During his visit to Lebanon, Ayatollah Reza Ramezani, Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, met with Shiite Ulama of Byblos region (Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon) in northern Lebanon.
The following figures were present at the meeting: Sheikh Mohammad Amr, Hezbollah representative in Byblos region, Sheikh Al-Itawi, Friday prayer leader of Byblos, Sheikh Ashraf Amhaz, head of part of Byblos northern region, Sheikh Reza Ahmad, head of northern Byblos region, Sheikh Maher Qaban, Ali Meqdad and Hassan Meqdad in charge of municipal affairs in the Byblos region of Lebanon.
At the beginning of the meeting, regarding the situation in the Jbeil region, Sheikh Mohammad Amr, Hezbollah’s representative in the region, said, “In the Jbeil area, there are 50,000 Shiites living and owning property. Many of the Shiites who own property here are also present in other cities and commute to these cities. The Shiite area in Jbeil is besieged by Maronite Christians, and many efforts have been made to hand over the Shiite area to the Maronites. There were even moves against us in this regard. But with the management of Hezbollah and the resistance of the Shiites in the Jbeil region, they remained in the region. However, there is a need to support the Shiites of the Jbeil, and to provide a solution for scientific and educational activities for these Shiites.”
“There are 13 Shiite Ulama in the Jbeil region, and due to the presence of this number of Shiite Ulama, the region needs an Islamic seminary. Jbeil is a mountainous region with many gardens. Jbeil is an expensive area in which the landlords do not sell their land. However, we bought a thousand square meters of land to build a seminary,” he continued.
Following the meeting, while appreciating the hosting of Sheikh Mohammad Amr and Sheikh Al-Itawi from the delegation of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, Ayatollah Ramazani said, “There has never been an opportunity for propagating like now. We must prepare ourselves for enemy attacks, both in terms of hardware and software. It was expressed that there are enough mosques in the Jbeil area. According to Imam Khomeini, we must use mosques as strongholds. When the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) entered Medina, he instituted the three principles of Mosque, brotherhood and law.”
“It was interesting to me that Jbeil was surrounded by Christians. One of the most important weapons is dialogue with Christians. We need to take courses, get information, and train ourselves to talk to Christians. Lebanon is an open and free country. This capacity must be used, and the arena for dialogue strengthened,” he continued.
“More than four decades have passed since the victory of the Islamic Revolution of Iran. Alhamdulillah, the resistance that we are witnessing in Lebanon originated from the Islamic Revolution of Iran. We must celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the Resistance with double vigor. We need to make it clear to others that with the support of Hezbollah and the Resistance, we will be strong, and we will remain strong. It is with this power that we can continue the dialogue. We need to make it clear to the Maronites that their strength and resilience also stems from the Resistance that supports them, and just as the Resistance supports the Shiites, it also supports them,” added the Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.