Al-Rahi Voices Sorrow that Eid Coincided with State of Grief over Victims

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Friday voiced sorrow that Eid al-Adha comes this year while the Lebanese “are living in a state of grief,” rejecting “murder, violence and war.”

Al-Rahi, who is on a visit to Rome, extended Eid al-Adha greetings to Muslims in Lebanon and across the world.

“We express our sorrow that Eid al-Adha comes while the Lebanese are living in a state of grief over the Ashrafiyeh blast and the situations that left innocent people dead in several regions," the patriarch said.

Last week, a powerful car bombing killed Intelligence Bureau chief Maj. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan and two other people in the Beirut district of Ashrafiyeh. More than 100 people were wounded in the attack which gutted two apartment blocs.

The attack also sparked unrest across Lebanon and deadly clashes in Tripoli and Beirut.

"We must preserve the holiness of this land and turn it into a land of fraternity and peace, a land that respects the human being, a land that respects God's will which is against any killing, violence and war,” said al-Rahi.