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Lebanese history is often associated with sectarianism and hostility between religious communities, but by examining public memorials and historical accounts Lucia Volk finds evidence for a sustained politics of Muslim and Christian co-existence. Lebanese Muslim and Christian civilians were jointly commemorated as martyrs for the nation after various episodes of violence in Lebanese history. Sites of memory sponsored by Maronite, Sunni, Shiite, and Druze elites have shared the goal of creating cross-community solidarity by honoring the joint sacrifice of civilians of different religious communities. This compelling and lucid study enhances our understanding of culture and politics in the Middle East and the politics of memory in situations of ongoing conflict.

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Based on an award-winning thesis, this volume is a pioneering study of musical theatre and popular culture and its relation to the production of identity in Lebanon in the second half of the twentieth century.

In the aftermath of the departure of the French from Lebanon and the civil violence of 1958, the Rahbani brothers (Asi and Mansour) staged a series of folkloric musical theatrical extravaganzas at the annual Ba‘labakk festival which highlighted the talents of Asi’s wife, the Lebanese diva Fairouz, arguably the most famous living Arab singer. The inclusion of these folkloric vignettes into the festival’s otherwise European dominated cultural agenda created a powerful nation-building combination of what Partha Chatterjee calls the ‘appropriation of the popular’ and the ‘classicization of tradition.’

The Rahbani project coincides with the confluence of increasing internal and external migration in Lebanon, as well as with the rapid development of mass media technology, of which the Ba'labakk festival can be seen as an extension. Employing theories of nationalism, modernity, globalism and locality, this book shows that these factors combined to give the project a potent identity-forming power.

Popular Culture and Nationalism in Lebanon is the first study of Fairouz and the Rahbani family in English and will appeal to students and researchers in the field of Middle East studies, Popular culture and musical theatre.

Customer Reviews (1)

Expensive and does not deliver on the title
I find this book extremely expensive at $132. If its pages were made of gold I would buy it. But it is a thin volume of fewer than 200 pages of text. However, it has a grand title and I decided to hit the unievrsity library and borrow it. And I did. The first observation I should make is that it is a good book on the subject matter and the author is honest in his attempt to link music to culture and national identity. Yet it is largely descriptive and poor on intellectual content. The author seems to draw heavily from the plays and musicals of Fairuz and Rahbanis, which is good if the reader is into theatre, but the title promises to talk about nationalism, which is not seen anywhwere in the book. One would expect at least a discussion of the debate on lebanese identity inside Lebanon and the various disagreements over its history and how music was a main component of modern identity in the country, etc., while citing standard texts from Arab and western sources on culture and the nation. But this was missing. I felt starved of a nice intellectual discussion while reading this book. It is entertaining anyway, and I did not waste my time. ... Read more

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NOT SINCE THOMAS FRIEDMAN’SFROM BEIRUT TO JERUSALEM IN 1989 HAS A JOURNALIST OFFERED SUCH A POIGNANT AND PASSIONATE PORTRAIT OF LEBANON—A UNIQUELY PLURALIST ARAB COUNTRY STRUGGLING TO DEFEND ITS VIABILITY IN A TURBULENT AND TREACHEROUS MIDDLE EAST.Michael Young, who was taken to Lebanon at age seven by his Lebanese mother after the death of his American father and who has worked most of his career as a journalist there for American publications, brings to life a country in the crossfire of invasions, war, domestic division, incessant sectarian scheming, and often living in fear of its neighbors. Young knows or has known many of the players, politicians, writers, and religious leaders.A country riven by domestic tensions that have often resulted in assassinations, under the considerable sway of Hezbollah (in alliance with Iran and Syria), frequently set upon by Israel and Syria, nearly destroyed by civil war, Lebanon remains an exception among Arab countries because it is a place where liberal instincts and tolerance struggle to stay alive.An important and enduring symbol, Lebanon was once the outstanding example of an (almost) democratic society in an inhospitable, dangerous region—a laboratory both for modernity and violence, as a Lebanese intellectual who was later assassinated once put it.Young relates the growing tension between a domineering Syria and a Lebanese opposition in which charismatic leader and politician Rafiq al-Hariri was assassinated and the Independence Intifada—the Cedar Revolution—broke out. His searing account of his country’s confrontation with its domestic and regional demons is one of hope found and possibly lost. In this stunning narrative, Young tells us what might have been his country’s history, and what it may yet be. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Can anyone explain Lebanon?
I confess I have not quite finished "The Ghosts of Martyrs Square...." but am fascinated so far.I admit some may find it more about Lebanon than they really want to know, but I lived there, very happily, some years ago and returned for a visit in 2002.I maintain a strong affection for the country and its people, mourn for their suffering.I do feel the author, Michael Young (Lebanese/American and long-time resident and reporter in Beirut), goes a long way in making sense of this small, complicated, and important country.It is probably still Phoenician, pragmatic, and determined to outlast its neighbors.

