The sequence of events experienced by Arab countries since December 2010 known as the “Arab Spring” events. Those that turned out to be a gloomy Islamic winter with the fall of dictatorial regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, the Islamic revolutions that led to chaos in Arab countries, ISIS rise and the Islamic Caliphate. In southern Iraq and eastern Syria, and even the bloody civil war that tore Syria apart – all of these as if it had passed through Lebanon, wreaked havoc on it like a severe windstorm, but did not linger long enough to finally bring down the country.
Lebanon is the only Arab country that lacks the characteristics of a classical Arab state. The multiplicity of ethnicities and ethnic currents in it, led the Lebanese leadership and its citizens to prove at all times the “Arabity of Lebanon.” It is hard to forget the tears shed by former Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora during the Lebanon war in July 2006, while the Israeli Air Force crushes Hezbollah stronghold, the Dahiya district in southern Beirut, and Senora begs in tears for Arab leaders, most of whom will be ousted a few years later. Lebanon.
And perhaps the lack of those classic characteristics of an Arab state, this is why the Arab Spring and the Islamic winter that followed, missed Lebanon but dragged neighboring Syria and those who ruled Lebanon military rule until April 2005, into a bloody civil war in which the regime massacred its citizens with chemical weapons and foreign powers. Russia, Turkey and the Shiite-Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah are subduing the rebels, in a brutal war that claims the lives of hundreds of thousands and causes millions of refugees, effectively ensuring the survival of dictator Bashar Assad’s rule.
As mentioned, as early as 2005, Lebanese citizens expelled from the country the Syrian military regime that entered Lebanon after the outbreak of the civil war in the mid-1970s. And this, through widespread and unarmed popular protest. Did the Lebanese foresee the following when they began the unarmed popular protest against the Syrian occupation? Not sure. This protest erupted after the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, who was a great opponent of the Syrian regime and signaled to the Lebanese hope for a better future.
Also, since gaining its independence with the end of the French Mandate, Lebanon has lacked the figure of the dictatorial ruler. Although its regime has been determined by an ethnic key that is no longer relevant, the political and public system suffers from corruption and failures that have led the country to a state of economic bankruptcy and disasters such as the explosion of the ammonium nitrate depot in Beirut, which destroyed nearly half of the city and caused thousands of victims. Democracies over 20 years.
Photo of Rafik al-Hariri found from the ruins in Beirut / Photo: GettyImages
At the same time, communication in a country is free unlike any other Arab country. There is no censorship of the Internet, and the influence of extremist Islamic organizations in the country is negligible, except for Hezbollah – which sees itself as a defender of the Shiite community but also no less a Lebanese patriotic organization that participates in the country’s democratic political game and does not impose an Islamic Shiite. A community that once suffered severe discrimination from Sunni Christians and Muslims in Lebanon, and is now the most powerful and cohesive community in Lebanon, despite the privileges enjoyed by members of the Christian and Sunni communities under the Lebanese constitution on which the ethnic key is based.
On the other hand, the leadership crisis in the Sunni community since the assassination of Rafik al-Hariri; The difficulty of his son Saad al-Hariri to step into his shoes as Lebanese prime minister; As well as the bitter conflicts and struggles and waves of assassinations within the Christian community divided into eight different streams – have dealt a severe blow to the Sunni Muslim community and the Christian community in Lebanon who have lost most of the power and influence in the Lebanese public political system in favor of the Shiite community and allies from Iran and Turkey.
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah / Photo: AFP
Beyond that, the number of Christians in Lebanon who previously constituted a majority and ruled the country, is falling at drastic levels, to the point of a situation of negative immigration among members of the Christian community in Lebanon. Among Christians, there is grave concern that the community is on the verge of losing the rights granted to them by the Lebanese constitution and there are increasing reports of the establishment of armed militias of tens of thousands of Christians, mainly in villages in northern Lebanon.
While Lebanon has managed to do with minimal damage the events of the Arab Spring and the chaos of the ensuing Islamic winter, these events that have greatly affected Lebanon’s political allies, such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia, have pushed Beirut off the agenda of those Arab countries.
Removal of Arab countries
In addition, the Shiite takeover of Lebanon and Iran’s entry into the Lebanese field as a key player through Hezbollah over its infrastructure in the Lebanese internal society brought Saudi Arabia and the rich Persian Gulf states to almost zero the economic support provided to the Lebanese government and assisted by hundreds of thousands. To the border of the cedar state from the horrors of the battles and horrors of the war in Syria – and made it difficult for the collapsing Lebanese economy anyway.
In conclusion, the fact that Lebanon lacks the hallmarks of a classical Arab state has helped it to thrive in the events of the Arab Spring and maintain its cohesion as a strong and stable independent sovereign state that enjoys democratic rule, freedom of expression and free media. On the other hand, Lebanon’s being a country with ethnic ethnic multiplicity is at a disadvantage and the constant tension between the communities is eroding Lebanon’s national, social and economic strength. Recently, a discussion has developed in academic circles, mainly about the need for the “new Lebanese” figure – who will see himself as a Lebanese patriot regardless of the ethnic affiliation from which he came. Will this happen before Lebanon falls apart? Another vision for the date.