Mago Bill history: Divided, dominated, and blown up. Is that a way to describe Lebanon?
The people of Lebanon are Lebanese. The Lebanese deserve to be honored for who they have been and who they are. They merit our moral support for the rebuilding the nation they can be on the word stage. They can also be a profitable people with whom to do business.
This tiny, durable, country has a history of contributions to our world. Its people have been known for their cosmopolitan diversity of culture, including that of religions. They are a modern republic and the smallest sovereign state on the mainland of the Asian continent. And I thought it was in North Africa! I have some learning to do.
There is strong evidence of a rich, well developed culture there going back to 6,000 BC. More recently Lebanon was a seat of Phoenician culture. That maritime culture was active from about 3,200 BC to 539 BC and shared that culture from Lebanon to around the Mediterranean, and to beyond the Pillars of Hercules to as far as Ireland. In 64 BC the region of Lebanon came under the rule of the Roman Empire, where it became a leading center of Christianity.
Mount Lebanon was home to the early Maronite Christian Church and maintained its identity through the Arab conquest. Druze took over the Maronite homeland. The Druze are, to this day, a small, but important presence in Lebanon. Druze are considered to be an Abrahamic religion which is neither Muslim, Jew, nor Christian. Maronite Catholics and the Druze are considered to by many to be the founders of modern Lebanon. Druze are only about 6% of the population of today.Still, they may be more important to their country than there numbers suggest.
Lebanon was conquered by Ottoman Turks in the 16th century and remained under their dominion for 400 years. At the end of WWI they came under the French Mandates. Under that mandate, Lebanon grew a bit but did not grow more united.
From 1975 to 1990 there was bloody civil war In Lebanon, which led to the country being led by Syria and Israel.
Despite all the divisions and dominations, this 4000 sq mi republic lives. There has never been a republic like it. It has been accepted within international law as a "unitary, parliamentary, multi-confessionalist, republic." It seems that multi-confessionalist" refers to the country's acceptance of many religions. Just below is my attempt to expand on this sentence just above.
Others have called Lebanon a "parliamentary, democratic republic" but add, "within the overall framework of confessionalism. I learn that "Confessionalism" is a kind of "consociationalism" in which the highest offices are proportionally reserved for representatives of certain religious communities. "Confessionalism" I see, is a mix of politics and religion which usually entails distributing political and institutional powers proportionately among confessional communities. "Confession--" here refers to the profession of a certain religious belief. Goals of consociationalism are: stable government, survival of democracy, and the avoidance of violence. A "tough row to hoe." Lebanese have some work to do.
When a people agrees to a certain republic, the great majority of citizens must be taught it and retaught it. That teaching includes how it works and how to work it. I have said "taught," but "taught to one another" could be better.
Lebanese are Respected in Europe, the Arab world, and where ever they are known. They are respected for their culture and for their continued existence as a nation. Lebanon has also been known for their large and influential diaspora. When it has less need to struggle against foreign intervention, it has promptly become a stable financial power. It has profited from tourism and has busy agricultural production. Its people would appreciate the opportunity to do more. Left to guide itself it cam to rank high on the U.N. Human Development index. It is a founding member of the United Nations.
Lebanon has been around for a long time. It is mentioned in written history from about 5,600 BP. It is mentioned in Sumerian tablets and in the Epic of Gilgamesh. It was a center of the Canaanite City States. Byblos kept records of dealing with Lebanon. This tiny country can be called a source of early cultural influence on Greek, Jew, and Phoenicians, and to much of western culture as well. And, as I am beginning to understand, a home for Christian, Muslim Druze, and more.
I have mentioned that the capital cit of Lebanon is Beirut, Haven't I? When France was was a diplomatic center of the world and the people of Paris were called the most cosmopolitan, people of Paris called the citizens of Beirut cosmopolitan.
I know we can let Lebanon be, if we will.
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RCS