TRIPOLI, Lebanon: A controversial black flag with an Islamic scripture was replaced with a white one in Tripoli’s main Al-Nour Square Wednesday, after Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk ordered its removal.
The move came one day after the minister vowed to not to allow a single black flag with Islamic scriptures to be raised in Lebanon.
The white flag, installed by two members of the Islamic Tawhid Party, preserved the scripture, which read “There is no God but Allah, Mohammad is the Prophet of Allah."
The black flag was originally removed on Sunday, prompting a wave of protests by the city’s residents and officials, who deemed the move an offense to Islamist symbols that have decorated the northern city since the eighties.
Machnouk however, stood firm on his black flag policy. “I will make sure there isn’t a single black banner in all of Lebanon because Lebanese soldiers were killed under its name,” he said Tuesday in an interview with Al-Jadeed, referring to the servicemen taken captive in August by ISIS and Nusra militants, several who were executed.
Black flags are commonly used by the extremist groups ISIS and Al-Qaeda, the latter with which Nusra is linked.
Tripoli’s Mufti Sheikh Malek al-Shaar said Tuesday that there was no disagreement between the interior minister’s decision and the will of the city’s residents. Shaar voiced his support for the policy since black flags were being used by ISIS. The mufti also said he supported replacing Quranic verses and slogans on flags with subtler, less provocative alternatives.
No comments:
Post a Comment