Only a handful of Lebanese politicians attended a memorial service on Thursday for academic Lokman Slim, highlighting fears of being associated too closely with the Hezbollah critic who was shot dead in south Lebanon last week.
“Why are they so scared of showing their support? They are cowards,” said Lebanese journalist Diana Moukalled, who attended the service.
“Lokman deserves to be commemorated. We don’t want to lose the ideas that he fought for, in terms of justice, accountability and memory.”
Several foreign ambassadors, including from Germany and Switzerland, spoke at the memorial service in the garden of the Slim family residence in Ghobeiry, a southern suburb of Beirut.
The area is dominated by Hezbollah, the Iran-aligned political party and militia.
"This was a barbaric act, unforgivable and unacceptable," said the US ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea.
Belgian ambassador Hubert Cooreman told The National: "Lebanon has lost one of its free, independent thinkers who worked hard for an open, tolerant, democratic Lebanon."
Activists held banners that read “zero fear”.
But no Lebanese politician spoke publicly at the ceremony. Two parties that staunchly oppose Hezbollah, the Lebanese Forces and Kataeb, sent representatives.
“I have a feeling that a lot of politicians were absent because they think it’s a risk to confront Hezbollah in its stronghold,” said former minister Ahmad Fatfat.
Mr Fatfat is affiliated with the Future Movement, the party of prime minister-designate Saad Hariri, but attended the ceremony in his personal capacity.
“I went for two reasons: first, out of respect for Lokman Slim, who was a great intellectual, but also to say that we are not afraid,” he said.
Slim’s sister, novelist and editor Rasha Al Ameer, was reluctant at first to comment on the weak show of public support from Lebanon's political establishment.
"It's really petty," Al Ameer told The National. "We cannot build anything on such gossip. Lokman was a builder.
“The Lebanese state is failing anyway. What good would it do to me to receive a call from corpses?
“They don’t interest me. I’m happy they didn’t call. The few that did call were friends of my father, old politicians.”
Al Ameer’s father, Mohsen Slim, a Shiite, was a member of parliament for four years in the 1960s. Her mother, Salma Merchak, is a Protestant Christian Egyptian.
Ms Merchak attended the ceremony, during which Christian and Muslim religious figures led prayers.
In a video widely shared online on Thursday afternoon, a Shiite cleric said he regretted taking part in the event.
The National was not able to verify his identity but he can be seen reciting the Quran in a live stream of the memorial.
“I apologise to all the brothers and sisters who saw me on channels,” he said, a pen and paper lying on the table in front of him.
“I should not have done it and put myself in a situation [that created] suspicion.”
The cleric, who did not mention Slim’s name, claimed that he had not been aware of the identity of the person for whom he was praying.
Slim, 58, ran a research centre with his wife, Monika Borgmann, called Umam, which includes one of the country’s biggest archives.
The couple released two documentaries on Lebanese detainees in Syrian prisons, and the 1982 massacre at Sabra and Shatila, two topics that are rarely discussed in public.
Slim's harsh stance against Hezbollah made him unpopular among the Shiite community.
"I used to dislike him," one activist told The National at a sit-in organised by supporters of Slim on Saturday in downtown Beirut.
"I thought his positions were too radical and endangered the country's stability.
"But I changed my mind with the revolution, because there was no stability any more anyway."
He was referring to a months-long mass anti-government protest movement in late 2019 as the country entered its worst economic crisis.
The activist asked to remain anonymous because he also lives in an area controlled by Hezbollah.
"Anxiety levels are running really high right now," he said.
Slim's friends and family said he had received death threats for years, which escalated in December 2019.
Posters were placed outside his home, glorifying Hezbollah and accusing him of being a "traitor and collaborator".
At the time, Slim wrote in a public letter that Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and his ally, veteran politician Nabih Berri, should be held responsible if anything harmful happened to him, his family or his house.
After his death, Slim’s wife and sister told the media that they wanted an international investigation and that they suspected Hezbollah of ordering his assassination.
Hezbollah condemned Slim’s killing on February 4, after his death was made public.
On the same day, Mr Nasrallah’s son, Jawad, caused controversy for posting a tweet that seemed to celebrate the assassination.
He deleted it shortly after and claimed the two events were unrelated.
Lebanon has a history of unresolved political assassinations.
One of the few settled cases is the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri by a car bomb in 2005.
Last August, a UN-backed tribunal found a Hezbollah operative guilty in his absence.
Hezbollah rejected the court's findings.
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Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
What is Diwali?
The Hindu festival is at once a celebration of the autumn harvest and the triumph of good over evil, as outlined in the Ramayana.
According to the Sanskrit epic, penned by the sage Valmiki, Diwali marks the time that the exiled king Rama – a mortal with superhuman powers – returned home to the city of Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, after vanquishing the 10-headed demon Ravana and conquering his kingdom of Lanka. The people of Ayodhya are believed to have lit thousands of earthen lamps to illuminate the city and to guide the royal family home.
In its current iteration, Diwali is celebrated with a puja to welcome the goodness of prosperity Lakshmi (an incarnation of Sita) into the home, which is decorated with diyas (oil lamps) or fairy lights and rangoli designs with coloured powder. Fireworks light up the sky in some parts of the word, and sweetmeats are made (or bought) by most households. It is customary to get new clothes stitched, and visit friends and family to exchange gifts and greetings.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Super Saturday race card
4pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 | US$350,000 | (Dirt) | 1,200m
4.35pm: Al Bastakiya Listed | $300,000 | (D) | 1,900m
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 | $350,000 | (Turf) | 1,200m
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 | $350,000 | (D) | 1,600m
6.20pm: Dubai City of Gold Group 2 | $300,000 | (T) | 2,410m
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 Group 1 | $600,000 | (D) | 2,000m
7.30pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 | $400,000 | (T) | 1,800m
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Salah in numbers
€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.
13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The Programme
Saturday, October 26: ‘The Time That Remains’ (2009) by Elia Suleiman
Saturday, November 2: ‘Beginners’ (2010) by Mike Mills
Saturday, November 16: ‘Finding Vivian Maier’ (2013) by John Maloof and Charlie Siskel
Tuesday, November 26: ‘All the President’s Men’ (1976) by Alan J Pakula
Saturday, December 7: ‘Timbuktu’ (2014) by Abderrahmane Sissako
Saturday, December 21: ‘Rams’ (2015) by Grimur Hakonarson
