5.2 Lebanon: an overview

Lebanon is a small country located between Israel and Syria, along the ‎Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of approximately 10,400 sq km. ‎Lebanon has a Mediterranean climate with mild, cool winters and hot ‎dry summers.
‎ Lebanon is still a majority Muslim country; however, only about 60% ‎of the population is Muslim. The other 40% of the population is made ‎up of several denominations of Protestants and Catholics. There are ‎actually five Muslim sects in Lebanon - Sunni, Shi'a, Druze, Alawi, ‎and Ismaili.

‎ After the creation of Israel, Lebanon has been involved in more strife ‎within its country and with countries surrounding it‎. The 34 day conflict in the summer of 2006 between Israel and ‎Hezbollah hurt the steps being taken towards the establishment of ‎Lebanese government. Since that time, the Lebanese has tried to ‎rebuild their country and government in a war-torn area.‎

Lebanon: key issues
Despite a few bright periods a year here, a brief decade there – ‎Lebanon has been paralyzed for most of its modern history. Progress ‎has been stalled by wars, corruption, assassinations and bombings, ‎obstruction of justice, constitutional violations and political deadlock. ‎However, blame doesn't lie solely with Lebanon's leaders; we all share ‎responsibility for having consented to playing a passive role in our ‎nation’s affairs. Let us investigate the key issues in Lebanon as major ‎challenges for an Asian Muslim country.‎

5.2 Lebanon: an overview

The Cedar Revolution
The Cedar Revolution was the month-long series of anti-Syrian street ‎demonstrations sparked by the assassination of Rafik Hariri, a former ‎prime minister who died along with 22 other people in a massive ‎truck bomb blast on February 14, 2005.‎ On February 28, 2005 the government of Prime Minister Omar ‎Karami collapsed under pressure brought on by the Cedar Revolution ‎protests. The month-long campaign culminated in a massive turnout ‎of over one million on March 14 in response to the pro-Syrian rally of ‎March 8. The March 14 demonstration - the largest ever held in ‎Lebanon - persuaded Syria to announce that it would withdraw the ‎remaining 14,000 troops out of Lebanon. The last Syrian soldiers ‎departed on April 26, 2005.

Hezbollah‎
Hezbollah – Arabic for the Party of God - was born in the wake of ‎Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon. ‎ Hezbollah's participation in the government came amid an ‎intensifying national debate over the party's continued armed status. ‎In the summer of 2006, Hezbollah's abduction of two Israeli soldiers ‎and the killing of four others triggered a fierce month - long military ‎onslaught from Israel that impacted the whole of Lebanon.‎ Lebanon's Hezbollah is U.S. State Department - designated terrorist ‎organization.