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Sheikh Maher Hammoud

Sheikh Maher Hammoud

Learned Elders of Islam

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

20051026

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Pro-Hizbullah Imam Escapes Assassination Attempt in Sidon

2013-06-04

[An Nahar] The Imam of Quds mosque in the southern city of Sidon said Monday that assailants opened fire on him while he was heading for prayers but he escaped unscathed. Sheikh Maher Hammoud told Voice of Leb radio (100.5) that the assailants fired around 20 rounds from a passing vehicle after he went out of his house in Quds square to head for prayers. Hammoud hinted that "sympathizers with the Syrian opposition or any party seeking to ignite strife could be behind" the liquidation attempt. But he denied to VDL (93.3) that he had accused any party. Hammoud is close to Hizbullah which has sent fighters to Syria to support the regime of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Trampler of Homs... against rebels seeking to topple him. The state-run National News Agency said the security forces found in Sidon a Toyota which initial investigation said was used in the attack on the Sheikh. The army intelligence also managed to question its owner but it turned out that he had reported it stolen on Sunday, NNA said. In a similar incident, assailants opened fire on the vehicle of Islamic Unity Mosque's Imam, Sheikh Ibrahim al-Braidi, in the Bekaa town of Qob Elias at dawn Monday. The GMC Envoy, which was parked near his house, was partly burned. Al-Braidi has close ties with Hammoud.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Saniora Hints 'Fighters' Should Not Be Part of New Cabinet

2013-06-04

[An Nahar] Al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... bloc leader Fouad Saniora called on Monday for the formation of a government of "peaceful" individuals and not "fighters," and rejected the involvement of Hizbullah in the Syrian war. "We are keen on exerting every effort to form the new cabinet of peaceful individuals and not fighters," Saniora said during a ceremony at the Municipality of Sidon. "Neither Hizbullah nor any other party should participate in the ongoing fighting in Syria," he said. The MP also rejected shoving Leb and the Lebanese into the region's conflicts and "fake battles." Hizbullah's involvement in the Syrian war increased in mid-May when regime troops launched an assault on the rebel-held town of Qusayr that lies near Leb's northeastern border. Hizbullah members have been fighting alongside the troops loyal to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... to take over control of the town. "We hold onto coexistence. That's why we reject attempts to turn Leb into a battleground," Saniora said. He called for the adoption of a new modern electoral law, saying the security incidents rocking the country had compelled his bloc to approve the extension of parliament's mandate. Lawmakers extended on Friday the legislature's term for 17 months after the rival parties failed to agree on a new law and following fears that the deteriorating security situation would prevent holding the polls based on the 1960 law. "We hadn't planned for parliament's term extension ... which goes against democracy but we are determined to produce a new electoral law," Saniora said. He also rejected the recent liquidation attempt against Quds Mosque Imam in Sidon Sheikh Maher Hammoud. The security agencies should exert efforts to find the assailants who opened fire on him, he said.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Muslims in Lebanon Protest Film, Cartoons amid Death Calls

