What is the first thing that comes to mind when people talk about the Middle East? Petroleum? Desert? Endless wars? Tightly wrapped women? Or the Arab tycoons who are often in the news?
This is undoubtedly the image of the Middle East in our minds, and it is also the real situation in the Middle East over the past few decades.
Among the many arrogant Middle Eastern countries, there is a unique existence, and it is Lebanon, which is known as the "Little Paris of the Middle East" and the "Sweden of the Middle East". It was once a place of "spring and snow", the only country in the Middle East without deserts, replaced by rippling lakes and green hills.
Here you can experience a variety of activities, such as surfing and sunbathing at the beach in the morning, and going hiking and enjoying the snow in the afternoon. The climate is pleasant and the scenery is beautiful, all thanks to its unique Mediterranean climate.
Lebanon is a north-south region along the Mediterranean Sea, which includes the plains along the Mediterranean Sea, the Lebanon Mountains, the Bekaa Valley, and the Antilebanon Mountains. These two tall mountains not only shield Lebanon from the winds of the sands from the interior, but also provide it with precious freshwater resources.
Although Lebanon is small in size and not rich in natural resources, it has become a high-profile tourist destination in the world with its unique natural scenery and diverse cultural landscapes.
The 13 main rivers that originate from the snow-capped mountains bring abundant water to the plains and valleys, and nurture the lush vegetation and fertile fields that are rare in the Middle East, forming the magnificent natural landscape of this land.
Whether it's the world-famous waterfalls, caves, natural bridges, or the mystical mountains of Lebanon, nature is all about it. Lebanon also has a very deep historical and cultural heritage, which has been ruled by ** religious countries and Islamic countries, so the religious culture here is also very rich and diverse.
You can enjoy the solemnity and solemnity of St. George's Cathedral here, and you can also feel the piety and mystery of Islam in the Blue Mosque of Beirut. In addition, the streets of Lebanon are full of cultures.
You may see Arab women with their faces covered, or you may admire bikini beauties, these are the unique cultural landscapes of Lebanon. Here, religion and Islam coexist in harmony, building a diverse and inclusive culture in the country.
Overall, Lebanon is a small place, but rich in natural and cultural landscapes, whether it is a nature lover, or a history and culture buff, there is something for everyone.
Lebanon, once the world's leading center, has attracted wealthy people from all over the world to invest and do business because of its strategic location. However, Lebanon's economic situation is now very difficult, and it is not an exaggeration to describe it as "tinkling poor".
So, how exactly did this strategically located country make itself like this? The reason lies in the complexity of religious denominations.
In the 2nd century BC, the Roman Empire rose to become the hegemon of the Mediterranean, and Lebanon was naturally in the bag. At the same time, the Church also took root in Lebanon with the conquest of the Roman army.
However, the glory of the Roman Empire did not last long, and was soon replaced by the newly rising Arab Empire, which occupied the entire Middle East. Lebanon, like a helpless little girl, cannot resist in the face of power, can only bear in silence.
During the reign of the Arab Empire, Islam became the dominant religion in Lebanon, replacing the status of ** religion. Faith, for different people have different understandings.
Some people think it's just a footcloth that can be discarded at any time, while others see it as life. Despite the blows, there are still many staunch believers in Lebanon.
However, the Arab Empire has been trying to clear the Lebanese area, but due to the complex geographical environment of Lebanon, high mountains and valleys, dense vegetation makes this attempt impossible.
The natural barrier of the mountains and hills provides a shelter for the believers to survive the long river of history. When the European Religion went on a crusade, Lebanon became a necessary stop, which made the Christians in the Lebanese region establish a deep relationship with the European Church.
The European Religion also helped them establish the Tripolibo State in Lebanon, which allowed the Christianity to grow in Lebanon. With the growth of Lebanese believers, the surrounding Islamic-occupied areas of the congregation also began to pour into Lebanon, and they formed a small ** religious settlement in this Islam-ruled Middle East region, leaving a glimmer of hope for ** religion.
