5 killed in sectarian clashes in Lebanon’s Tripoli

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Five men were killed in the Lebanese port city of Tripoli on Thursday during sectarian clashes between gunmen loyal to opposing sides in neighbouring Syria’s civil war, residents said.

Ten people have now died in sporadic clashes in the city since Tuesday, the latest bout of violence that has roots in Lebanon’s own 15-year civil war but which has intensified as Syria’s conflict polarised Lebanese society.

Tripoli is a majority Sunni Muslim city and mostly supports the uprising in Syria, but it also has an Alawite minority and street fights between Sunni and Alawite gunmen have erupted several times since the revolt began.

Most of the dead have been shot by snipers along Tripoli’s Syria Street, which divides the Sunni neighbourhood of Bab al-Tabbaneh from the Alawite area of Jabal Mohsen.

The clashes on Thursday were between gunmen from the neighbouring districts. Three of the dead were from Jabal Mohsen and two from Bab al-Tabbaneh, but it was unclear if they were involved in the fighting or bystanders.

Army vehicles were posted at major road junctions near the area, witnesses said, and intermittent gunfire could still be heard.

Tensions have been high since at least 14 Sunni Muslim Lebanese and Palestinian gunmen from north Lebanon were killed a week ago by Syrian government forces in a Syrian town close to the border.

They appeared to have joined mainly Sunni insurgents waging a 20-month-old revolt against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose Alawite faith is derived from Shi’ite Islam.

Syrian state television has shown graphic footage of the dead Lebanese men, riddled with gunshot wounds.

DIVIDED POPULATION

Residents in Tripoli said they had heard heavy gunfire overnight as soldiers tried to stop clashes. The army said two of its soldiers had been wounded and that it had arrested five men on suspicion of opening fire.

Lebanon’s population is deeply divided over Syria’s crisis, with Shi’ite political and guerrilla movement Hezbollah and its allies supporting Assad and the country’s Sunni-led opposition bloc, March 14, backing the revolt.

Politicians in the small Mediterranean state have agreed to distance themselves from the turmoil in its neighbour, but Syria’s deputy foreign minister said on Thursday more should be done to prevent Lebanese fighters joining rebels in his country.

“We turn to the Lebanese government and we say, enough. When the situation is linked to the killing of Syrians, it is no longer possible to maintain the position of neutrality,” Faisal Maqdad said in an interview with Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV. He did not elaborate on what measures should be taken.

Assad’s opponents blame Syria, whose troops were garrisoned in Lebanon until 2005, for the unresolved October killing of Lebanese security official Wissam al-Hassan. Hassan had been leading an investigation that implicated Damascus and Hezbollah in the 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, a Sunni.

Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour asked the Syrian ambassador to hand over the bodies of the gunmen killed in the Syrian town a week ago, after their families protested in Tripoli and demanded the Lebanese government return the dead and determine the whereabouts of the missing.

The bodies will be returned on Saturday, an event which could further inflame tensions along Syria Street.

Reuters

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  1. Constantin7 Avatar
    Constantin7

    What a meaningless war in Tripoli based on fanaticism and sectarianism. Nobody will ever win anything from this war, all parties are loosing. Haven’t these ignorants and their leaders understood yet ? Apparently not. When ignorance reigns on a people this is what results: War, hate, darkness, sectarianism, fanaticism, hgh negative emotions, cahos, destruction, confusion, uncertainty, insecurity, the unknown…. When knowledge reigns the people live in peace, in justice, security, certainty, planning for the future. Peace starts in the hearts and nobody can bring the peace and knowledge to the hearts other than the king of peace Jesus Christ. Poor Tripoli and poor Lebanon, the more ignorance reigns the more problems the land of the Cedars faces.