Excellent take on modern day Lebanon, its limitations and possibilities
I have read Michael Young for years on the Daily Star where he has been an editorial writer.He has the unique perspective on Lebanon of being half American and half Lebanese and for having lived in the country during the Civil War years, the years of occupation and now the post Cedar Revolution period that has continued since March 14, 2005.Most people see Lebanon, if at all, as a blip on a radar screen.
Young knows the history and knows the players and this gives him excellent insight into where the country is going since many of the civil war players are now players in this chapter of the country's life.The sectarianism, which many see as a hinderance to the eventual evolution of Lebanon into modernity, Young sees as a possible path toward that future.
Lebanon is the barometer of the entire region.Change Lebanon and change the region.Both sides know this, Iran and the US.Iran has been in the game much longer than has the US.Young touches on this and on the efforts of the US to catch up and to bring Lebanon more toward its natural Western orientation.For years known as the Western window into the East.Young tells us of a future Lebanon as an Eastern Window into the West.A place where the East ever fearful of the ability of the West to swallow them whole, can experience the West and find ways to accommodate their Eastern Ways to the Western culture. This is Lebanon's mission and Young writes it so well.

Dispassionate and Even-Handed
An objective account and analysis of recent Lebanese history with good working explanations of the policies and tactics of the Syrians, Israelis, Maronites, Iranians, Sunnis, Hezbollah, Americans and French.Wouldhave benefited greatly, however, from some photographs of the principle players.A pretty tragic tale in all, which leads one to forecast a pessimistic future.

Beirut 2005 - 2009: A Chance for Democracy Squandered
"A new power rises across the Mideast, advocates for democracy begin to taste success after years of fruitless effort," according to the Post's lead headline on April 17, 2005. The front page picture showed Lebanese columnist Samir Kassir in front of Beirut's Martyrs' Statue, the site of the Independence Uprising that forced an end to 30 years of Syrian occupation of Lebanon.
Reporting from Beirut, Scott Wilson and Daniel Williams wrote: "Suddenly [the Lebanese] were at the cutting edge of the Arab world's democratic spring."
But the Beirut Spring was short-lived, despite the Syrian withdrawal that April. On June 2, Kassir was assassinated and became the second victim, after former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri whose murder, in February, proved to be the spark that started an uprising.
"The taboos were beginning to fall, but the Syrians and their sympathizers had not called it a day," wrote Michael Young in his book The Ghosts of Martyrs Square, which captures the rise and fall of the democracy frenzy in Lebanon between 2005 and 2009.
Young is the opinion page editor at Beirut's The Daily Star. He was born in the United States to an American father and a Lebanese mother. The father prematurely died when Young was seven, and the mother took the boy back to Lebanon where Michael was raised.
In The Ghosts of Martyrs Square, Young does not follow any particular chronological order, which adds to the book's allure. He opens with a story about his friendship with Kassir, an outspoken pro-democracy intellectual whose face later became the uprising's poster.
Young then sums up his understanding of Lebanon, until recently the only Arab country with an elected parliament and government. Young reasons - and rightly so - that unlike other Arab countries where one group muscled its way to power, Lebanon's diverse population of 18 ethno-religious groups resulted in a zero-sum game.
Lebanon's diversity was its weakness too. Because no group could dominate, the system lingered in paralysis. And while Lebanon's diversity allowed the growth of liberal thought, it also made the country an easy prey for its only neighbor Syria.
"The Syrians played a balancing game. They co-opted the older leaders, promoted new ones entirely dependent on Damascus... and hit out against the incorrigibles," Young argued.
In 2000, Syrian autocrat Hafez Assad died and his son Bashar succeeded him. Unlike his cunning father, who ruled Lebanon through his balancing game, Bashar Assad imposed his will through coercion, which he practiced both directly and through Lebanese army officers loyal to him. It was only a matter of time before the Lebanese establishment, created by the end of the civil war in 1990, revolted in the face of Assad and his Lebanese cronies.
In summer 2004, Assad twisted arms to force the extension of the term of his loyalist Lebanon's President Emile Lahoud, much to the explicit opposition of veteran politician Walid Jumblatt and implicit resistance of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. In February 2005, Hariri was murdered.
Young argues that popular frustration resulted in the biggest rally in Lebanon's history. On March 14, 2005, more than one third of Lebanon's four million population took to Martyrs' Square. Lebanon's liberal intellectuals, and later politicians opposed to Syria, helped put a face and give a voice to that movement, which came to be known as March 14.
While the March 14 Movement proved instrumental for winning back Lebanon's independence from the Syrians, it also demonstrated the shortcomings of the Lebanese system unable to build on the 2005 success, as Lebanon remained fractured, thus allowing a Syrian comeback.
"We must cut a deal with Syria, those who went after Hariri won't leave Lebanon so easily," Jumblatt told Young in 2005.
But it would take Jumblatt and March 14 four years before they conceded to the Syrians, and Young skillfully records the events leading to the March 14 demise. These included a 33-day war that Hezbollah started with Israel in July 2006, followed by Hezbollah pulling out of government and instructing its supporters to rally for more than a year in downtown Beirut, shutting down businesses and obstructing government.
In 2007, Lebanon saw more bombs and assassinations, and in May 2008, Hezbollah fighters invaded Beirut and southern Mount Lebanon in a punitive raid that forced March 14 to concede.
Young informatively reports on the UN Security Council formation of a Special Tribunal on Lebanon, designed to bring to justice the perpetrators of the crime of Hariri, Kassir and a dozen other journalists, politicians and security officers.
In 2009, even though March 14 defeated Hezbollah and its allies in parliamentary elections, the group remained powerful enough to bully its opponents and force the formation of a cabinet to its liking. Thus ended the democracy saga in the Middle East.

