Posted on 08/22/2006 5:35:37 PM PDT by markomalley
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Sharbel Mansour, a Christian in a Christian district of Beirut, sees a convoy of cars pass by, yellow Hizbollah flags waving in celebration of the Shi'ite Muslim guerrilla group's declaration of victory over Israel. He says he feels enraged and worried.
Enraged because in Lebanon, a country still scarred by the sectarian civil war of 1975 to 1990, crossing another community's neighborhood for a political statement is a provocation.
And worried alongside many Christians, Sunni Muslims and Druze Lebanese who think Hizbollah gained strength in withstanding 34 days of Israeli attacks.
"They will not give up their weapons. They don't feel they have to after the war," said Mansour, who runs a kiosk selling coffee and newspapers. "As a Christian, it worries me that Hizbollah could emerge stronger."
Mansour supports the Lebanese Forces, a Christian faction and part of an anti-Syrian coalition that dominates government.
Even before the war, which began when Hizbollah captured two Israeli soldiers on July 12, the coalition was at odds with the group over its arms.
Many critics of Hizbollah had hoped in private the war would deal it a blow, leading to disarmament.
But with a fragile truce in place, they are afraid divisions over Hizbollah's status will widen, weakening a fragile government and damaging the economy.
Some fear another civil war -- a possibility largely dismissed by analysts. Others worry over a vague threat.
"Something will go wrong. From the Israelis, Hizbollah. I don't know, but Lebanon will not recover," said Bashir Sekkar, 24, a jobless photographer who has decided to emigrate.
"Hizbollah is celebrating the victory while people are buried under the rubble. The whole country is screwed and destroyed," he said. More than 1,100 Lebanese, mostly civilians, were killed in the conflict.
A WALL TO CLIMB
Hizbollah tried to address those worries when its leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said last week that the "victory" was for all Lebanese.
But Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, a fierce critic of Hizbollah, said the group faces distrust, despite its decision to help rebuild thousands of homes destroyed in the conflict.
"Construction is very easy. But the trust the Lebanese people had that they will not be dragged again to another round of the war ... has been destroyed and it's much harder (to be rebuilt)," he said.
"Is this resistance a Lebanese resistance? Or ... a tool of the Iranian-Syrian axis on the Lebanese land? This is a question that needs to be resolved." Hizbollah receives support from Iran and Syria.
Other critics of Hizbollah say the guerrilla group is a product of the divisions and sectarian politics enshrined in the country's institutions since independence in 1943.
"Lebanon's sectarianism made Hizbollah exclusively Shi'ite, and made the Lebanese Forces exclusively Christian," said Sami Talib, a secular-minded writer, who has also decided to leave the country.
"Any solution to the current crisis will be cosmetic because it won't tackle the core problem. It will only be a matter of time before the next crisis." |
Thanks. Btt.
Eastern Catholic/Maronite ping?
Lie down with dogs, you wake up with fleas. The Lebanese are dhimmis.
Yep. They need a big purge and soon.
This is where I lose touch with my reality. If thugs move into my neighborhood and try to push their views, they would be eliminated. What stops the Lebanese from doing the same? I truly don't understand.
You are free to think whatever you want. But, these so called dhimmis survived in the middle of the muslim world for 1500 years. Look at the west, they are beginning to panic over high muslim birth rates. 1500 years and we are still 40% of the population. Lebanese are nothing close to dhimmis, we have been fighting muslim extremism and terrorism from before you were born.
There was a syrian boot on the neck of the lebanese people for 15 years and it was only released 1 year ago, it will take time for many of them to wake up. And it is even harder now since many civilians died hezbollah is going to garner alot of support, and this was probably hezbollahs objective, to cause as many lebanese civilians to die as possible. This way they will gain support as a legitimate resistance among the lebanese while in reality they are terrorist scum.
"You are free to think whatever you want. But, these so called dhimmis survived in the middle of the muslim world for 1500 years. Look at the west, they are beginning to panic over high muslim birth rates. 1500 years and we are still 40% of the population. Lebanese are nothing close to dhimmis, we have been fighting muslim extremism and terrorism from before you were born."
We in the west have a lot to learn from the Lebanese Christians on how to live with muslims and fight muslim extremism.
Note: this topic is from 8/22/2006. Thanks markomalley."Lebanon's sectarianism made Hizbollah exclusively Shi'ite, and made the Lebanese Forces exclusively Christian," said Sami Talib, a secular-minded writer, who has also decided to leave the country."Any solution to the current crisis will be cosmetic because it won't tackle the core problem. It will only be a matter of time before the next crisis."
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