments Slams Rumors on Hizbullah Network at Dar al-Fatwa

The director-general of Islamic Endowments slammed on Saturday what he said was a media campaign of lies by powerful politicians that there is a Hizbullah network at Dar al-Fatwa.

Sheikh Hisham Khalifeh said during a press conference that the rumors were causing divisions among Muslims.

Dar al-Fatwa, Lebanon’s top Sunni religious authority, “has never belonged to a certain faction,” he said. “It only has one stance … that calls for unity.”

Khalifeh appealed to politicians and Sunnis “not to get dragged behind rumors because Dar al-Fatwa is your house and its loyalty is to the Sunnis, to Muslims, to Lebanon and security forces.”

The Sheikh also said that Dar al-Fatwa hadn't been informed by the Shura Council about a decision to suspend the elections of the Higher Islamic Council that Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani had called for.

“Is the judiciary now sending its decisions through some media outlets?” he wondered.

On Thursday, a statement issued by Khalifeh said the elections for the HIC, which chooses the mufti and organizes the affairs of Dar al-Fatwa, will be held on April 14 despite the alleged decision of the Shura Council to cancel the polls.

The Council suspended a call for the elections last year after 21 HIC members, who are close to ex-Premier Saad Hariri's al-Mustaqbal movement, filed a challenge against Qabbani's invitation to hold the polls.

Differences between them spread when the 21 members extended the term of the council until the end of 2013 despite the objection of Qabbani, who argues that the extension is illegal and says the council’s term has expired.