    1. Prophettttt Avatar
      Prophettttt

      Well said constantin7,except for the fact that you  intentionally or unintentionally injected the belief that a certain religion would  solve  problems, when you and I know that many of these people who are fighting are doing so because they also believe that a certain religion would solve humanity’s problem.In this case,  you are as wrong as they are.
      I don’t discuss religion beliefs on this page or any other page because I know that  most people believe what they believe and insist that their religion is the only true one.I ‘m not  judging your religious beliefs in any way. I’m only judging your promotion  of your path of knowing God as being  the only path at a time  you are criticizing   others for being fanatics, and sectarian.I don’t think you are a fanatic, but  your timing of promoting your faith  is  a misjudgment,though it is your right.
      I think that religion should never be a reason for conflicts and wars. People can pray anyway they wish-or don’t pray at all- without imposing their religious  or nonreligious beliefs on others.No one is born a believer in any religion,but everyone is taught certain beliefs  by his family and community .
      I agree with you that Lebanese should have learned that after years of civil wars, no one comes out a winner. Everyone looses. The whole country looses. Thousands of people lost their lives ,all victimized either by their misguided religious and political beliefs, or by the fact that they happened to be in the wrong place in the wrong time.The end result is the same, people are dead,young people’s future and dreams are vanished,  cities are destroyed, societies are corrupted by wars,economies are destroyed, and unfortunately ,warlords becoming leaders instead of going to jail.

      1. Constantin7 Avatar
        Constantin7

        Hi Prophett,

        I used to think like you at a certain time of my life, that there are several ways and paths to pray and to connect with our creator, and even in my adolescence I became almost atheist, just believing in what I see and believing that as long as I am good and don’t harm anyone I should be Ok. Life and personal experiences tought me otherwise. Although I was born as a Christian, I was never really pro religion and the celebrations (X-mas Easter) were just social and family gathering events. Until I had some personal experiences and I accepted vocally and publicly Jesus Christ in my heart and life that I became another man and my life changed completely. When I read the bible I feel extreme serenity and peace in my heart and mind. You don’t know what I am describing until you experience it. 

        I used to practice TM, a while back, which can be a powerful tool in spirituality but yet it does not lead to anywhere other than the unknown.

        Your argument is nice and unifying and peaceful, however as it comes from a muslim you are either forgetting or ignoring (consciously or unconsciously) one major factor of your religion. All religions in the world promote (more or less) peaceful behavior, except Islam. It has ambivalent messages, that muslims pick and chose as they suit them. Some islamic messages clearly entice muslims to kill the other (especially Christians and Jews who believe in GOD but not in Mohammad), you cannot deny it. Islam’s mission is to “conquer” the world if not through the birth rate, certainly by force if need be, can you deny this. No other religion in the world has such a mission. Christianity too wants to conquer the world but the through the Good World of God, the Bible. My friend, you have very good values, do you know that your values are much much higher than the messenger of Islam himself ? I am not going to start enumerating all the “qualities” of the man who called himself “Rassoul Allah”, but I certainly can tell you that I believe in all my heart and mind the Jesus Christ is the ONLY WAY TO GOD. There is no other way, no other prophet or messenger on earth or in history, lived like Jesus ( born from a virgin and lived without sin), did the miracles of Jesus, and brings the peace to the heart of humans as Jesus does. He said it himself: I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.

        I have no doubt in mind that you are going to realize this and experience Jesus Christ very soon. You only need to take off the fanatic hat (yes unconciously you are a bit fanatic – 1400 years of Islam does not get erased in one night) you are wearing and open up to Jesus Christ and accept him as your lord, savior and God, Yes God because the perfect reflexion of God in the human, is God. The perfect image of God is God. Jesus is the perfect Image of God, and for this we call him the Son of God. Try to go, if you want, to a protestant gathering where they worship and experience the energy of God in such gatherings. I say protestant because they do not have images and photos of Jesus, the virgin Mary and all the saints that will distract you from connecting with God, especially that in Islam you come with this pre-concept that Christians worship images and statutes and crosses. Just try it Ptophettt, what do you lose ? Either you remain the same or you will step into the LIGHT. Please try it. Jesus Christ is a very personal experience, and I wish you could “taste” it.

