His Eminence Allama Sayyed Ali Fadlallah patronized the ceremony held by Al-Ishraq High School in the city of Bint Jbeil for its students who passed the official examinations for the intermediate stage, on the school's pitch, in the presence of a delegation from the international emergency forces and a number of religious, municipal, cultural and educational figures.
The ceremony opened with verses from the Holy Quran, then the Lebanese national anthem, after which the school's pupils presented a play and a set of anthems inspired by the occasion. Then came the graduates' speech, followed by the speech of the school's director Rabiaa Baydoun, after which Allama Fadlallah delivered his speech, in which he expressed at the outset “his happiness at being on this pure land, kneaded with the ink of scholars, the sweat of fighters and the blood of martyrs, to celebrate this constellation of our children who are living this scholarly stage of their lives with every effort and perseverance, so that there may come after it this harvest of success and excellence that qualifies them to rise towards a new scholarly stage with greater motivation, despite all the difficulties and challenges they have faced and that this homeland suffers”.
His Eminence affirmed: “the importance of knowledge blended with moral, faith-based and humane values in building the human character”, warning that “knowledge without these values may turn into a problem and a harm to the individual and to society, in a way that robs it of its role at the level of developing life, especially in the issues connected with strengthening the positions of the homeland and the nation”.
He pointed out: “These institutions were built on the foundation of goodness and love and exist in order to build an educated, aware society that carries all these values and seeks to extend bridges with all the people of this homeland - living openness and not insularity, dialogue and not fanaticism, in a way that roots internal harmony, national unity and human communication. They are from the people and to the people, and therefore they will continue to work to serve them and to serve their society and their people. They will not hesitate to attend to people's issues and needs and to ease their pains and their suffering - but this does not mean that we are a substitute for the state; rather we are among the advocates of building the state, the just state that embraces all its citizens.”
He valued all the people of goodness who have been a support and a prop for these institutions, praising all the efforts exerted by this school's administration and teachers, and thanking the families who stood by their children and supported them so that they could continue their scholarly journey.
His Eminence addressed the graduates, saying: “You must value all these efforts that have been made for you during your pursuit of this scholarly journey, when nothing is asked of you but to preserve your excellence and your distinction, and to have the bright and exemplary image that contributes to making a prosperous future for your society - something that cannot be built with wishes but with work, sacrifice and perseverance.”
At the close of the ceremony the certificates were distributed and commemorative photographs were taken.
