Before war broke out in Syria, Lebanese Sunni cleric Ahmad al-Assir was a respected figure in his country. But as the civil war in Syria has crossed over to Lebanon, Assir’s sermons have turned political, often criticizing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah for fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s troops. Although these views have caused some Lebanese Sunnis to stop following Assir, they have also inspired many others to support Assir’s crusade against Hezbollah. On June 18, Assir’s men clashed with armed members of the Resistance Brigades, local affiliates of the Shiite Islamist group Hezbollah.

I decided to find Assir and ask him if he was planning on bringing war to Sidon, a small Lebanese city that hugs the Mediterranean.

After clashes earlier in the week, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) set up a checkpoint a bit down the hill from the Bilal bin Rabah Mosque where Assir preached. I walked up an incline to the mosque, where I met a tall, stern looking man in his 20s. He led me up a flight of stairs to an apartment, located in the same complex as the mosque. There, he introduced me to a middle-aged sheikh, with a gray beard wearing a long white thobe.

This was not the sheik I had come to see.

“I’m sorry but you won’t be able to see the sheikh today,” said the sheikh who wasn’t Assir. “The army arrested two of our men this morning, and it looks like things are going to get fiery.” [Link]