“You need a gun.” It was February 14, 2005. Hours earlier, in a massive blast that shook Beirut to its core, assassins had taken the life of former Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri and dozens more. Between bouts of shock and rage, many Lebanese pointed the finger at Syria, but others focused their attention on [...]
Archive for the ‘Christians’ Category
My Grandfather, Hizbullah, and the Hobbesian Jungle
Posted in Christians, Druze, Hizbullah, Israel, Levant, Shiites, Sunnis, tagged Beirut, Conflict, Hobbes, Levantine, Pluralism, Tension, War on August 20, 2011 | 1 Comment »
The Druze Question: Why Lebanese Sovereignists Must Reach Out
Posted in Christians, Druze, Hizbullah, Lebanon, Levant, March 14 on March 18, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Once again, the Druze of Lebanon have a pivotal role to play in their country’s destiny. The Druze in Lebanon’s Emergence Alongside the Maronites, Lebanon’s Druze community can claim a thousand-year presence in Mount Lebanon. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Druze Emir Fakhr el-Din managed to harness Druze and Maronite support and carve out [...]
A Shepard Emerges: The New Maronite Patriarch and the Way Forward
Posted in Christians, Lebanon, Middle East on March 17, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
After a quarter-century under Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir, the Maronite Church has found a new leader. On Tuesday, a Maronite Synod of 38 bishops elected Bechara Rai as the community’s 77th patriarch. Rai, who had served as Archbishop of Jbeil (Byblos), was one of the favorites and may have had the tacit support of the Vatican. [...]
Restoring a Floundering Myth: It’s Time to Stop the Erosion of Coexistence and Pluralism in Lebanon
Posted in Christians, Druze, Lebanon, Levant, Shiites, Sunnis, tagged Boutros Harb, Coexistence, Contemporary Lebanon, Modern Lebanon, Pluralism on January 18, 2011 | 4 Comments »
Admittedly, Lebanon does not live up to its liberal mythology. But, for all its warts, and despite periodic failures, coexistence among Lebanon’s communities reflects, and in turn promotes, a pluralism that is absent throughout much of the Middle East. Since the mid-19th century, when European intervention in Ottoman-era Mount Lebanon helped consolidate communalism, political pluralism [...]
Christmas Conversations (Part II): “At Least We Still Have Tabbouleh”
Posted in Christians, Hizbullah, Iran, Lebanon, Middle East, Syria, tagged Aoun, Christmas, Geagea, Hizbullah, Lebanese Christians, Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Stuxnet on December 28, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Another premium selection from 2010′s Christmas Conversations… Family Member 1 “Fuck politics. Lebanon is good for arak and kibbeh nayyieh. [The Lebanese] have been killing each other for generations. We’ve had a damn crisis every ten years or so. But we’ve still got our kibbeh nayyieh, arak – and tabbouleh and hummus – and that’s [...]
Christmas Conversations (Part I): “There’s a Plan in the Works”
Posted in Christians, Hizbullah, Lebanon, March 14, Middle East, tagged Aoun, Assange, Christmas, Geagea, Hizbullah, Lebanese Christians, Special Tribunal for Lebanon on December 27, 2010 | 3 Comments »
Christmas Eve rarely provides a respite from intense political debate in Lebanon. Indeed, with members of the family back in town, the holiday resembles a political brawl more than a religious celebration – or maybe, in the words of D.L. Hughley, “that’s just my house.” For the past decade, members of my mother’s family, their family and [...]
Truth in Conflicting Views: Brief Comments on U.S. and Iranian Involvement in War-Time Lebanon
Posted in Christians, Iran, Lebanon, Levant, United States on October 31, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Earlier this week, NOW Lebanon published an op-ed that Firas Maksad, a Middle East analyst, and I, a humble law student, wrote. The piece basically argued that the Marine Barracks Bombing on October 23, 1983 was an opening salvo in Iran’s bid for expanded power in the Middle East. On the other hand, Foreign Policy published a piece by Nir Rosen, a fellow [...]
A Thorn Among Roses: Christian Disarray in Lebanon
Posted in Christians, Lebanon, Levant, Middle East, tagged Free Patriotic Movement, Lebanese Christians, Lebanese Forces, Maronite, Patriarch, Presidency on June 19, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Christian Concerns “Three things matter to the Christians of Lebanon, and those of Zahle in particular: the Presidency, the Lebanese Armed Forces [LAF], and the Church,” said Okab Sakr, a Shiite MP from the Zahle district, during a Thursday airing of Kalam al-Nass. These words are as true as ever, but the Christian community seems [...]
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About the Author
Tweeting Lebanon
- Pressing peace between #Syria and #Israel is a bad idea now. A flimsy regime on its way down is a stable partner for peace? @emile_hokayem Posted4 days ago
- RIP Nassib Lahoud... What more can one say? Posted1 week ago
- @Marilynzakhour How unfortunate. Posted2 weeks ago
- @lizsly Love Feltman, but he's wrong on this one (unless I missed broader context). Turkey? Israel? Among Arab countries, Lebanon? Posted2 weeks ago
- Tweeting from my TV. I've fought it for years, but Google and the rest of the Big Brother grid own my ass now. God help us all. Posted2 weeks ago
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