        1. Prophettttt Avatar
          Prophettttt

          Constantin7, I’m very happy for you that you found peace in your faith. You, like millions of people around the universe, have resorted or discovered religion to be your savior and the path to peace and spiritual satisfaction. I have no issue with that, nor do I have issues with you finding Jesus as your savior and the bible as a source of serenity and peace in your heart and mind.
          I appreciate your positive characterization of me, but I do not accept the comparison with Prophet Mohammad in any way. I’m just an average person, while the prophet is the guidance of billions of people. It is kind of offensive to Muslim to even say that .You know that I do not Condon any disrespect to any religion or religious personality, and especially to the prophets.
          As you describe the acceptance of Jesus as the “lord”, and the peace and comfort that the bible gives you, you prove to me what I always suspected about people finding total peace in one faith, and that is the total rejection of other faiths. I could easily give you examples of people who happens to be born Muslims, Hindus, and Jewish, yet they all describe similar feeling about how peaceful and happy they become in finding their respective religion. Each and every one of them would urge others, just like you did in your reply, to “try it”. Each and every one of them would also find so many negative things about other faiths.
          As for your views of Islam and the prophet Mohammad, I will approach this subject with some objectivity based on what I explained above about the “absolute truth” that religious people claim to have in their faith. I don’t claim to be an expert on Islam or any other religion, but I would claim to be a reasonably well read person, and reply by saying that There are many different school of thoughts in Islam, and that there are many different interpretation of The Quran. Some schools of thoughts take the words of the Quran very literally, and some do not. Although I do not practice, I would tell you that the school of thought and the version of Islam I was born into never promote violence against Christianity or Christian. Some have twisted interoperations of the word, and some rely on scholars who are competent to interpret sharia by “Ijtihad”. I have never seen, read, or heard any decree, fatwa, by any Muslim Shia scholar, or any main stream Sunni scholar which would call for violence against Christians or Jews because of their faith. I was never brought up in culture that justified this kind of violence. I understand that because the Israeli conflict and the Israeli claim of the Jewishness of their so called state, many people associate Jews with Israel, and therefore Jews became target of violence. I do not agree with that, but I blame Israel and the world Jewish community for allowing Israel to fight and occupy in the name of Judaism.
          As much as I oppose the idea of Israel, I have no animosity against Jews, and I always bring this Israeli/Jews issue with Jewish people that I know, and make it clear to them that, by supporting Israel blindly, by allowing Israel to become a state for Jews,and by allowing Israel to speak for and fight in the name Judaism ,They approve any killing Israel makes in the name of Judaism.
          Not to sound like I’m engaged in a tit-for tat, I have to say that Christianity has gone through similar experiences where by Christians killed in the name of Jesus and Christianity as well. I don’t need to give you references. I think you are knowledgeable enough to know that. Just like you criticize Islam and the prophet for what you believe their promotion of violence, Many Muslims would also find many negative things to say about Christianity(not about Jesus for sure) and justify their criticism and, sometime, their total rejection of Christianity. All religions directly or indirectly reject other religions, and would find many ways of justifying their rejection. They do that either by selecting a “verse” or a “sentence”, or by relying on a scholar here or there.
          I urge you to promote tolerance instead of division. I don’t doubt your personal sincerity, but I disagree with you on these issues. We’re all sons and daughters of humanity.

        2. Hannibal Avatar

          @Prophettttt:disqus I do agree with what you said wholeheartedly… However, my objections to Islam and Judaism (in the form of Israel) is that they say religion is the state whereas Jesus decreed to Christians to separate the state from their religion. The reason we had Crusades and killings in the name of Jesus is exactly that the state adopted Christianity as its religion starting by Constantin when he ordered his troops to draw crosses on their shields and then the three crusades that followed. Since then many countries in the Christian world separated religion from the state and since then, and to some great extent, Christianity went back on the path that Jesus drew for it. Islam today is militarized exactly the way of medieval Christianity. Do you see any battle without this new trend of takbiir? The funniest part is that the Shiites and the Sunnis fight each others with the same takbiir words.
          As to the flags of certain states, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Israel, and all those carrying religious emblems as flags, those states are fascist, racist, and have nothing, absolutely nothing to do with God. 