Despite the existence of ** religion in Lebanon, there are also various sects within it, such as the Orthodox Church, Catholicism, Protestant Maronite, etc., and the relationship between these sects and the various sects in Islam is also complicated, making the situation uncertain.
Religious strife in Lebanon has thrown the entire region into chaos, with factions unable to give in to each other and have no control over each other. At this time, the rise of European power led Western countries to begin to expand abroad.
Lebanon's geographical location makes it a crossroads between the Middle East, Europe, and Africa, and its importance cannot be overstated. France took the opportunity to intervene, and in 1860, Lebanon's ** religion and Islam clashed, and France sent troops into Lebanon under the pretext of mediation, so that it would break away from the Ottoman Empire and become a French colony.
However, the change of master has changed the religious status of Lebanon. France is a religious country, so the religion in Lebanon occupies a leading position.
After the outbreak of World War II, the French team lost quickly and had no time to manage the colony. On this occasion, in 1943 Lebanon was able to free itself from colonial rule and establish its own state, the Lebanese Republic.
The Conundrum of Governing the State: Strategies for Dealing with the Sectarian Problem and Future Prospects When the state is established, how to manage it becomes a primary issue, especially in a multi-sectarian country like Lebanon, where how to ensure that all factions are convinced is a huge challenge.
Finally, a consensus was reached through factional consultations: whoever has the most people has the right to speak. Therefore, when 60% of the country professes religion and 40% profess Islam, the commander-in-chief of the army is appointed by the sect, the speaker of the parliament is a Shia of Islam, the prime minister is a Sunni of Islam, and the parliamentarians are distributed according to the proportion of the population of each denomination.
As soon as the rules were set, everyone was quite satisfied, and they were all able to perform their duties and govern this small country in an orderly manner. It can be said that in the early days of the cooperation of various sects, Lebanon was no less prosperous than that of European countries, and the happiness index of the people was very high.
However, without much speculation, the current peace of mind is only temporary. Each faction is fighting for its own best interests, and no one is really responsible for the country and the people.
In the future, how to achieve long-term peaceful coexistence among all sects and maximize the interests of the country and its people will be a major challenge that Lebanon needs to face.
As the country's population changes, so must the distribution of power, otherwise it will pose a mortal threat to the country's development. However, in the seventies and eighties of the last century, Lebanon experienced a brief period of prosperity, but beneath this apparent stability lies a lurking turmoil.
In the first "Middle East War", seven countries, including Lebanon and Egypt, were defeated by Israel, and nearly a million Palestinian refugees were forced into exile in other countries, and Lebanon received 400,000 refugees.
However, in order to control the number of these refugees, the predominantly religious Congress refused to grant them legal status, but this was a wrong decision. This decision not only made the refugees hostile to the Palestine Liberation Organization and laid a hidden danger for the Palestine Liberation Organization to disrupt Lebanon's internal affairs in the future, but also did not effectively curb the growth of the Islamic population.
The Islamic faith encourages childbearing, which may not have a noticeable effect in the short term, but after a dozen years, the advantages of population growth will become apparent. Compared to the relatively stable population growth rate of ** religion, the Islamic population has increased exponentially.
The large number of Muslim children has led to the gradual expansion of Islam's influence. Against this backdrop, Islam has proposed a realignment of religious denominations in the Knespit.
This proposal was opposed by the ** sect, which led to the gradual escalation of contradictions between the two factions. Although the atmosphere of "mutual accusations" between the two sides was already very tense, in order to avoid the catastrophe brought about by the war, everyone chose to endure for the time being.
After all, no one wants to see a war. In this context, Palestinian refugees and PLO members followed them in the influx of Lebanon.
The group quickly built up its presence in southern Lebanon, working hand in hand with the refugees, and occasionally attacking Israel, much to Israel's anger.
Lebanon, for its part, said it was innocent because the group's activities were not directly related to them. The UN Security Council also called on all parties to respect Lebanon's sovereignty.
