BEIRUT: Responses to controversial remarks by Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai on Hezbollah and Syria continued to pour in over the weekend, as the Church leader toured south Lebanon.

Syria’s Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddine Hassoun said his planned trip to Beirut had become more pressing in the wake of Rai’s words.

“The idea of the visit has been repeatedly discussed, but it returned to the forefront following Patriarch Beshara Rai’s remarks which he made in Paris a while ago,” Hassoun told An-Nahar newspaper in an interview published Saturday.

The patriarch sparked a political maelstrom after suggesting that ongoing unrest in neighboring Syria could have profound repercussions on the Christian community there, adding that the fall of President Bashar Assad could imperil Syrian Christians.

Rai’s remarks, which he subsequently claimed had been taken out of context, came during a visit to France earlier this month. He said that the fate of Hezbollah’s arms could be linked to the region’s prospects of achieving lasting peace.

Rai also urged France to allow Assad time to carry out his promised reform agenda.

Several Lebanese Christian leaders have since sought clarification from Rai, with Kataeb (Phalange) Party leader Amin Gemayel taking the chance Friday to question Rai. During a meeting of Maronite MPs in Bkirki, the patriarch said that he did not seek to make a political stand.

Several March 8 officials have come out in support of the controversial comments.

Hassoun said his organization agreed with Rai’s stance over Syrian unrest.

“We recognized the importance of [Rai’s] position and the right direction he is heading which showed his fear over the security and stability of the people in the region,” Hassoun added.

A senior Egyptian Muslim scholar weighed in on the debate during Saturday talks with Lebanon’s ambassador to Cairo.

“Christians in the Levant are part of the national fabric … because there is a state of tolerance and coexistence between the two sides,” Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmad al-Tayeb was quoted as saying by the United Press International news agency.

Tayeb had previously criticized Arab countries for their “silence” on Syria.

Meanwhile, activists in the northwestern Syrian town of Idlib responded Saturday to Rai’s remarks. In a video posted on YouTube, demonstrators arranged themselves into the shape of a cross and a crescent, the symbols of Christianity and Islam, with an equals sign in between.

Several placards were held aloft in front of the camera throughout the the filming of the short video, reading “The Sunnis’ response to Beshara Rai,” and “No to sectarianism.”

While The Daily Star was unable to independently confirm the veracity of the video, protests across Syria for several months have often rallied against sectarianism, in addition to calling for greater civil liberties.