2012-09-22

[An Nahar] Mohammedans, Sunnis and Shiites, in Leb erupted into the streets on Friday to vent their anger over a U.S.-made film and French cartoons mocking Islam. In the southern port city of Sidon, Sunni holy mans called "a day of rage" against insults to the Prophet Mohammed but urged followers to contain their anger to inside their mosques. French schools were closed and the army was deployed at French institutions in Sidon, Beirut and the northern city of Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of thich is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... , in anticipation of a backlash against the publication of obscene cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in a French satirical magazine. Separately, thousands of supporters of Hizbullah and the AMAL movement erupted into the streets after Friday prayers in the eastern city of Baalbek, an AFP correspondent said. The Sunni authority for Sidon and several holy mans in Tripoli called for Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face... and Egypt's Al-Azhar -- the highest authorities in Sunni Islam -- to issue a fatwa condoning the murder of anyone associated with the film and for those who denigrate Islam or its prophet. "He who dares to insult Islam and the Prophet Mohammed shall not live. There are things that cannot be tolerated and insulting the Prophet Mohammed is one of them" "He who dares to insult Islam and the Prophet Mohammed shall not live. There are things that cannot be tolerated and insulting the Prophet Mohammed is one of them," Sheikh Maher Hammoud, imam of the Quds mosque, said during his sermon. "Every one of these should be killed." An AFP correspondent in Sidon said 300 people gathered at the mosque and that, after Friday's weekly Mohammedan prayers, protesters burned U.S. and Israeli flags while chanting "Death to America™, death to Israel!" In Tripoli, radical Islamist holy man Omar Bakri called on the "soldiers of Islam" to avenge the creators of the film and publishers of the cartoons, an AFP correspondent reported. Bakri asked fellow Mohammedans to support a fatwa that would make it "legitimate to kill those who have insulted the Prophet Mohammed." "I'm not in favor of the demonstrations that condemn, because they do more harm than good. They are not a solution to stop these continuous abuses against our religion; this can only happen with a strong response," Bakri said. Outside Tripoli, Sheikh Mustafa Malas decried the silence of Arab and Mohammedan officials toward their American and French counterparts. "Arab and Islamic countries must take a decisive stand against the United States and La Belle France after the insults to our Prophet, and boycott their goods," he said during his Friday sermon. "They have repeated these offensive behaviors ... Their actions amount to a war declared on Islam and they must not be surprised by reactions of reprisal." The correspondent reported seeing military vehicles and a large army and police presence outside the French high school and cultural mission in the northern city of Tripoli. The army has also stepped up security measures to protect the French ambassador's residence in Beirut with military vehicles. Protesters also burned American and Israeli flags outside a Beirut mosque, where troops were on guard nearby. A public demonstration called for by Sheikh Ahmed Asir, a controversial Sunni holy man, is set for 5:00 p.m. in downtown Beirut.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

ISF Arrests Kingpin of Sidon Bomb Plot

2012-01-07

[An Nahar] Security forces set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock on Friday the kingpin of the network accused of planting bombs in the southern city of Sidon. MTV reported that Ahmed Antar, who is accused of leading a gang behind the planting of bombs in Sidon, was jugged by the ISF Intelligence Bureau. On Thursday, ISF's information branch jugged Khaled Abdul Razzaq for allegedly planting a bomb in the parking lot of a building in Sidon. The army detonated a bomb the bomb Wednesday overnight. A citizen informed the security forces of a suspected device found around 11:00 pm in the parking lot of Hijazi Center in Sidon's Quds Square. The parking space lies near the building where Sheikh Maher Hammoud resides. The bomb weighed around 1 kg wired to a cell phone primed to detonate the device, the army said in a statement on Thursday.

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Factionalism at Ein el-Hellhole delays handover of 'Prince of Al-Qaeda' to LAF

2008-11-26

The capture of Abdel Rahman Awad, the elusive Fatah al-Islam fugitive, is being delayed due to the delicate politics that govern life in the sprawling Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp where he is thought to be hiding, Palestinian sources have told The Daily Star. Lebanese authorities have issued a warrant for Awad's arrest for his alleged involvement in a series of deadly bombings which targeted the army in Tripoli over the summer. The militant, who is known as the "Prince of Al-Qaeda" for his ties to international Islamist networks, has also been linked to a suicide bombing in Damascus in September. Security forces have asked their Palestinian counterparts, who are responsible for law and order in the camp, to capture Awad as quickly as possible, but despite promises that action will be taken no substantial progress in bringing him to justice appears to have been made. The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) held a meeting with senior Palestinian figures last week in which the military accused the militant of holding the inhabitants of the camp "hostage." But Awad has supporters inside the camp, where there is talk of a fatwa (religious edict) binding Islamist groups to protecting him. But the imam of Al-Quds Mosque in Sidon, Sheikh Maher Hammoud, has issued a fatwa of his own calling for Awad's surrender. A senior Palestinian source told The Daily Star that while the major political parties in the camp were in agreement that Awad should be handed over as soon as possible, the opposition of armed splinter groups has made such a decision politically sensitive. "There is so much politics among the parties involved," the source said. "Otherwise, why would we have this delay?" Secular Fatah officials in the camp are said to fear a collapse in support if they hand over Awad, a Palestinian, to Lebanese security forces and are trying to build cross-party support for his arrest with religious parties rather than risking instability by acting unilaterally. The source said this approach meant that the prospect of serious unrest in the camp over Awad's potential arrest was unlikely. "All the major parties in the camp are in favor of his capture or surrender," the source said. "There are a few Islamist splinter groups who disagree, but I don't think they will dare to stand in the face of the main parties."

