(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — MP Khaled Daher apologized on Tuesday after calling on the removal of church symbols after Islamic banners were removed from Tripoli.
On Sunday, the lawmaker led an angry protest in Tripoli’s al-Nour Square to condemn the removal of Islamic flags from the roundabout. The banners were taken down by police as part of a campaign aimed at removing the flags and banners of all political parties from the streets of Beirut, Sidon and Tripoli.
Daher, who described the measures as a campaign against Sunnis, told supporters that Lebanese Christians should be the first to remove religious symbols from public places.
“If they want to remove religious symbols, let them start in Beirut. Let them start with the Christ the King Statue in Keserwan. Let them start with the pictures of some saints ‘who are opening their arms wide’ in Jounieh,” Daher said.
Lawmakers blasted his comments and called on his resignation from the Mustaqbal bloc.
“How can a deputy who attends Future Movement meetings, and even March 14 meetings, make such sectarian and offensive remarks against Christians?” Minister of Labor Sejaan Azzi, who is also a part of the March 14 coalition, said in comments published by Ad-Diyar newspaper.
Daher later submitted his resignation from the bloc, which was quickly “accepted” by the political party.
In a news conference on Monday, the controversial MP denied requesting the removal of Christian symbols.
“What I meant was that if religious symbols were to be taken down then that applies to both Christian and Muslim symbols, and this is something we reject,” he said.
Daher added that he respects “all Muslim and Christians sects and their religious symbols,” emphasizing that he “would never insult any of them.”