Amidst the demands from many who consider themselves representatives of sects in Lebanon, came a comment from the founder of “Information International,” Jawad Adra, on the platform “X,” saying, “The Sunni sect and other ‘sects’ expect a country with citizens, without sects or ‘sect leaders,’ but with national leaders who serve, in every sense of the word, the citizens in a state of citizenship.”
Then Jawad Adra added another tweet saying, “Sects, sects everywhere, so where is the face of God? Will this night ever end?”… This phrase is meant to lament the Lebanese reality and the sectarian division dominating the country.
These comments came following Bahaa Hariri’s visit to Lebanon, who arrived in Beirut on June 28, 2024, and said, “We came to continue the path of the martyred president Rafic Hariri.” Upon his arrival, Hariri began his meetings with delegations and Lebanese personalities from various regions, which he received at his residence in the “Phoenicia” hotel in the capital, Beirut, on June 29, 2024. He wrote on his personal account on the “X” platform that these delegations asked him to restore the Sunni sect to its prestigious position, responding by saying: “We are committed to Rafic Hariri’s path and working on his project through the ‘Al Massar Movement.'”
In detail, Bahaa Rafic Hariri, during his reception at the “Gracias” hotel in the town of Adbel, confirmed to delegations from the activities of Akkar and its municipal heads, who supported his political project and conveyed Akkar’s hardships and difficult conditions, “working on the ground strongly to revive the economic wheel in the northern region,” promising to “meet the demands of the region’s residents, return to the path, cooperate and communicate to build the country and revive Rafic Hariri’s project, and accomplish many projects that would serve the whole north, through my commitment to achieving all the projects that the martyred president aspired to implement on Lebanese soil in general and especially in the north,” revealing a “comprehensive guiding plan for the north that he is working on in coordination with official authorities, considering that the state has a primary role as does the private sector.”
The platform “Sawt Beirut International,” owned by Bahaa Hariri, summarized a set of demands presented to him during the meeting by union, youth, popular, and social delegations from various areas and neighborhoods of the capital, Beirut. The platform’s administration, which was established in 2020, stated that the delegations called on Bahaa Hariri to “continue communicating with the popular bases and implementing developmental and vital projects in Beirut.” The delegations also emphasized “the need to restore the Sunni sect to its prestigious and familiar position, through the presence of a strong Sunni leadership that preserves the rights of the sect,”… an issue that Adra commented on, considering it one of the reasons for Lebanon’s current decline.
It is noted that Jawad Adra is a co-founder of “Information International” in partnership with Zeina Akar and others, an independent scientific research and statistical company founded in Beirut in 1995. “Information International” publishes research, survey, economic, financial, social, and cultural topics of interest to citizens and officials, in addition to periodic public opinion surveys on various topics.
In addition to presiding over and managing “Information International,” Jawad Adra, along with others, founded “Nabu Museum,” located in northern Lebanon. Nabu provides a space for showcasing artworks and acts as an institution to maintain communities’ connection to their culture through educational programs, training, organized tours, public lectures, and guided exhibitions.
Summary: Jawad Adra commenting on Bahaa Hariri’s visit: “The Sunni sect and other ‘sects’ expect a country with citizens, without sects or ‘sect leaders,’ but with national leaders who serve, in every sense of the word, the citizens in a state of citizenship.”
