East Meets West: Images from Beirut 1975 & 1983

2.1.2.1 (What’s this number?)
While I was reading through Chapter one of the book ‘Lebanon: A House Divided’ (a gift from a dear friend who understands my passion for this issue), I realised that every sentence I was absorbing was drawing a crystal clear image of multifaceted Beirut 1975 & 1983 (and less directly multifaceted Lebanese [...]

Religious Solidarity and Opposition

2.1.2.1 (What’s this number?)
The reason certain social groups in Lebanon today dislike one another goes back beyond the July War of 2006, the assassination demonstrations of 2005, the Civil War of 1975-1990, and the Independence of 1943. Who we like and support today is most likely not who we will like and support in the [...]

Little has Changed

2.1.2.1 & 2.1.2.2 (What’s this number?)
Looking back at religious clashes before the Ottoman Empire, we realise that many of the areas in Lebanon still follow alliances that were formed hundreds of years ago by ethnic/tribal chiefs. According to Fawwaz Traboulsi in his book A History of Modern Lebanon, the country was divided before the Ottoman [...]

The Religion of the Shehabi Family during the Ottoman Empire

2.1.2.1 (What’s this number?)
In an attempt to understand the current conflict between Lebanese social groups, I decided to map out the religious and political rivalries and cooperations. I decided to go back to the early years when Mount Lebanon was first recognised as an autonomous province under the power of the Ottoman Empire, then on [...]

Origins of a Caste Structure

2.1.2.1 (What’s this number?)
Dr. Adonis Bouhatab has recently written an unpublished review on the book ‘The Social Structure of Lebanon’ by Safia Antoun Saadeh. Bouhatab remarked that the book is ‘most instructive, it clearly defines our social and political system, offers a complete model that is well documented and substantiated, explains our problems and recurring [...]

Brief Overview of the Socio-Political Conflict

2.1.2.2 (What’s this number?)
The constitution proclaims Lebanon to be a parliamentary democratic republic which it follows a special political system known as confessionalism. This system is meant to distribute power as evenly
as possible among different sects.
Looking back at the chronology of sectarian diversity in socio-politics, it is evident that the Lebanese are torn between endless [...]

The Paradox of Consociational Democracy*

2.1.2.2 (What’s this number?)
This is an extract from Itamar Rabinovich’s book The War for Lebanon. I find that it gives a fresh perspective on the political system in Lebanon. Although the book was written in 1984, the content of this extract still applies to today’s political situation as little has changed in the Lebanese constitution [...]