Priest falsely accused of insulting Islam, his Christian library in Lebanon burned down
A Greek Orthodox priest, owner of a Christian library, was falsely accused of writing an article which insulted Islam and Mohammed. In response the Saeh library was set on fire, which destroyed thousands of the items inside.
The French news agency Agence France-Presse reported that the collection of 80,000 books and manuscripts, nearly 2/3 of the overall collection, were destroyed in the fire.
Father Ibrahim Surouj, a Greek Orthodox priest who owns the library was earlier accused of writing a pamphlet that was insulting to Islam and the prophet Mohammed, a Lebanese security source told AFP.
Later, however, “it became clear the priest had nothing to do with the pamphlet,” said the same source.
“Then on Friday night, the library was torched,” he added.
The attack left the shelves and walls of the library charred.
In an interview on Lebanese television on Saturday, Father Surouj said he forgives those responsible and prays for peace in Tripoli, Ya Libnan reported.
The library is located in the historic heart of Tripoli, Lebanon’s second city and scene of frequent Syria-related violence pitting Sunnis against members of the minority Alawite community, to which Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad belongs.
