Lebanese Sunni Muslims
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Lebanese Sunni Muslims (
The Lebanese Sunni Muslims are highly concentrated in Lebanon's capital city -
Under the terms of an unwritten agreement known as the National Pact between the various political and religious leaders of Lebanon, Sunni notables traditionally held power in the Lebanese state together, and they are still the only ones eligible for the post of Prime Minister.[3]
History
Ottoman rule
Historically, Sunnis in Lebanon fared better under the rule of the Ottoman Empire than did Lebanon's other religious groups. Although the Ottomans ruled loosely, the Sunnis in coastal cities were given a degree of privileged status. However, this ended with the French mandate.[4]
French mandate
In 1920, France legally extended the borders of Greater Lebanon to include all the territories of what is now Lebanon. This enhanced the position of the Maronites, who's population exceeded that of the Sunni Muslims in the new districts.[5] This changed Lebanon's demographics, as the territories added contained predominantly Muslim areas. This made Lebanese Christians constitute barely over 50% of the population, whereas the Sunni population increased eightfold. The Sunnis resented this, as they were formerly part of the majority within the Ottoman Empire, but now became a minority in a Maronite-dominated French mandate. In the 1932 Lebanon census, 175,925 individuals, constituting 22% of the total population of 785,543, were Sunni Muslims.[6]
The Lebanese Sunni Muslims did not want to be separated from their Sunni Muslim brethren in Syria, whereas the Lebanese Christians wanted a French or European-oriented Lebanon to ensure economic viability that was separate from Syria.[7] The Sunni community saw Greater Lebanon as an artificial entity, and repeatedly insisted on being reunited with Greater Syria and the rest of the Arab homeland.[8]
Lebanese Civil War
In 1975, the Lebanese Civil War broke out between Maronite forces and the Lebanese Army on one side, and Sunni militias of the Lebanese National Movement (LNM) and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on the other. Pan-Arabism and leftism attracted its largest following among the Sunni community of Lebanon.[9] Following the Sabra and Shatila massacre in 1982, the Mourabitoun launched a series of attacks on the Israel Defense Forces. The Taif Agreement in October 1989 ended the civil war. It provided equal representation for Christians and Muslims in the enlarged chamber of deputies, reduced the powers of the Maronite president, and increased powers for the Sunni prime minister. With Saudi Arabian support, the Sunnis achieved a position of power out of all proportion to their number or influence.[10]
Relations
With Saudi Arabia
The Sunnis of Lebanon have close ties with
With Lebanese Alawites and Syria
The Lebanese Sunni Muslims initially opposed the creation of the Lebanese state separated from Syria, where the majority of the population was also Sunni Muslim, and wanted the territory of present-day Lebanon to be incorporated within the so-called
Sunni Muslims and
Over the years, there have been numerous clashes between the Sunni and Alawi communities in
At the best of times, the
Geographic distribution within Lebanon
Lebanese Sunni Muslims are concentrated in cities of west
Demographics
Note that the following percentages are estimates only. However, in a country that had last census in 1932, it is difficult to have correct population estimates.
The last census in Lebanon in 1932 put the numbers of Sunnis at 22% of the population (178,100 of 791,700).
Year | Sunni Population | Total Lebanese Population | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
1861 | 76,565 | 487,600 | 15.7% |
1921 | 124,786 | 609,069 | 20.5% |
1932 | 175,925 | 785,543 | 22.4% |
1956 | 285,698 | 1,407,858 | 20.3% |
1975 | 663,500 | 2,550,000 | 26% |
1988 | 861,046 | 4,044,784 | 21.3% |
Genetics
Notable Lebanese Sunni Muslims
Activists and journalists
- Anbara Salam Khalidi, a feminist, translator and author, who significantly contributed to the emancipation of Arab women
- Nahla Chahal, writer, journalist, researcher, and activist
Artists
- Randa Chahal Sabag, film director, producer and screenwriter
- Suzanne Tamim, the late singer
- Fadl Shaker, singer
- Walid Toufic, singer
- Wael Jassar, singer
Politicians, diplomats, and public servants
- Mohamad Rassoul
- Salim Ali Salam, former deputy from Beirut to the Ottoman Parliament, former President of the Municipality of Beirut, and former President of the Muslim Society of Benevolent Intentions (al-Makassed)
- Saeb Salam, politician, who served as Prime Minister six times between 1952 and 1973
- Mohamad Harmouche, Honorary consul of Belize to Lebanon
- Riad Al Solh, the first Prime Minister of Lebanon (1943–1945), after the country's independence
- Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon.
