Lebanese nationalism is anationalist ideology which considers theLebanese people as a separate nation independent from theArab world and strives to maintainLebanon as an independent nation-state. The ideology may consider the Lebanese people to be direct descendants of thePhoenicians, a concept associated withPhoenicianism.
The ideology is highly controversial and has been criticized for disuniting the Lebanese people rather than uniting them. While Lebanese nationalism appeals to theLebanese Maronite andShia communities, it is generally unpopular amongLebanese Sunni Muslims, who often supportPan-Arabism andPan-Islamism, as well as among someGreek Orthodox Christians.[2]
The Druze and Maronite community in Lebanon played an important role in the formation of the modern state of Lebanon in the early 18th century, through a governing and social system known as the "Maronite-Druze dualism" inMount Lebanon Mutasarrifate[1] This ideology is rooted in the 19th-century sectarian war between theMaronites andDruze that occurred inMount Lebanon.[citation needed] It took its formalized form during theinter-war period and theFrench Mandate of Syria, when it served primarily as a tool in opposingArab nationalism and in justifying the existence of the nascent country ofLebanon.
During the 20th century, especially during theLebanese Civil War, Lebanese nationalism was associated with theKataeb Party,Lebanese Forces,National Liberal Party and secularist movements likeGuardians of the Cedars,National Bloc and theLebanese Renewal Party, spearheaded by the renowned late Lebanese poet and philosopherSaid Akl. It was also present among the Shiite Muslims of theAmal movement and a central ideology of its armed wing, theLebanese Resistance Regiments.[3] Currently, it is present among the multi-confessionalLebanese Resistance Brigades subordinate toHezbollah.[4] As a result, Lebanese nationalists have never formed a bloc, being very different ideologically and having divergent opinions on which allies to choose, all adding up to confessionalism.
Lebanese nationalism goes even further and incorporatesirredentist views going beyond the Lebanese borders and seeks to unify all the lands of ancientPhoenicia around present-day Lebanon.[5] That comes from the fact that present-day Lebanon, the Mediterranean coast of Syria, and northern Israel is the area that roughly correspond to ancient Phoenicia and so most Lebanese people identify with the ancient Phoenician population of that region.[6] Therefore, the proposed Greater Lebanese country includesLebanon, Mediterranean coast ofSyria, and northernIsrael.
the Maronites and the Druze, who founded Lebanon in the early eighteenth century.
Media related toLebanese nationalism at Wikimedia Commons