Great Read
One of the best books I've read in a long time. Finished it in 24 hours. ... Read more

Product Description
Based on an award-winning thesis, this volume is a pioneering study of musical theatre and popular culture and its relation to the production of identity in Lebanon in the second half of the twentieth century.In the aftermath of the departure of the French from Lebanon and the civil violence of 1958, the Rahbani brothers (Asi and Mansour) staged a series of folkloric musical theatrical extravaganzas at the annual Ba'labakk festival which highlighted the talents of Asi's wife, the Lebanese diva Fairouz, arguably the most famous living Arab singer. The inclusion of these folkloric vignettes into the festival's otherwise European dominated cultural agenda created a powerful nation-building combination of what Partha Chatterjee calls the 'appropriation of the popular' and the 'classicization of tradition.'The Rahbani project coincides with the confluence of increasing internal and external migration in Lebanon, as well as with the rapid development of mass media technology, of which the Ba'labakk festival can be seen as an extension. Employing theories of nationalism, modernity, globalism and locality, this book shows that these factors combined to give the project a potent identity-forming power. Popular Culture and Nationalism in Lebanon is the first study of Fairouz and the Rahbani family in English and will appeal to students and researchers in the field of Middle East studies, Popular culture and musical theatre. ... Read more

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Contents: Foreword by Hilal Khashan, American University of Beirut; Introduction: Lebanon's Confessional Structure and Palestinian; The Refugees, Lebanon and the Arab-Israeli Conflict; Regional Actors and Peace with Israel; Integration, Repatriation or Resettlement?; The Palestinian Factor in the Lebanese Conflict; Obstacles to Integration and Resettlement; Methodological Criteria: Studying Immigration, Discrimination and Integration; Measuring Attitudes toward Immigration and Immigrants; The Research Method; Basic Political Views of Palestinians; The Socio-Economic Integration of Palestinians; The Origins and Nature of Popular Attitudes toward Resettlement; Lebanese Perceptions of Palestinians; Palestinian Refugees' Socio-Political Attitudes in Lebanon; Conclusion: Toward a National Consensus?; Questionnaires; Index. ... Read more

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This volume asks fundamental questions about the political impact of cultural institutions by exploring the power struggles for control over such institutions in Syria and Lebanon under French Mandate rule. Countering assertions of French imperial cultural ascendancy and self-confidence, the author demonstrates the diverse capacities of Arab and other local communities, to forge competing cultural identities that would, in later years, form the basis for rising political self-enfranchisement.

Drawing on a wide array of written sources and oral testimonies, the author illuminates how political and religious leaders fought to harness the force of culture through projects as diverse as schools, cinema, scouting, and tourism. These leaders were to be found not only in the French colonial administration or the burgeoning Syrian and Lebanese parliaments, but also in student societies, missionary congregations, and philanthropic organizations. The author pays particular attention to the last decade of French rule before Syrian and Lebanese independence as a critical time of transition and debate.