- Rafik Hariri, assassinated former Prime Minister of Lebanon
- Saad Hariri, former Prime Minister of Lebanon
- Fouad Siniora, former Prime Minister of Lebanon
- Abdul Hamid Karami, former Prime Minister of Lebanon
- Omar Karami, former Prime Minister of Lebanon
- Rashid Karami, former Prime Minister of Lebanon
- Najib Mikati, Prime Minister of Lebanon
- Tammam Salam, politician and former Prime Minister of Lebanon
- Mohamad Chatah, assassinated Lebanese economist and diplomat
- Ashraf Rifi, former major general and director of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces and current minister of justice
- Hassan Diab, former prime minister of Lebanon
- Salam Yamout, current president of the Lebanese National Bloc political party
- Nawaf Salam, a diplomat, jurist, and academic. He acted as judge on the International Court of Justice for the 2018-2027 term
- Wissam al-Hassan, assassinated brigadier general at the Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF)
- Ali Al Hajj, former major general and director of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces
Religious figures
- Hassan Khaled, late former leader of Lebanon's Sunni Muslim community
Businessmen
- Al-Waleed bin Talal, Saudi-Lebanese businessman and grandson of Riad Al Solh, Lebanon's first Prime Minister
Sportsman
- Hazem El Masri, Lebanese-Australian professional rugby league player
See also
- Religion in Lebanon
- Lebanese Shia Muslims
- Lebanese Druze
- Lebanese Maronite Christians
- Lebanese Melkite Christians
- Lebanese Greek Orthodox Christians
- Lebanese Protestant Christians
- Bab al-Tabbaneh–Jabal Mohsen conflict
References
- ^ a b "Lebanon: people and society"
- ^ Lebanon Overview World Directory of Minorities. June 2008. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
- ^ International Religious Freedom Report 2008 US Department of State. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-393-35276-4.
- ^ Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Refworld | Chronology for Sunnis in Lebanon". Refworld. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
- ISBN 978-1-135-01133-8.
- ISBN 978-3-319-53973-7.
- ISBN 978-0-8156-2829-3.
- ISBN 978-0-393-35276-4.
- ISBN 978-1-317-89054-6.
- ^ Lucy Fielder (23–29 June 2011). "Trial by fire for Lebanon's government". Al Ahram Weekly (1053). Retrieved 28 December 2013.
- ^ "Tripoli". Hugh Macleod. Archived from the original on 2 August 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
- ^ Garrett Nada (10 May 2013). "Lebanon's Sheikhs Take on Assad and Hezbollah". Wilson Center. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
- ^ Greater Syria By Daniel Pipes
- ISBN 978-0-7864-1375-1
- ^ Reva Bhalla (5 May 2011). Making Sense of the Syrian Crisis Stratfor. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
- ^ Seale, Patrick. Asad Of Syria : The Struggle For The Middle East / Patrick Seale With The Assistance Of Maureen McConville. Seale, Patrick. Berkeley : University of California Press, 1989, c1988.
- ^ Robert Kaplan (February 1993). "Syria: Identity Crisis". The Atlantic.
But the coup of 1970, which brought an Alawi air force officer, Hafez Assad, to power, was what finally ended the instability that had reigned in Syria since the advent of independence.
- ^ Patrick Martin, (14 May 2012). Syria's war ignites sectarian strife in Lebanon The Global and Mail. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
- ^ Lebanon Sunnis Overview Archived 2015-01-16 at the Wayback Machine World Directory of Minorities. June 2008. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
- ^ a b c "2012 Report on International Religious Freedom – Lebanon". United States Department of State. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
- ^ a b c "Contemporary distribution of Lebanon's main religious groups". Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
- ^ "Lebanon: People and Society". April 2023. Archived from the original on 26 April 2023.
- ^ "Lebanon: People and Society". April 2023. Archived from the original on 26 April 2023.
- ^ Yahya, Houssam (2015). La protection sanitaire et sociale au Liban (1860-1963) (PDF) (Thesis). Université Nice Sophia Antipolis.
- ^ Gharbieh, Hussein M. (1996). Political awareness of the Shi'ites in Lebanon: the role of Sayyid 'Abd al-Husain Sharaf al-Din and Sayyid Musa al-Sadr (PDF) (Doctoral). Durham: Centre for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, University of Durham.
- ISBN 9780190872151.
- ^ Fawwaz Traboulsi, Social Classes and Political Power in Lebanon (Beirut: Heinrich Böll Stiftung, 2014)
- ^ Abdel-Nour, Antoine (1982). Introduction à l'histoire urbaine de la Syrie ottomane (XVIe-XVIIIe siècle). Université Libanaise.
- ^ Zalloua, Pierre A., Y-Chromosomal Diversity in Lebanon Is Structured by Recent Historical Events, The American Journal of Human Genetics 82, 873–882, April 2008