Lebanon: The Worst Story Ever Told

Behind the story of the drive toward freedom in Lebanon lies a history which exemplifies the broad struggle in the Middle East. It is a story of religious strife, of conflict between rich and poor, of sectarian hatred and, most of all, of the rise of Baathism.

In the mid 19th Century, the Ottoman Empire ostensibly controlled area that comprises Lebanon today, though the Europeans, especially the French, sent troops to the region. Most of the conflicts involved the Maronites versus the Druze, a semi-Muslim sect that does not identify with Muslims. The Maronites are Christian and they typically were wealthier than the Druze (and the Muslims for the that matter). As has been seen in history and has been reiterated in this blog, weakness corrupts the many. The Druze were mostly frustrated with their lack of advancement especially with the wealthier Maronites doing so well. Of course, it was easy to see that the Maronites did well because they focused on education and trade, often sending their children to European schools. Even today, the Christians of Lebanon are quite "cosmopolitan", as a recent visitor to the area told me. Their wealth really had little to do with being Christian but rather was a result of their liberal social structure. The Druze and their sometime Muslim allies were rigid in their ancient traditions.

When the Ottoman Empire fell apart, the French divided much of the area that includes Syria and Lebanon today. They gave the Al Biqa Valley to Lebanon because they thought it would improve defenses. However, with the Biqa Valley came a lot of poor Sunni Muslims. In the beginning, Christians were more than 50% of the population, accounted for most of the economic activity and thus dominated the region politically. Fear of the Sunni population explosion, caused the Lebanese government to adopt a very pro-Maronite/Christian constitution which assured Christian control of the young nation. This was most likely a mistake but did not contribute as much to the coming civil war as did the pathological Syrian jealousy. Syria felt as though Damascus was the proper center of government for a large expanse of land that included Lebanon, parts of Israel, parts of Turkey, Northern Iraq, and parts of Jordan. Ignorance being the cousin of poverty, Syria looked at the differernt fates of Damascus and Beirut and imagined that they somehow they had been cheated. Instead of exploring the roots of their weakness, they gave in to Fascism in the form of Ba'athism, a movement springing from the resentment of European influence.

Ba'athism, like it's sister Nazism, professed an adherence to Socialism and the dominance of a central ethnic identity. All over the Middle East, Arabs began lashing out at those who appeared stronger. Anyone different was a target. Today, Syria backs the Hizbollah faction, located in Al Biqa, which avowedly wants to establish a rigid fundamentalist Muslim regime in Lebanon. While one can't support the early Maronite attempt to "fix" power in Lebanon, they at least attempted to give a voice to all members.

The end result has been that Muslims in the mid 50s started attacking wealthy Maronite Arabs. This created a great diaspora of Lebanese to Europe and America. Many of these people have blended into American society but still retain their Lebanese names. Many of them have done very well for themselves as they brought with them the same ethic that made them successful (and a target) in Lebanon. A multimillionaire who now owns and develops land in Greensboro, NC, told me that he left with his family because they saw no end to the Muslim violence. As Muslims, through numbers and a willingness to resort to killing, grew in power, they began extorting money and land from non-Muslims. All this has meant more poverty and deeper despair for Muslims who can't see their own hand in their misery.

With the move for independence in Lebanon, I fear the ressurection of this old hatred. A hatred that will only intensify if the Maronites and other Christians (now 40% of the population) try to pay off the poorer Muslims with government programs. It is now, more than ever, that Muslims must reject pointless hatreds mired in a feeling of national shame.

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