The rich individual histories of institutions such as the American University of Beirut, the secular French Mission laique, or the Jesuit missionaries come together in a broader narrative that speaks to the ongoing Syrian and Lebanese journeys toward national identity. ... Read more

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Lebanon has recently come to the attention to global strategic planners.This report puts these executives on the fast track.Ten chapters provide: an overview of how to strategically access this important market, a discussion on economic fundamentals, marketing & distribution options, export and direct investment options, and full risk assessments (political, cultural, legal, human resources).Ample statistical benchmarks and comparative graphs are given. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Arab Studies Quarterly (ASQ), published by Association of Arab-American University Graduates and Institute of Arab Studies on January 1, 2001. The length of the article is 8879 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: PATRONS, CLIENTS AND CIVIL SOCIETY: A CASE STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS IN POSTWAR LEBANON.
Author: Paul Kingston
Publication: Arab Studies Quarterly (ASQ) (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2001
Publisher: Association of Arab-American University Graduates and Institute of Arab Studies
Volume: 23Issue: 1Page: 55

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

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Language Memory and Identity in the Middle East differs from traditional modern Middle East scholarship in that it reevaluates the images and perceptions that specialists-and Middle Easterners themselves-have normalized and intellectualized about the region, often with a patronizing rejection of the legitimacy and authenticity of non-Arab Middle Eastern peoples, and a refusal to attribute the Middle East's pathologies to causes outside the traditional Arab-Israeli and post-colonial paradigms. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Educational and inspiring: a must read
The book represents the best study on modern Lebanon and the school of thought of Lebanonism. Dr. Salameh has pulled off a noteworthy feat by producing an accessible yet distictive study of the Middle-East in general and of Lebanon in particular. The book represents a breakthrough touor de force in academic research. It represents the most authoritative and up-to-date analysis of this forgotten and/or neglected group of thinkers.

Dr. Salameh's rich and personal experience adds an enjoyable details to the book. His encounter with Said Akl sheds a direct light on one of the most eloquent and charismatic intellectuals in modern Lebanon.

This book is highly recommended for the policy makers in the West, in particular in the United States, and to academics as well who share the courage of Dr. Salameh to venture into finding real -and fair- solutions to the Middle-East problems (or dilemmas?).

This book presents also a wake-up call to the Lebanese government and the various Lebanese institutions around the world; it provides a framework of necessary and much needed educational material so the Lebanese may learn again the true history of their country and be exposed to some of its greatest thinkers... ... Read more

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Chapters: Culture of Lebanon. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 39. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The Culture of Lebanon is varied, depending widely on the differing ethnic groups that live in Lebanon. Lebanese nationals, particularly some Christians, tend to emphasize aspects of Lebanon's non-Arab history as a mark of respect to encompass all of Lebanon's historical makeup instead of only that which began during the Arab conquests, an attitude that prevails in the rest of the Arab world. In this respect, it would be wrong to dismiss Lebanon's mosaic culture as merely Arab when it is clear that it is a blend of indigenous and invading or foreign cultures that have given it the title of the crossroads between east and west for centuries. This picture is seen most clearly in Lebanon, a land of complete contrasts, and a land that cannot be defined by one culture alone, except if one were to bring them altogether and classify them as 'Lebanese'. Over the centuries, Maronites formed a bond with the Pope and in the French period Maronites eagerly took part in France's mission civilisatrice. There is also an old Maronite standard, dating from the early 19th century writings of Tannus al Shidyaq, that the Maronites are the direct descendants of the Phoenicians. In the 1920s Michel Chiha expanded this idea of Phoenicianism. In a concession to Lebanon's Arab and indigenous pre-Arab heritage, some Lebanese prefer to see Lebanon and its culture as part of a "Mediterranean" or "Levantine" civilization. Arab influence, nevertheless, applies to virtually all aspects of the modern Lebanese culture. Practically everyone born and raised in Lebanon, communicate and have the Lebanese language as their mother tongue, to the exception of the Kurdish and Armenian minority, though even these use it as a...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=905758 ... Read more