        3. 5thDrawer Avatar

          I could quickly be a fanatic, if looking into the wrong end of a gun.

  2. Constantin7 Avatar
    Constantin7

    What a meaningless war in Tripoli based on fanaticism and sectarianism. Nobody will ever win anything from this war, all parties are loosing. Haven’t these ignorants and their leaders understood yet ? Apparently not. When ignorance reigns on a people this is what results: War, hate, darkness, sectarianism, fanaticism, hgh negative emotions, cahos, destruction, confusion, uncertainty, insecurity, the unknown…. When knowledge reigns the people live in peace, in justice, security, certainty, planning for the future. Peace starts in the hearts and nobody can bring the peace and knowledge to the hearts other than the king of peace Jesus Christ. Poor Tripoli and poor Lebanon, the more ignorance reigns the more problems the land of the Cedars faces.

    1. Prophettttt Avatar
      Prophettttt

      Well said constantin7,except for the fact that you  intentionally or unintentionally injected the belief that a certain religion would  solve  problems, when you and I know that many of these people who are fighting are doing so because they also believe that a certain religion would solve humanity’s problem.In this case,  you are as wrong as they are.
      I don’t discuss religion beliefs on this page or any other page because I know that  most people believe what they believe and insist that their religion is the only true one.I ‘m not  judging your religious beliefs in any way. I’m only judging your promotion  of your path of knowing God as being  the only path at a time  you are criticizing   others for being fanatics, and sectarian.I don’t think you are a fanatic, but  your timing of promoting your faith  is  a mistake.
      I think that religion should never be a reason for conflicts and wars. People can pray anyway they wish-or don’t pray at all- without imposing their religious  or nonreligious beliefs on others.No one is born a believer in any religion,but everyone is taught certain beliefs  by his family and community .
      I agree with you that Lebanese should have learned that after years of civil wars, no one comes out a winner. Everyone looses. The whole country looses. Thousands of people lost their lives ,all victimized either by their misguided religious and political beliefs, or by the fact that they happened to be in the wrong place in the wrong time.The end result is the same, people are dead,young people’s future and dreams are vanished,  cities are destroyed, societies are corrupted by wars,economies are destroyed, and unfortunately ,warlords becoming leaders instead of going to jail.

      1. Constantin7 Avatar
        Constantin7

        Hi Prophett,

        I used to think like you at a certain time of my life, that there are several ways and paths to pray and to connect with our creator, and even in my adolescence I became almost atheist, just believing in what I see and believing that as long as I am good and don’t harm anyone I should be Ok. Life and personal experiences tought me otherwise. Although I was born as a Christian, I was never really pro religion and the celebrations (X-mas Easter) were just social and family gathering events. Until I had some personal experiences and I accepted vocally and publicly Jesus Christ in my heart and life that I became another man and my life changed completely. When I read the bible I feel extreme serenity and peace in my heart and mind. You don’t know what I am describing until you experience it. 

        I used to practice TM, a while back, which can be a powerful tool in spirituality but yet it does not lead to anywhere other than the unknown.

        Your argument is nice and unifying and peaceful, however as it comes from a muslim you are either forgetting or ignoring (consciously or unconsciously) one major factor of your religion. All religions in the world promote (more or less) peaceful behavior, except Islam. It has ambivalent messages, that muslims pick and chose as they suit them. Some islamic messages clearly entice muslims to kill the other (especially Christians and Jews who believe in GOD but not in Mohammad), you cannot deny it. Islam’s mission is to “conquer” the world if not through the birth rate, certainly by force if need be, can you deny this. No other religion in the world has such a mission. Christianity too wants to conquer the world but the through the Good World of God, the Bible. My friend, you have very good values, do you know that your values are much much higher than the messenger of Islam himself ? I am not going to start enumerating all the “qualities” of the man who called himself “Rassoul Allah”, but I certainly can tell you that I believe in all my heart and mind the Jesus Christ is the ONLY WAY TO GOD. There is no other way, no other prophet or messenger on earth or in history, lived like Jesus ( born from a virgin and lived without sin), did the miracles of Jesus, and brings the peace to the heart of humans as Jesus does. He said it himself: I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.

