Lebanon: In the Middle of the Fire.

I was a bit reluctant towards writing something in detail about a country of the Middle East. Outside from Syria, I have not really spent much time in reading in detail about the countries, or their history, except for the part of religion and how Islam affects people's lives in the region. This time, my surruonding circumstances and people have brought me to put the issue of Lebanon into the attention of my readers, because I believe that what is happening there should be put onto the world's attention.

Lebanon is of the smallest countries in the Middle East, and by far, of the most complex ones. The country has a long history of wars ranging from being 'created' by the agreement between the European powers, to the fact of suffering a civil war in the last decades of the twentieth century. Lebanon  has a unique feature in regard to diversity: it is the only country in the region where people with different religious backgrounds have had a reasonably peaceful cohabitation.

One of the most promiment features of Lebanon is the character of the political sphere.The Lebanese President is the only non Muslim President in the whole region, for in the country the President is Christian, the Prime Minister has to be a sunni Muslim and the Head of Parliament has to be a shiite Muslim. This diversity has turned the country into an example in what respects to how different religions can actually be in peace in the same place.

Unfortunately, Lebanon's geography has played against its advantages of religious peaceful cohabitation. The country has two extremes on its borders, namely Israel and Syria. The problem of having the extreme of Judaism and the extremes of Islam just across the Lebanese borders has determined the fate of the country in many ways, namely in its national security and in its foreign policy. The peace after the civil war was interrupted by Israel many times, but nowadays the existence of Lebanon is being threatened by the situation being given inside its neighbour, Syria.

The role of Israel is of the 'big bully' in the region, both in the religious and the political sense. It is obvious that all policies in Israel are backed and supported by the the biggest bully of human history followed by Russia (and the rest of the P5 members), the United States. Technically, it is thanks to this support that Israel has enjoyed the benefit of unilateral imposition and manouveuring in the region since its foundaiton back in 1948. The aggressive and expansionist policies followed by Israel are one the root causes for Islamist movements, and for Hamas and Hezbollah to exist and threaten the region and the world. Lebanon has been a victim of these policies through massive invasions and shootings coming from Israel with the so told excuse of self-defence. Nowadays, their 'logic' of bombing Lebanon is as 'understandable' as the one they have for doing the same to Palestine.

Syria represents another problem for Lebanon in a different way. The Assad family regime has an Alawite tradition, therefore they are shiite. The problem is, they are a minority in Syria because the rest are sunni. The sunni majority lived under an oppressive rule for the last fifty years and became a strong base for Islamic extremism advocates. In the begnning of the Syrian Revolution, people claimed for reforms and change in the political sphere, and the opposition was formed by reform advocates and people from the Syrian Army. This faction is considered in all negotiations because their demands are in the grounds of reason. However, there are other groups with the objective of creating a new government model based on the strict Islamic doctrine.The Syrian opposition nowadays has many different faces, because now demands for democracy got diverted to the ambitions of a particular group that seeks to establish a new state, founded on the principles they consider as the 'true Islam'.

Millions of people ran away from Syria in order to find safety elsewhere. According to the official numbers given by the United Nations, particularly by the High Commissioner for refugees UNHCR, ten millions have left Syria and from these, 3 million are in Lebanon, which constitutes the third part of the country's total population. Lebanon's economy, health, education and waste management services are about to collapse because the Lebanese government is overwhelmed with the needs of the locals and the refugees. 

Lebanese families and people in general, have been outstandingly kind with their Syrian neighbours, and have helped a lot within their possibilities. Nevertheless, there is a lack of support from international and regional organisations to all these families. Syrian refugees receive support form UNHCR and also from other organisations, but in many ways, the Lebanese are carrying the burden of  the massive influx of refugees such as displacement in labout markets (refugees accept a job for less money), and the risk of lack of places for Lebanese children in public schools. 

The other problem in this regard, which is recent in some way, is how Lebanon is now being threatened by the situation in Syria and in how in certain places of the country, refugees have responded in an unexpected way to their Lebanese hosts.

In the previous paragraphs I mentioned the presence of many religious groups in Lebanon, this is now a problem for the country, On one hand, we have the fragmented Lebanese government which currently is under a power vacuum due to the political crisis, and on the other, we have sunni radical groups and...Hezbollah. 

The issue now is, the Islamic State is taking advantage of the crisis in Lebanon by moving their influences in the sunni groups and extending their hatred to the refugees, and on to pushing the shiite minority through their non flexible objective of getting rid of Hezbollah. The horrible event held in the town of Arsal, that has a considerable shiite population some weeks ago, shows that being ungrateful is more a matter of mindset than of nationality, religion or ethnicity, 

Palestinian refugees have acted in the opposite way to the Syrian refugees who attacked the Lebanese Army by surprise and attempted to help the Islamic State lunatics to take over Arsal hurting thousands of people. According to some stories of Lebanese people, the only thing that some families in Lebanon have received from some refugees has been being stolen or mistreated, and both the Lebanese government and Army, have received unexpected invasions full of hate and their soldiers being captured by the Islamic State and in ways of being slain as if they actually committed a crime by defending the people of Arsal. Lebanon does not deserve such thing, opposite to Israel, the argument of 'self-defence' is absolutely valid here.

If there is a country with kind and peaceful people it is Lebanon, and the Lebanese do not deserve to be killed, taken over, mistreated and being mocked at in the name of a 'religion', whose 'representatives' are only a group of lunatic terrorists who are just spilling blood and reinventing the teaching of the Holy Qu'ran as well as Prophet Muhammad's to their convenience. Lebanon, like any other country on this world, deserves to preserve its territorial integrity and not being taken over by 'people' in the name of a sick project which seeks to get rid of all non Muslims on this world.

I would like to encrouage the international community, and most importantly, to all Muslims in the world, to help all the countries of the Levant to fight this lunatics and show them what the REAL YIHAD actually means, It is better and easier for all of us to fight those lunatics who are just ruining the reputation of Islam worldwide. 

I would also like to invite all Muslims, particularly the young ones, not to fall into the nest and the lies of the Islamic State, for it will not bring anything good to you. Do not be like the 'Muslim freedom fighters' and 'closet terrorists' of Europe, the Arab world, Kashmir (and the list goes on and on) who have been born with hate and ignorance in their souls and are just wasting their lives in this useless fight. Lastly, please have the nerve to denounce the hipocrites in the Arab world who are helping these groups.

If the Western world  is willing to give help, it would be wise to hand it to the armies who have had the nerve to face these lunatics, such as the Iraqis and the Lebanese. If Israel is also aware of what is convenient for them on the long term, they should be helpful. This is a fight that should be fought by Muslims, because it is their reputation, their land and their honour.