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About the Author: Nina Jedijian is the author of several books in English and French on Lebanon's archaeological sites. L'oeuvre de Nina Jedijian comprend plusieurs ouvrages se rapportant aux sites antiques du Liban publiés dans les versions françaises et anglaises. Comments: This luxurious bilingual (English and French) book was to serve as a flagship Lebanese publication due to premiere at the book fair that was to coincide with the Francophonie Summit in Beirut last October 2001. Unfortunately, the summit was postponed due to the sad events of September 11. The book compiles the various riches of Lebanon's historical treasures. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Countries and Their Cultures, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 1276 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Covers the broad range of popular religious culture of the United States at the close of the twentieth century. Beliefs, practices, symbols, traditions, movements, organizations, and leaders from the many traditions in the pluralistic American community are represented. Also includes cults and phenomena that drew followers, such as Heaven's Gale and UFOs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

is that Lebanon Ohio? this sure ain't the lebanon i live in!
A great book except it has the wrong title.if u like to read sci-fi novels about the orient this is defenately ur book, a very fertile imagination from the author. if u want to know something about lebanon, lebaneseculture or anything that relates to the country, try somewhere else. ... Read more

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Publication of an excavation which was carried out in 1959 by Dorothy Garrod in a prehistoric cave on a prominent headland on the Lebanese coast. Most of the specialist reports are published here, together with many photographs and plans. The site is particularly useful for understanding the middle Paleolithic of the Levant. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Saadallah Wannous Syrian playwright. He was born in the village of Hussein al-Bahr, near Tartous from the Alawites sectwhere he received his early education. He studied journalism in Cairo, Egypt and later served as editor of the art and cultural sections of the Syrian paper Al-Baath and the Lebanese As-Safir. He also held for many years the directorship in the Music and Theater Administration of Syria. In the late Sixties, he traveled to Paris where he studied theater and encountered various currents, trends, and schools of European stage. His career as a playwright had begun in the early Sixties with several short (one-act) plays which were characterized by a display of his fundamental theme: the relationship between the individual and society and its authorities. ... Read more

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Focusing on Ottoman Lebanon, Ussama Makdisi shows how sectarianism was a manifestation of modernity that transcended the physical boundaries of a particular country. His study challenges those who have viewed sectarian violence as an Islamic response to westernization or simply as a product of' social and economic inequities among religious groups. The religious violence of the nineteenth century, which culminated in sectarian mobilizations and massacres in 1860, was a complex, multilayered, subaltern expression of modernization, he says, not a primordial reaction to it.

Makdisi argues that sectarianism represented a deliberate mobilization of religious identities for political and social purposes. The Ottoman reform movement launched in 1839 and the growing European presence in the Middle East contributed to the disintegration of the traditional Lebanese social order based on a hierarchy that bridged religious differences. Makdisi highlights how European colonialism and Orientalism, with their emphasis on Christian salvation and Islamic despotism, and Ottoman and local nationalisms each created and used narratives of sectarianism as foils to their own visions of modernity and to their own projects of colonial, imperial, and national development. Makdisi's book is important to our understanding of Lebanese society today, but it also makes a significant contribution to the discussion of the importance of religious discourse in the formation and dissolution of social and national identities in the modern world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

history of the emergence of sectarianism in Lebanon
The thesis of this book is simple: Sectarianism is not an age-old feature of Lebanese society but rather developed in a dialectical process involving locals, Ottoman reformists, and European interests.The argument is convincing, but it is still incomplete.There is virutally no treatment whatsoever of the changing economic realities the region experienced in the 19th century.As a social history, the work distances itself from the Marxist model, but unfortunately, this distancing resulted in neglect in terms of economic structures of Mt. Lebanon, esepcially with regard to the Christian peasant rebellions and the subsequent massacres which take up a large portion of the book.

Stimulating and cogent - M Mojabber Mourani
There is much that is thought provoking in this scholarly but never boring book; for example, the notion of simplistic, self referential perceptions on the part of western missionaries and diplomats of the various communities in Mount Lebanon coloring subsequent views - and consequently, policies -in that part of the world, and creating artificial stereotypes which were then conveniently exploited.Makdissi's analysis is cogent and stimulating.He presents a challenging and refreshing perspective on events in Mount Lebanon in the middle of the nineteenth century and their far-reaching implications to the state of affairs in modern Lebanon. One cannot help drawing a parallel with perceptions of the world today informed byCNN-cum fast food-style information: Everything one hears is simplistically and uniformly packaged to render it more easily palatable with little regard for the complexities of any situation. What is particularly disconcerting is that even our own perceptions are colored by that type of reporting and analysis! Makdissi's book reminds us of the necessity for questioning our perspectives and assumptions thus conducting 'reality checks' that may lead to some new solutions to misdiagnosed problems. ... Read more