        I have no doubt in mind that you are going to realize this and experience Jesus Christ very soon. You only need to take off the fanatic hat (yes unconciously you are a bit fanatic – 1400 years of Islam does not get erased in one night) you are wearing and open up to Jesus Christ and accept him as your lord, savior and God, Yes God because the perfect reflexion of God in the human, is God. The perfect image of God is God. Jesus is the perfect Image of God, and for this we call him the Son of God. Try to go, if you want, to a protestant gathering where they worship and experience the energy of God in such gatherings. I say protestant because they do not have images and photos of Jesus, the virgin Mary and all the saints that will distract you from connecting with God, especially that in Islam you come with this pre-concept that Christians worship images and statutes and crosses. Just try it Ptophettt, what do you lose ? Either you remain the same or you will step into the LIGHT. Please try it. Jesus Christ is a very personal experience, and I wish you could “taste” it.

        1. Prophettttt Avatar
          Prophettttt

          Constantin7, I’m very happy for you that you found peace in your faith. You, like millions of people around the universe, have resorted or discovered religion to be your savior and the path to peace and spiritual satisfaction. I have no issue with that, nor do I have issues with you finding Jesus as your savior and the bible as a source of serenity and peace in your heart and mind.
          I appreciate your positive characterization of me, but I do not accept the comparison with Prophet Mohammad in any way. I’m just an average person, while the prophet is the guidance of billions of people. It is kind of offensive to Muslim to even say that .You know that I do not Condon any disrespect to any religion or religious personality, and especially to the prophets.
          As you describe the acceptance of Jesus as the “lord”, and the peace and comfort that the bible gives you, you prove to me what I always suspected about people finding total peace in one faith, and that is the total rejection of other faiths. I could easily give you examples of people who happens to be born Muslims, Hindus, and Jewish, yet they all describe similar feeling about how peaceful and happy they become in finding their respective religion. Each and every one of them would urge others, just like you did in your reply, to “try it”. Each and every one of them would also find so many negative things about other faiths.
          As for your views of Islam and the prophet Mohammad, I will approach this subject with some objectivity based on what I explained above about the “absolute truth” that religious people claim to have in their faith. I don’t claim to be an expert on Islam or any other religion, but I would claim to be a reasonably well read person, and reply by saying that There are many different school of thoughts in Islam, and that there are many different interpretation of The Quran. Some schools of thoughts take the words of the Quran very literally, and some do not. Although I do not practice, I would tell you that the school of thought and the version of Islam I was born into never promote violence against Christianity or Christian. Some have twisted interoperations of the word, and some rely on scholars who are competent to interpret sharia by “Ijtihad”. I have never seen, read, or heard any decree, fatwa, by any Muslim Shia scholar, or any main stream Sunni scholar which would call for violence against Christians or Jews because of their faith. I was never brought up in culture that justified this kind of violence. I understand that because the Israeli conflict and the Israeli claim of the Jewishness of their so called state, many people associate Jews with Israel, and therefore Jews became target of violence. I do not agree with that, but I blame Israel and the world Jewish community for allowing Israel to fight and occupy in the name of Judaism.
          As much as I oppose the idea of Israel, I have no animosity against Jews, and I always bring this Israeli/Jews issue with Jewish people that I know, and make it clear to them that, by supporting Israel blindly, by allowing Israel to become a state for Jews,and by allowing Israel to speak for and fight in the name Judaism ,They approve any killing Israel makes in the name of Judaism.
          Not to sound like I’m engaged in a tit-for tat, I have to say that Christianity has gone through similar experiences where by Christians killed in the name of Jesus and Christianity as well. I don’t need to give you references. I think you are knowledgeable enough to know that. Just like you criticize Islam and the prophet for what you believe their promotion of violence, Many Muslims would also find many negative things to say about Christianity(not about Jesus for sure) and justify their criticism and, sometime, their total rejection of Christianity. All religions directly or indirectly reject other religions, and would find many ways of justifying their rejection. They do that either by selecting a “verse” or a “sentence”, or by relying on a scholar here or there.
          I urge you to promote tolerance instead of division. I don’t doubt your personal sincerity, but I disagree with you on these issues. We’re all sons and daughters of humanity.

