Lebanese Patriarch Warned by Muslim Sheiks
BEIRUT, Mar. 26, 01 (CWNews.com) - Muslim leaders in
Lebanon have warned Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah
Sfeir to tone down his criticism of Syria's presence in the
country.
The Northern Lebanon Muslim Sheiks warned Cardinal Sfeir
on Sunday that he should stop demanding Syrian soldiers
withdraw from Lebanon. Sheik Rifai Hammoud told
worshippers in Koueikhat mosque near Akkar in northern
Lebanon that the Lebanese government and moderate Christian
members of parliament should curb the patriarch's ongoing
anti-Syria campaign. "There should be some reply to the
Maronite priest and the lack of reply would lead to
disturbing Christians in Akkar," he said. "I want you
(security bodies) to carry this message to the officials."
Syria has had about 35,000 soldiers in Lebanon since the
end of the 1975-90 Lebanese civil war, and has treated the
country as a fiefdom. Cardinal Sfeir has said the ongoing
Syrian influence on Lebanon and its government is a
detriment to independence.
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March 27, 2001
volume 12, no. 86
News from the Universal Church
www.DailyCatholic.org
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