Head of the Supreme Sunni Sharia Court, Sheikh Muhammad Assaf, delivered this morning the Eid al-Fitr sermon at the Muhammad al-Amin Mosque in downtown Beirut, commissioned by Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul-Latif Derian, in presence of Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers, Judge Mahmoud Makiya, representing Prime Minister Najib Mikati, as well as Caretaker Health Minister Firas Abiad, MP Adnan Traboulsi, several ambassadors and military figures, Sharia judges, scholars, and political, social, and union officials.

In his religious sermon, Sheikh Assaf recalled the meanings and messages of the holy month of Ramadan, stressing that as Muslims, "we will continue to be advocates of unity, not division, tolerance and love, not hatred and spite, mediation, moderation and peace, not intolerance and extremism...advocates of civilization and progress, not advocates of backwardness...advocates of work, not advocates of laziness..."

Referring to Lebanon's prevailing crises, Assaf said: 'The country is going through a very difficult and critical stage, so we must, in this delicate phase, be unified, sympathetic and cooperative, in order to reach solutions that will satisfy all the Lebanese following the crises that have rendered the country on the brink of the abyss...So whoever deals with political affairs must look at the interest of the citizen before looking at his narrow personal interests...and move away from the policy of segregation and division and spreading seeds of sedition, wasting public money, and robbing people's lifetime savings..."

"Officials must work to find immediate and practical solutions in various fields, foremost of which is the election of a president and the formation of a government that embodies the hopes and aspirations of the Lebanese in building the nation," he said.

"Our society today is in need of a decent living for its people and having responsible officials," Assaf added.

He underlined that the position of prime minister is of no less importance than the presidency of the republic and the parliament speaker posts, "so we must preserve the powers of each position."

He added: "The election of a president for the republic is a national necessity, and establishes a new phase of hope and confidence in the future of Arab Lebanon...We should not bet on the outside in electing a president for our republic, but rather we have to rely on ourselves and strengthen our confidence in each other..."

Assaf deemed thar "the wait has been long, time passes quickly, and the people are paying the price...So rushing towards agreement and consensus is the sole path of reaching what all the Lebanese aspire for...It is high time that politicians focus on people's interests rather than their narrow personal gains."