News recently spread on Lebanese websites about the first conference held by al-Qaeda in Lebanon in the northern city of Tripoli. The websites reported that the Salafist preacher Sheikh Omar Bakri Fostock participated in the conference, titled “The Islamic Forum for Estranged Sunnis in Lebanon.” Meanwhile, al-Qaeda’s black flags — bearing the expression, "There is no god except God and Muhammad is the Messenger of God" — were raised in the Marj Zhour square in the Abi Samra district of Tripoli.
In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor on July 30, 2013, Bakri said that he “refuses to describe any person raising the black flag of the Messenger of God as an al-Qaeda member, a terrorist or a takfiri, in addition to other descriptions used by some to justify the arrests of supporters of the Syrian revolution in Lebanon.” Bakri added, “Nowadays, no one can stop us from carrying these black flags, the flags of the noble Prophet. We are not to be held responsible if al-Qaeda carries the same flags.”
Regarding the reasons for holding the Islamic Forum for Sunnis, Bakri said, “This forum is held at the behest of a large number of Muslim families in Lebanon. I personally raised the issue of holding cultural religious forums, including various activities aimed to enhance cultural and educational communication. We are present in the north as Islamist groups, but we have no awareness-raising activities. This project is the result of a cultural, educational and social demand; and it also aims at discussing the Islamic ummah outside of Lebanon and our relationship with it.”
Bakri, who does not hide his sympathy and support for al-Qaeda and Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria, told Al-Monitor that al-Qaeda does not have a presence in Lebanon, just as there is no presence for Jabhat al-Nusra at the organizational level. He explained, “If al-Qaeda had a presence in Lebanon, I would have announced it. Moreover, the organizations that do exist [in Lebanon] include several Islamic movements supporting the Syrian revolution, but which have nothing to do with Jabhat al-Nusra.”
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