        2. Hannibal Avatar

          @Prophettttt:disqus I do agree with what you said wholeheartedly… However, my objections to Islam and Judaism (in the form of Israel) is that they say religion is the state whereas Jesus decreed to Christians to separate the state from their religion. The reason we had Crusades and killings in the name of Jesus is exactly that the state adopted Christianity as its religion starting by Constantin when he ordered his troops to draw crosses on their shields and then the three crusades that followed. Since then many countries in the Christian world separated religion from the state and since then, and to some great extent, Christianity went back on the path that Jesus drew for it. Islam today is militarized exactly the way of medieval Christianity. Do you see any battle without this new trend of takbiir? The funniest part is that the Shiites and the Sunnis fight each others with the same takbiir words.
          As to the flags of certain states, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Israel, and all those carrying religious emblems as flags, those states are fascist, racist, and have nothing, absolutely nothing to do with God. 

        3. 5thDrawer Avatar

          I could quickly be a fanatic, if looking into the wrong end of a gun.

  3. cocuaine Avatar

    kiss ekheton kiloun sowa

  4. cocuaine Avatar

    kiss ekheton kiloun sowa

  5. Constantin7 Avatar
    Constantin7

    Prophettt, I give you a brotherly hug. you are a true reflexion of the good hearted people of South Lebanon. We agree on many things and disagree on some, but I always respect your choice. I do promote peace and tolerance because we are all sons and daughters of the all mighty. Jesus asked me and all his followers to promote peace and tolerance, I try my best to follow his commands. Tolerance exists in the western countries which laws are based on Christian values, but does this same concept of tolerance exist in Saudi Arabia, Iran, or any shariaa islamic country ? I don;t think so….

    I leave you with that in peace and the kindest regards  🙂

    1. Constantin, the most important thing about christianity is the teachings! not the wanna be followers and bad historic examples.

      Many bad examples from all religions have caused substantial damage to innocent people  in the name of religion and of god,  christian principles are a way of life that should produce fruit  and results favorable to believers and non believers by means of a christian not stumbeling others in the way they conduct themselves.

       the christian label  has been misused and aplied over causes and acts not in harmony with early true christian principles just as many moslem entities have opted to choose a violent venue to accomplish worldly matters that are contrary to godly peacefull principles.

      I applaud you and prophet for your warm and respectfull excahnge, having met him I assure you he is not religious,nor extremist but is a dedicated familly first man that  speaks his mind based on his experience and eyewitness account of sad events that many lebanese have seen that some want to defend when the reality is that deeds of the civil war are simply ugly and defensless.

      1. Prophettttt Avatar
        Prophettttt

        geo, Thank you,and I promise that I  won’t  tell anyone that you influenced me  not to be a believer .No one will know that it is all your fault. lol

        1. 5thDrawer Avatar

          I have a new bottle of Glenfiddich …. 😉

        2. Persistent Avatar

          Prophet, I want to command you and Constantin on the civil and respectful exchanges above. 

          The way you conduct yourself is to be admired to say the least. You stand by your convictions and beliefs as you should and you always see the good in people irrespective of their absurdness at times.

          The trouble with our world nowdays is that everyone believes he/she is right and do not respect other views. I concur that we all came from Adam and Eve and should love, respect and care for one another.

          I know you can handle this one without your head getting swollen. Best regards ….

