MP Salim Sayegh on Thursday urged the Shiite community to fully integrate with the Lebanese State, warning that the challenges faced by Shiites affect all Lebanese and cannot be blamed on the community itself.

In a post on X, Sayegh said Lebanon’s Shiites, like other religious communities in the country, have long been overpowered by political forces that manipulate religion for their own ends. He accused those in power of using religion to serve personal interests while instilling fear of others to conceal their own actions.

“We do not want a Shiite community living in fear, but one that is confident,” Sayegh wrote. “It has no homeland other than Lebanon and no brothers other than its fellow Lebanese.”

He emphasized that the community faces more than the false choices of surrender or self-destruction. Drawing on historical and religious examples, Sayegh cited Imam Ali’s patience in preserving state unity and Imam Hussein ibn Ali’s sacrifice to protect shared values as models for a third path.

“That third option is full union with the Lebanese State; one that safeguards the homeland, which in turn safeguards everyone,” he said.

Sayegh stressed that unity, as articulated in the classic Shiite text Nahj al-Balagha, is grounded not in coercion or falsehood but in truth and noble values.