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Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Urgent meet held to resolve Ein el-Hellhole clashes

2005-10-26

An urgent two-hour meeting was held at the Hariri residence in Majdalyoun Tuesday to try and find a solution to the deadly skirmish that broke out near the Ein el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp Sunday. On hand were MPs Osama Saad, Bahia Hariri, Hizbullah representative Sheikh Hassan Ezzeddine and Amal representative MP Ali Bazzi, in addition to local political, religious, security and commercial personalities. Participants highlighted the importance of lifting any political cover off of the perpetrators of the attacks, and urged the government and the Higher Relief Committee to compensate residents for any losses incurred in the firefight and to create a committee to follow up on the issue. The clashes, which left one man dead and four wounded, broke out Sunday between members of the disbanded Palestinian militia Jund al-Sham Brigades and armed Palestinian men from the neighborhood of Taamir. Speaking on behalf of the participants, Hariri stressed the government must exert its control over Taamir, which is located just outside of the refugee camp. "Making such a request signifies holding a dialogue; this is why a committee of joint parties was created," she said. Hariri indicated that the committee will soon convene and meet with all Palestinian parties that have expressed a willingness to hold discussions. However, she also expressed the participants' opposition to any form of a self-imposed security apparatus in the area. Meanwhile, shop owners in Taamir returned to business Tuesday, as things seemed to be returning to normal. Jund al-Sham official Ghani al-Sohmorani rejected responsibility for what he called "the passing individual clashes," and called for patience. Sohmorani, also known as Abu Ramez, denied allegations that there would be renewed violence if the wounded, currently in the hospital, should die. The imam of Al-Quds Mosque in Sidon, Sheikh Maher Hammoud, said talks are being held with Palestinian Islamic forces to secure the deployment of the army in the area. He added all parties in Sidon are discussing the deployment on the basis that the government only fills the security vacuum and does not exacerbate the problem, considering the concentration of forces from Usbat al-Ansar al-Islamiyya, Jund al-Sham and the Popular Nasserite Organization in the area. Abu Ramez ruled out accusations the government was prodding his group to stir tensions, stressing it was the government's role to arrest any individuals responsible for violence. Explaining the clashes broke out while he was in a meeting with representatives of MPs Saad, Hariri and Usbat al-Ansar, Abu Ramez said he had immediately ordered the attacks to stop and called for the arrest of those involved. However, Sohmorani accused some Taamir residents of collaborating with the army to create a security gap to demonstrate the necessity of disarming the Palestinian camps. He refused to allow the army into the camps, pledging that he will fight "to the death."

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Down Under

Visiting Australian mufti slams Arab world leaders as ‘semi-men’

2004-02-14

The visiting mufti of Australia, Sheikh Tajeddin Hilali, criticized the Arab leaders’ delay in reaching a unanimous agreement on a venue for their next annual summit, which is due to be held in March and will take place in Tunis. “It is a summit without real men. We are in dire need of real men these days in light of the situation in Jerusalem and Palestine,” he said in a sermon during Friday prayers in Sidon’s Jerusalem Mosque. Hilali was a guest of its imam, Sheikh Maher Hammoud. He told the congregation: “I was reading a daily newspaper that had on its front page ‘The summit conference is seeking a venue.’ Your leaders are looking for a venue and no one dares to address an invitation for the leaders of this stricken nation to meet.” He said that summits had produced no results “because we lack strong leadership.” ... and coherent thought processes, the ability to equate effect with cause, and the ability — yea, even the desire — to control your impules... “In the past, in Islamic and Arab history, we were governed by real men, but nowadays we are governed by semi-men,” he added. Hilali paid tribute to the “honorable stand” taken by Lebanese that, he said, forced Israel to pull out of the country. On other issues, Hilali criticized France’s decision to ban religious symbols. His criticism included the issue of banning headscarves for Muslim women, in public schools in France.

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