Within Lebanon, the sect believes that action must be taken to contain and expel members of this organization, but Islam strongly supports it, disregarding the security of the country.
Despite this, there has been no official military action by Lebanese officials. On April 13, 1975, the group opened fire on a ** church in Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of four **Maronites and several civilians.
Soon after, the ** sect retaliated and led to the outbreak of the Lebanese civil war. However, the Lebanese civil war was not a complete civil war, but a struggle that was rigged by other countries.
Lebanon, a small country, has been used as a chessboard by all parties to play out a brutal battle. Syrian-backed Islamists and Israeli-backed sects have fought fierce wars here, causing Lebanon to suffer direct economic losses of 75 trillion Lebanese pounds in just two years, with more than 40,000 people killed, more than 100,000 injured, and hundreds of thousands of people left their homes.
In the early 80s, the USSR was behind Syria, and the United States was involved. As a result, the dispute sparked the direct involvement of the world's two largest economies. In this war, no two groups are permanent allies, each side is constantly betraying and repenting, and the war is repeated.
It wasn't until 15 years later that the civil war ended, leaving hundreds of thousands of Lebanese dead, hundreds of thousands injured, and millions of people fleeing their homes. The civil war has inflicted incalculable economic losses on Lebanon.
In the 90s of the last century, the domestic situation in Lebanon finally calmed down. More than a decade of economic stagnation has devastated the originally picturesque country, especially the capital Beirut, which has been reduced to rubble, and there is still the slightest trace of the "Little Paris of the Middle East".
03 The house leak happened to rain overnight, and finally the civil war ended, no matter who governs the country, there is finally someone who can speak, which is also the dust settled. However, the good times were short-lived, and in 2005** Hariri was assassinated, and the civil war broke out again.
Israel's restless neighbor once again intervened in other people's domestic affairs, and this time the civil war lasted for 3 years and ended with the formation of the Lebanese Union**. After so many years of fighting, the Lebanese people have finally ushered in a hard-won peace.
Although when we were developing the economy, others were busy with construction and were almost 20 years behind others, as long as we were willing to work hard, it was never too late to start.
Although Lebanon's main business depends on its unique geography, such as tourism and borders**, the country's various challenges, such as post-war reconstruction, food crisis, refugee problems, etc., have severely impacted its fragile new ** management system, even without relocation.
The outbreak of the global pandemic in 2020 has made Lebanon's economic situation even worse. Tourism has been hit hard, dealing a huge blow to Lebanon's unitary economy**.
In addition, Lebanon** is unable to import much-needed food due to a lack of foreign exchange**. The pandemic has led to severe inflation, and many Lebanese people can no longer afford fruit and meat, so they can only buy staple foods to satisfy their hunger, and may not even be able to afford staple foods in the future.
Faced with such a predicament, Lebanon seems to have been unable to escape the shadow of disaster.
On the afternoon of August 4, 2020, the port of Beirut suddenly erupted in a huge **, and for a while, orange mushroom clouds rose into the sky. People haven't come to their senses yet, and the second round of ** is coming one after another.
It is understood that this ** was caused by firecrackers stored in the port, which triggered a large-scale ** of nearby ammonium nitrate warehouses. 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate**, which brought devastating damage to Beirut.
Entire ports have been razed to the ground, adding new misery to an already struggling Lebanon. Death, displacement, and nothing seem to be just a cycle of life.
On June 23, 2022, Sri Lanka's new prime minister admitted in parliament that the country's economy had collapsed and that there was nothing left to do but wait for international assistance.
Sri Lanka was the first country to declare bankruptcy, but it definitely won't be the last. Lebanon also faces a lack of funding, food and resources.
Although former Prime Minister Hariri rewarded a young French model with $35 million during his overseas trip in 2018, there is still debate about whether Lebanon really has no money.
This is based on reports from Events Weekly and Arab Weekly.