"We reiterate that one of our biggest national and electoral battles must be focused on purging state authorities, administrations and institutions of U.S. influence," Qabalan said in his Eid al-Fitr sermon.
Addressing "Lebanese in general and Shiites in particular," Qabalan added: "The electoral juncture is a major act of worship and a crucial national, moral and religious duty. Hesitation is forbidden or rather haram (banned in Islam), leaving the electoral battle is haram and a blank ballot is haram, because God entrusts us with the country and its authorities."
"Those who abandon the electoral battle would be abandoning God’s biggest acts of worship... The Americans along with a normalizing regional alliance are fighting the battle of exhausting Leb
...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...and burning everything with the aim of Zionizing Lebanon," Qabalan warned.
"Neutrality is a grand crime and the battle is crucial," the holy man added, noting that "fasting and prayer have no value" if not complemented with "political partnership and ballot boxes."
"Religious and national duties begin at the mosque and are completed in politics, and those who abandon politics would be abandoning the mosque," Qabalan went on to say.