While there are many religious theocracies and secular democracies around the world,
very few countries have found a way to bridge the gap between religion and politics. But
in Lebanon, not only does there exist a democracy within a larger religious structure, there
are actually 18 official religions built into the country’s parliamentary system. So let’s
take a look at how and why a dozen and a half different sects are able to rule over one
country.
Lebanon’s multi-religion government actually stems from its invading predecessor: the Ottoman
Empire. From about 1516 to 1918, Lebanon was under the jurisdiction of this Empire, and
around the 1830s, a system of reorganization by the Ottomans called “Tanzimat”[tahn-zi-maht],
declared that all citizens were equal under the law, regardless of their religious affiliation.
For Lebanon, this was a problem, as the country’s many different religions, spanning Islam,
Christianity, and Judaism, had each established their own legal rules, which were implicitly
unequal.
Before Tanzimat, the Ottoman Empire stressed religious pluralism, with each religion considered
it’s own nation-like entity, called a “millet”. Together these millets comprised the Empire,
and had individual legal protections. Today, Lebanon operates under a similar system of
religious pluralism called “confessionalism”.
Within Lebanon’s constitution is a guarantee that all citizens will have the same rights
and duties, without discrimination. But it also establishes a hardline balance of power
among the country’s many religions.
These break down into more than half the population adhering to the two major Muslim faiths, Sunni
and Shia, and about thirty five percent are Christians known as Maronites [mah-roh-night],
Greek Orthodox, and Greek Catholic. The rest are a combination of Druze [drew-ze], an ancient
Arabic religion, smaller Christian denominations, Jews, Bahá'ís [Ba·ha'is ], Buddhists, Hindus,
and a very small proportion of Mormons. Legally, there are four Muslim denominations, 12 Christian
ones, Druze, and Judaism, comprising the country’s 18 official religions.
These religions are allocated within the government as a result of an unwritten agreement, established
during the country’s independence in 1943, known as the National Pact. It places a different
member of each religion within a position of power. The President is required to be
a Maronite Christian, the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim, the Speaker of the Parliament
a Shia Muslim, and so on. There is even a required balance of power within Parliament’s
128 seats, originally at a 6:5 ratio of Christians to Muslims, but since the 1989 Taif Agreement,
the two are now evenly divided.
Moreover, these coalitions break down into seven major political parties, with two major
political factions. One of these is called the “March 8 Alliance” and is a pro-Syria,
Iran-backed group including Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement, the largest Christian
party in Parliament. The other is called the “March 14 Alliance”, and represents Sunni
Muslims via Future Movement, the largest party in parliament. March 14 also includes two
large Christian parties.
This religious divide and proportionality specifically stems back to the country’s
only census to date in 1932. At the time, Christians comprised 51% of the population,
leading to this original 6:5 ratio of Christians to Muslims in Parliament. This Christian hegemony
in government was believed to have been established after Lebanon encapsulated predominantly Muslim
areas, but without granting them citizenship. This 51% figure stemming from the 1932 Census
has been challenged, as many Muslims were not counted. For this reason, the government
has been reticent to perform another census, should the balance of government be shifted
towards Muslim rule.
Throughout its history, the division along sectarian lines has led to conflict, strife,
and even warfare. It is difficult to suggest that Lebanon has a well-oiled functioning
government. Prior to late 2016, the country had gone more than two years without a President
due to political infighting. Years before that, the country was embroiled in a massive
and long-lasting civil war, largely over political and sectarian disputes. Although Lebanon's
government does seem to represent all of its religions, the system in place isn’t necessarily
working.
Part of Lebanon’s importance in geopolitics is that it isn’t solely focused on sectarian
divides domestically. To find out how other countries have meddled in Lebanon’s fractured
government, watch this video. Be sure to like and subscribe for new videos.