An assessment of the idea that partitioning Lebanon according to religious denominations might settle the centuries old conflict between Moslems and Christians.
The paper studies the 1000 year old battle for cultural, religious and political supremacy between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon. It shows the demographic make-up of present day Lebanon and investigates the possibility of dividing the country according to the dominant religious group in the area. It brings examples of other countries in the world where this method of partition was implemented.
“In this framework, it was inevitable that the creation of Israel would be seen not as returning residents to their old land, but of Europe using the Middle East for expansion of power, influence and control. Israel was viewed as the puppet of European interests, and they saw themselves as pawns being played by outside forces in the Cold War between the U.S.S.R. and Western interests, and Israel as an example of Western colonialism in the middle of the Arab world. (Esposito, 1997) This view would be strengthened when the U.S.S.R. attempted to defeat the Moslem country of Afghanistan, followed after a relatively brief period by United States military action there.”