Muslim and Christian leaders call for unity at opening of Beirut’s largest mosque

Mona El-Fiki
For Al-Shorfa.com
2008-10-29

The exterior of the Mohammed al-Amin Mosque in Beirut. (Photo by Ramzi Haidar/AFP/Getty Images)

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Oct. 29 — Muslim and Christian leaders gathered in downtown Beirut on Oct. 17 for the first Friday prayers at the newly finished Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque, calling on the thousands gathered to unite.

A project initiated by slain Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2002, the Ottoman-style mosque is now Lebanon’s largest Islamic place of worship. Attendees at the inauguration included Sheikh Mohammad Sayyed Tantawi, Sheikh of Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo, Egypt. The Egyptian Embassy in Beirut described Tantawi’s visit as part of the “special Lebanese-Egyptian relationship.”

Grand Mufti of Egypt Ali Gomaa also attended and delivered a sermon calling for an end to religious division. “We hope that this mosque, which unites all believers, will continue to do its job that consists of building humans” the Daily Star quoted him as saying. “We ask God to help us build good people and unify all Muslim hearts.”

The event also marked a showing of Sunni and Shiite solidarity, at which Sunni leader Mohammed Rashid Kabbani and Shiite cleric Abdul-Amir Kabalan called for moderation and tolerance in a country marred by sectarian strife

Bishop Roland Abu Jaoude of Lebanon’s main Maronite Catholic Church also attended, saying that the new mosque’s proximity to the Maronite St. George Cathedral would “consolidate the coexistence [between Muslims and Christians] and deepen it.” [The Daily Star Lebanon, 18 Oct; :AP]

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