Sayyed Fadlullah: we call on the Lebanese to study their stands and political discourse carefully to enhance their unity and internal dialogue, and not to become a liability on the future of the country.

Asked in his weekly seminar the following question: As a result of many historical accumulations, the relationship between the leadership and the public is quite problematic, especially in the East. How do you view the issue from an Islamic point of view?
Asked in his weekly seminar the following question: What is the Islamic view of development?

The Religious Authority, Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlullah, said:

Islam wants the relation between the leadership and the public to be founded on array of sound and clear pillars, the most important of which is frankness and honesty. The leadership should keep the public aware of its political and economic strategies and movements. It should also try to involve the public in its efforts to take the country to the safe shore as well as telling the truth even if it disturbs them.

In general, Islam has encouraged the public to express their views and feelings. But it did not consider this as something sacred that should be followed. When the public is mistaken, the leadership should not say that this is what the people have chosen, and I have no alternative but to obey. Rather the leadership should guide the people to the right path that best promotes their interests.

Government in Islam is based on power sharing through this interactive relation between the leadership and the public.

But this does not mean that the leadership is bound to conform to all the feelings of the people that may not see the entire picture. The great responsibility the leadership should hold is to ensure that the nation is on the right path. Therefore, It should not resort to compromise or deceit the public to promote sectarian, political or electoral interests.

The problem we suffer from, even in our religious circles, is that some in the leadership might tend to hide their actual position so as to continue to win the masses although Islam in this respect has been very decisive in that ultimate judge is rightness and justice and not the majority or the minority.

A leadership, any leadership, should seek to elevate the awareness of the people, and create new leaders to prevent any vacuum.

On the other hand, the tyrants in every age and country try to make the people more ignorant so as they could drive them to accept their own agenda, since they follow the rule that was adopted by pharaoh (Thus he made fool of his people and they obeyed him). They knew that intellectual and political superficiality and ignorance will enhance their power.

The same thing is true, when it comes to the international level. That is why, we have in this stage not to be the victim of the grand operation of misinformation and blinding America is leading in the region, whether by advocating reform or democracy that makes use of certain developments or the mistakes of others, or even by planning to create new forces and perhaps new regimes to push forward its plans for the region. It is trying to exploit those who might be momentarily on the rise and support them both politically and financially.

Thus, we warn against this in our Arab and Islamic area. We should understand that America is not searching for new popular alternatives but for what sustains its projects and what could act as a solid foundation for the state of general instability. Consequently, this paves the way for America to choose any of the alternatives it is currently trying to define.

The American conservative administration cannot be the Mecca of reform in the Arab worlds. It has constituted the biggest barrier that prevents this reform. This is what the report on Arab development has recently asserted, since development and reform need a state of reconciliation and consensus to draw the relevant plans, while America has always tried to blow up all forms of internal reform, and sought to substitute it by political, economic and even social instability.

The American strategy in our region is one of chaos that America wants to spread into the entire region. In this respect, America could not be ruled out as an inciter of this tampering with security that is spreading in the Arab world.

America throws a fireball towards certain areas and then waits to see the consequences, and how they could serve the needs of its project. It spreads anguish and anxiety, in another area, to create political demands that will put its project in the forefront. That is why we warn the Lebanese in particular, but also all the Arabs, against making their movement an echo for what America wants.

We call on them to study their stands and political discourse carefully to ensure that they serve to enhance their unity and internal dialogue, and not to become a liability on the future of the country.