        3. 5thDrawer Avatar

          I think Persistent means ‘commend’ – not command – and I agree on that. 🙂

        4. Prophettttt Avatar
          Prophettttt

          5th,  Another title to your collection : “Spelling police” .lol
          Wealthy people  take their “misspelled words” to the bank.I just wish I can join them one day in this life ,or in the next one if it turned out to be real.

    2. Prophettttt Avatar
      Prophettttt

      Constantine7. Briefly,The most important reason religion has so much power over humans is that; it has an element of mystery of which humans itch to understand, but never would fully do. It is that mystery which makes it a religion. I have noticed that every non believer struggles to believe, and every believer struggles to be a nonbeliever. The truth of the matter is that most people admit either. It is a struggle between doubts at our comfortable times and spiritual needs at bad times.
      Religions, whether true or not, are supposed to discipline humans otherwise, the beast in us would take control of everything we do and believe in. Yet because of natural humanistic weaknesses, they need to believe in the mysterious element which gives them hope and comfort, which is a great thing.
      Non of that justifies anyone or/and any group to create a state in the name of God or religion because God is neither in the real estate business, nor is He in the business of being a Racist (or unjust ) to prefer one group of humans over the others.
      Thank you for your kind words. I respect you and respect the choices you make, even when you and I disagree because I believe that you are sincere.
      My best wishes.

  6. Constantin7 Avatar
    Constantin7

    Prophettt, I give you a brotherly hug. you are a true reflexion of the good hearted people of South Lebanon. We agree on many things and disagree on some, but I always respect your choice. I do promote peace and tolerance because we are all sons and daughters of the all mighty. Jesus asked me and all his followers to promote peace and tolerance, I try my best to follow his commands. Tolerance exists in the western countries which laws are based on Christian values, but does this same concept of tolerance exist in Saudi Arabia, Iran, or any shariaa islamic country ? I don;t think so….

    I leave you with that in peace and the kindest regards  🙂

    1. Constantin, the most important thing about christianity is the teachings! not the wanna be followers and bad historic examples.

      Many bad examples from all religions have caused substantial damage to innocent people  in the name of religion and of god,  christian principles are a way of life that should produce fruit  and results favorable to believers and non believers by means of a christian not stumbeling others in the way they conduct themselves.

       the christian label  has been misused and aplied over causes and acts not in harmony with early true christian principles just as many moslem entities have opted to choose a violent venue to accomplish worldly matters that are contrary to godly peacefull principles.

      I applaud you and prophet for your warm and respectfull excahnge, having met him I assure you he is not religious,nor extremist but is a dedicated familly first man that  speaks his mind based on his experience and eyewitness account of sad events that many lebanese have seen that some want to defend when the reality is that deeds of the civil war are simply ugly and defensless.

      1. Prophettttt Avatar
        Prophettttt

        geo, Thank you,and I promise that I  won’t  tell anyone that you influenced me  not to be a believer .lol

        1. 5thDrawer Avatar

          I have a new bottle of Glenfiddich …. 😉

        2. Persistent Avatar

          Prophet, I want to command you and Constantin on the civil and respectful exchanges above. 

          The way you conduct yourself is to be admired to say the least. You stand by your convictions and beliefs as you should and you always see the good in people irrespective of their absurdness at times.

          I know you can handle this one without your head getting swollen. Best regards ….

        3. 5thDrawer Avatar

          I think Persistent means ‘commend’ – not command – and I agree on that. 🙂

        4. Prophettttt Avatar
          Prophettttt

          5th,  Another title to your collection : “Spelling police” .lol
          Wealthy people  take their “misspelled words” to the bank.I just wish I can join them one day in this life ,or in the next one if it turned out to be real.

    2. Prophettttt Avatar
      Prophettttt

      Constantine7. Thank you for your kind words. I respect you and respect the choices you make, even when you and I disagree because I believe that you are sincere.
      One short comment on what I think of religion over all;
      The most important reason religion has so much power over humans is that; it has an element of mystery of which humans itch to understand, but never would fully do. It is that mystery which makes it a religion. I have noticed that every non believer struggles to believe, and every believer struggles to be a nonbeliever. The truth of the matter is that most people admit either.
      Religions, whether true or not, are supposed to discipline humans otherwise, the beast in us would take control of everything we do and believe in. Yet because of natural humanistic weaknesses, they need to believe in the mysterious element which gives them hope and comfort, which is a great thing.
      My best wishes.

