#sectarianism

Ussama Makdisi sur Twitter :

"This image of the creation of “Grand #Liban” from 1920 sums up the tragedy of #Lebanon. And speaks volumes about the lasting legacy of French orientalism and colonialism: the idea that religious diversity in the Orient is inherently sectarian unless managed by Western power." / Twitter
▻https://twitter.com/UssamaMakdisi/status/1300763848627154946

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eg06PHMWAAAg8dt?format=jpg&name=360x360#.jpg

The further tragedy is how many Arabs now accept this insidious myth. They ignore how much work and ideology goes into the creation of #sectarianism and its enabling structures. And they ignore how this region had a long history of #coexistence before Western colonialism.

We need to study this #coexistence critically, but this does not mean we should denigrate one of the most important ecumenical aspects of our historical experience, namely the insistence and ability of so many people in ME to transcend religious difference for common purpose.

#sectarisme #colonialisme #diviser_pour_régner

Thread by mayamikdashi: I may be wrong, but in addition to calls to just dismantle ’#sectarianism' [structurally, this would mean dismantling & replacing both c…
▻https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1293272576316375048.html

https://threadreaderapp.com/images/screenshots/thread/1293272576316375048.jpg

The non-structural
part of sectarianism is many things, but one of the most difficult & necessary conversations needed is about lack of trust & resentment between communities of people in Lebanon. These feelings are usually channeled into sectarian discourse but are larger &more complicated & I
think more tender (bc of a confused feeling of betrayal]. For example, how can people from South #Lebanon trust #Lebanese politicians who CLAIM [this is important, sectarian discourse is an ATTEMPT to fold events into it & stake a claim over the affective registers it fosters] to represent “sunni” & “christian” Lebanese were in contact with the USA & by proxy Israel during the 2006 war? How can Beirutis trust anyone who voted for Aoun, after he bombed them using the Lebanese Army during the civil war? I won’t even broach the subject of Geagea
How can Palestinians in Lebanon ever look at anyone who has a picture of Bashir Gemeyel on their wall? what do the residents of Tal El Zaatar think & feel about Amal supporters? How can anyone from the north trust people who cheer for leaders who were only leaders because they
turned a blind eye to & got rich off the abuses & excesses of the Syrian army in Lebanon? How can we talk about the pain of 2008 without getting into a sectarian mudfight? How can someone from Souk El Gharb etc etc really the list is endless, which makes it more necessary imho
These are conversations we have been actively stopped from having, since the grand warlord bargain of the amnesty law thirty years ago. This is not an accident

Our so called sectarian leaders are more scared of us having these conversations than we are, because they know

A-these histories are larger than & cannot be contained by sectarian discourse [think class, nationality, region, sex]

B-they thrive on fostering base fears & know within communities & the whole country [including them] sectarianism can b a tactic more than a subjectivity

C-you can only feel betrayed by someone if you cared or expected otherwise from them in the first place

#sectarisme #Liban

Thousands protest sectarian discrimination in #Bahrain
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/thousands-protest-sectarian-discrimination-bahrain

Thousands of Bahrainis demonstrated near #Manama Friday against sectarian discrimination targeting the majority Shia sect in the US-backed kingdom. “No to discrimination,” chanted protesters brandishing Bahrain’s red-and-white flag as they marched along Budaiya main road, which links dozens of villages with the capital, witnesses said. Ali Salman, chief cleric of the Wefaq Shia political party was among leaders of the opposition who participated, according to images the group posted online. read more

#Sectarianism #Top_News

North #Lebanon library torched
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/north-lebanon-library-torched

A decades-old library owned by a Greek Orthodox priest in Lebanon’s northern city of #Tripoli was torched late Friday, a day after a sectarian scuffle, a security source said. “Unknown assailants torched the Saeh Library in Tripoli, destroying two thirds of some 80,000 books and manuscripts housed there,” said the source, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity. Civil defense teams were deployed to put out the fire, “but there are fears that more books were damaged by the water used to try and put out the flames,” he added. read more

#culture #Sectarianism #Top_News

“Hariri family […] would rather burn the country than give up its “right” to power”
▻http://levant.tumblr.com/post/72085694568

“Hariri family […] would rather burn the country than give up its “right” to...

#saad_hariri #hariri #lebanon #sectarianism #sectarian_violence #confessionalism #sunnite #sunni_islam #sunnism #war

Lebanese army arrests suspect in attack on Alawi workers
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanese-army-arrests-suspect-attack-alawi-workers

http://english.al-akhbar.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/4cols/leading_images/556329-01-08.jpg

Alawi workers lay on the ground after being shot by in #Tripoli's Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood on November 2, 2013. (Photo: AFP)

The Lebanese army said it has detained one of four men suspected of beating and shooting Alawi workers in the northern city of Tripoli, scene of frequent violence linked to the Syrian war. On Saturday gunmen ambushed a bus transporting workers from Beirut to Tripoli as it made a routine stop at the entrance to the Bab al-Tabbaneh district. (...)

#Lebanon #Sectarianism #Top_News

“in #lebanon, […] Sunni-Shi‘i #sectarianism has always been less about #religion and more about...”
▻http://levant.tumblr.com/post/58671402609

“in Lebanon, […] Sunni-Shi‘i sectarianism has always been less about religion and more...

#politics #sunnis #chiites #shiites #society #social #economic #economy