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Al-Rahi before Hizbullah Delegation: We Must Build State that Separates Religion from Politics

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi stressed on Monday the need to establish a democratic civil state in Lebanon that respects all values and stands as an example for the East.

He said before a Hizbullah delegation in Jbeil: “The state must separate between religion and politics … but not separate politics from God.”

He noted that the West’s success can be attributed to it successful achievement of this feat.

Muslims and Christians would be able to cooperate in establishing the civil state that respects its people’s diversity, added the patriarch.

Al-Rahi therefore called on officials to return to the national dialogue to resolve disputes and overcome insecurities.

For its part, the Hizbullah delegation, which was led by Sheikh Mohammed Amro, hoped that the Lebanese leadership “would adopt logic in its political activity and refrain from meddling in the affairs of others.”

“Lebanon cannot support any political, security, or military instability,” it warned.

“Lebanon is a message to the world, which it should maintain through dialogue and reason and not any other method,” it stressed.


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