  7. There is only one truth and the deniers hate it. If you keep an open mind and have good intentions and actions , then you can only be judged as trying to find and act on the truth. The real word of God is the truth and a million different thoughts and opinions cannot change that. Tolerance is Cool ad long as it is practised by all sides and does not harm society.

  8. There is only one truth and the deniers hate it. If you keep an open mind and have good intentions and actions , then you can only be judged as trying to find and act on the truth. The real word of God is the truth and a million different thoughts and opinions cannot change that. Tolerance is Cool ad long as it is practised by all sides and does not harm society.

  9. 5thDrawer Avatar

    The count is Up to 17 now … at least when any accurate report can come out … and citizens simply shiver in fear.
    Fighting in Tripoli over returning dead bodies is ludicrous, or course. They are the ones who chose to go into a war.

  10. 5thDrawer Avatar

    The count is Up to 17 now … at least when any accurate report can come out … and citizens simply shiver in fear.
    Fighting in Tripoli over returning dead bodies is ludicrous, or course. They are the ones who chose to go into a war.

  11. Prophettttt Avatar
    Prophettttt

    Persistent, your comment/reply ,below, didn’t have a reply key. I just wanted to thank you, and since you mentioned swollen head, I have to share this episode with you. Last time I had a swollen head, it was a result of bad tooth infection, and the seen was not pretty at all; In fact, it was so bad that I was able to see my own ear, lol.
    Since then, I avoid all kinds of infections, including but not limited to, ego infections of all forms and types. I’m just humbled by your kind words, and that adds extra burden of responsibility on me and on Constantine. Best regards to you too.

    1. Persistent Avatar

      Ouch….

      Between you keeping everyone straight and 5th the “spelling police”, we are all in trouble now. I know I should have listened to my dictation teacher instead of screwing around in class. Next time I will be sure to run a “spell check”. lol..   

      1. 5thDrawer Avatar

        Oh DEAR Persistent. 😉 
        HOWEVER … your word was spelled correctly.
        I hate to mention something about the ‘spell check’ concept…. it’s a computer glitch in reality … someone tried to feed it the words to know, but it burped only when an American spelling wasn’t used.
        Damn computers !! They are so stupid.
        And this is why I keep an Oxford on paper handy … Can’t be a good cop without instructions, after all. :-))
        Now … can we discuss ‘Grammar’ ? :-)))))

        (Ooops … should have said ‘may we’ …)

  12. Prophettttt Avatar
    Prophettttt

    Persistent, your comment/reply ,below, didn’t have a reply key. I just wanted to thank you, and since you mentioned swollen head, I have to share this episode with you. Last time I had a swollen head, it was a result of bad tooth infection, and the seen was not pretty at all; In fact, it was so bad that I was able to see my own ear, lol.
    Since then, I avoid all kinds of infections, including but not limited to, ego infections of all forms and types. I’m just humbled by your kind words, and that adds extra burden of responsibility on me and on Constantine. Best regards to you too.

    1. Persistent Avatar

      Ouch….

      Between you keeping everyone straight and 5th the “spelling police”, we are all in trouble now. I know I should have listened to my dictation teacher instead of screwing around in class. Next time I will be sure to run a “spell check”. lol..   

      1. 5thDrawer Avatar

        Oh DEAR Persistent. 😉 
        HOWEVER … your word was spelled correctly.
        I hate to mention something about the ‘spell check’ concept…. it’s a computer glitch in reality … someone tried to feed it the words to know, but it burped only when an American spelling wasn’t used.
        Damn computers !! They are so stupid.
        And this is why I keep an Oxford on paper handy … Can’t be a good cop without instructions, after all. :-))
        Now … can we discuss ‘Grammar’ ? :-)))))

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