Sectarianism and Identity in Lebanon...Please Explain! - The Orange Room

Freethinker

I’m really interested in getting some perspectives on this defining element of Lebanese culture: Sectarian identity. I don’t mean political here, I mean social and individual identity. Even though it’s a sociologically fascinating topic, I haven’t seen a lot of discussion on it in this forum.

So why do Lebanese identify so much with their sectarian identity?

It’s not about faith or religious dogma. I never hear anyone in Lebanon say things like: The issue of the transfiguration of the wine sacrament to the physical blood of Jesus is fundamental to me which is why I so closely hold to my Catholic identity!

It’s not about tribalism or clanism because these usually constitute groups that have common blood lineage, reside in defined geographic areas, and have inter-twined family and neighbourly bonds. This does not apply because of the wide geographic distribution and diverse genealogy of people from the same sect in Lebanon.

It’s not about race or ethnicity because these cut across all sects. And there are no Shiite, Maronite, or Druze gene sequences, despite what some people think!!

It’s certainly not about political ideology, or personal philosophy. Otherwise, people would be choosing the sect they wish to belong to (irrespective of the one they were born into) after careful consideration of its belief structure and policies, This rarely happens in Lebanon.

It’s not about social or cultural tradition because the full range from extreme conservatism to extreme liberalism exists in all the sects, though in slightly different proportions.

So what the heck is it about?

What makes this phenomenon even more puzzling is that for many Lebanese, their family’s sect was determined by a chance of history. We all know how Lebanese families historically converted back and forth between sects for a variety of mostly non religious reasons. During the Ottoman period, tens of thousands converted from Christianity to Islam to avoid higher taxes, while tens of thousands converted the other way round to avoid being drafted in the Ottoman army. A hundred years later, their ancestors were killing each other at check points based on those coincidentally determined religious affiliations!!

So what gives?

Boris

Ignorance & Stupidity

Its much like gangs and territories than sects

The Lebanese people lack of civil education and morals, and i think the blame is on our fathers and grandfathers for not educating us to be open minded

Ataraxia

Because it works really well to play the outlaw kid. It is much more fun and manly. Ignorance is just widespread in Lebanon and it reflects culturally and socially. I always feel it's stupid that Lebanese think that just because Lebanon has a high percentage of literacy ( relatively) then Lebanon is full of smart people. It's wrong and that statement itself is ignorant. Also, this country denies individualism in the society. I'm not saying the term individualism is very accurate, but I think we all can agree that there is an extent to it, and it's certain that there is none of it in this country.

Danny Z

You said it is not tribalism but yes it is tribalism, tribalism can be cultural it doesn't have to be blood related. Historically tribes shared the same bloodline because they didn't mingle with other tribes but now that Lebanese had mingled in the past they share the same bloodline but in fact the current tribes don't mingle. Once they start mingling again, they will stop thinking tribally. The fear of the sunni from the shiite it is because the sunni who thinks bayrout lahou does not care about the south, and 25 years ago the ouwatgi of Klass-lik thought he was was superior to the southerner because he had never met him. You can even see different tribes within a certain sect which makes it even more tribal and geographically local, like the tribe of Kataeb and that of Marada. two oppositely aligned tribes from the same sect in different geographic areas.
Tribalism is innate in humans, evolution and tribalism are closeley related and when you fear something when you are a young child you directly find refuge in your father or mother as a defensive mechanism, the more you evolute the bigger your tribe becomes, the EU is the biggest tribe on earth.
The solution to this problem is communication and getting to know the other tribe, just like FPM and Hezbolla did, the bases are close, they mingle together, they understand each other fears and values and each respects that of the other, the druze and the sunnis are not there yet, not that all of them are like that, the leaders of their tribes have not broken free yet.

General my General!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danny Z

You said it is not tribalism but yes it is tribalism, tribalism can be cultural it doesn't have to be blood related. Historically tribes shared the same bloodline because they didn't mingle with other tribes but now that Lebanese had mingled in the past they share the same bloodline but in fact the current tribes don't mingle. Once they start mingling again, they will stop thinking tribally. The fear of the sunni from the shiite it is because the sunni who thinks bayrout lahou does not care about the south, and 25 years ago the ouwatgi of Klass-lik thought he was was superior to the southerner because he had never met him. You can even see different tribes within a certain sect which makes it even more tribal and geographically local, like the tribe of Kataeb and that of Marada. two oppositely aligned tribes from the same sect in different geographic areas.
Tribalism is innate in humans, evolution and tribalism are closeley related and when you fear something when you are a young child you directly find refuge in your father or mother as a defensive mechanism, the more you evolute the bigger your tribe becomes, the EU is the biggest tribe on earth.
The solution to this problem is communication and getting to know the other tribe, just like FPM and Hezbolla did, the bases are close, they mingle together, they understand each other fears and values and each respects that of the other, the druze and the sunnis are not there yet, not that all of them are like that, the leaders of their tribes have not broken free yet.

Not to drift too far. But what would your thoughts be regarding an exchange program of sorts, where youth from different alignments spend summer months at each other's locations?

I vaguely recall a short experiment done by LBC a few years with only 20 or so youth, but I'm talking of something far larger. They've done something similar in Northern Ireland in the 1990s, with a Catholic and a Protestant youth living a month with the same family in France, Netherlands, etc. I don't know how successful that was, but I do know of one pair who are still in touch.

Cheers!

Freethinker

Quote:

Originally Posted by General my General!

Not to drift too far. But what would your thoughts be regarding an exchange program of sorts, where youth from different alignments spend summer months at each other's locations?

I vaguely recall a short experiment done by LBC a few years with only 20 or so youth, but I'm talking of something far larger. They've done something similar in Northern Ireland in the 1990s, with a Catholic and a Protestant youth living a month with the same family in France, Netherlands, etc. I don't know how successful that was, but I do know of one pair who are still in touch.

Cheers!

I grew up in Ras Beirut during the war when it was still by far the most cosmopolitan place in Lebanon. I went to International College before it became a status symbol for the wealthy and well connected, when it was a progressive melting pot for all sects and faiths, insulating us from the madness outside its walls. I literally had no idea what sect my close friends belonged to, until later when we would happen to stumble on the information casually, and when we did find out, it did not mean anything. To this day, we are close and get together often and every one of us is a rational free thinker, adhering to principles and values rather than partisan or sectaran afffiliations.

If only all the Lebanese could have grown up in that kind of environment, things would have been so different. So yes, what you suggest has a lot of merit, it takes little steps, but who knows, they may eventually lead to the Lebanese actually becoming a people!

Aqua

The problem is that children are raised that way. When the parents teach their child to fear other sects, there is not much anyone can do to change that later and that fear will be passed on to other generations and so on.
Unfortunately this is controling every aspect of our social and political life and I don't see this changing any time soon...