Grand Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qabbani announced he would transfer the day-to-day management of Dar al-Fatwa to religious scholars but would remain in his post as the Mufti of the Lebanese Republic until the end of his term

Grand Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qabbani met a group of Muslim scholars in Dar Al-Fatwa and announced he would transfer the day-to-day management of Dar al-Fatwa to religious scholars but would remain in his post as the Mufti of the Lebanese Republic until the end of his term which expires in September 2014.

“I announce now that I turn over Dar al-Fatwa in the Lebanese Republic to all Muslim scholars in Lebanon starting Saturday morning,” Sheikh Qabbani said. “I will continue to be the grand mufti to serve these scholars until the end my term. I will be present every day, whether at home or at Dar al-Fatwa, depending on circumstances, to help you in running Dar al-Fatwa,” he added.

Earlier in the day, Sheikh Qabbani rebuffed the call issued by Prime Minister Najib Mikati and some former prime ministers. In a letter to Mikati, Qabbani voiced his strong disappointment with the statement issued by them “because it includes implicit threats and hints to take certain measures [against the mufti].”

“The grand mufti adheres to decree 18 of 1955 ... and to laws that stipulate the powers of the grand mufti. These [regulations] mention no supervisory authority over the grand mufti, or that an authority can take measures against him as he carries out his duties,” Qabbani said in the letter.

The grand mufti said that convening a session of what he termed the “the former Higher Islamic Council” was wrong because its term had expired. “Thus it is not a legal step according to laws that organize the religious affairs of the Sunni sect, particularly decree 18 of 1955,” the letter added.

Qabbani said the Higher Islamic Council’s functions could not be disrupted if its members continued to carry out their duties as caretakers, “and they are busy coming up with obstacles to prevent us from electing a new council – this is what is actually paralyzing the Higher Islamic Council”.