Table Of ContentLebanon
Why has secularism faced such challenges in the Middle East and in
Lebanon in particular? In light of dominating headlines about the
spreadofsectarianismandtheso-calleddeathofArabsecularism,Mark
Farha addresses the need for a thorough examination of thehistory of
secularthoughtandpracticeintheregion.Byofferingacomprehensive,
systematic account of the underlying ideological, socioeconomic, and
political factors involved, Farha provides a new understanding of the
historical roots of secularism as well as the potential causes for the
continuedresistanceafullydeconfessionalizedstatefacesbothinLeba-
nonandintheregionatlarge.Drawingonavastcorpusofprimaryand
secondary sources to examine the varying political parties and ideolo-
gies involved, this book provides a fresh approach to the study of
religionandpoliticsintheArabworldandbeyond.
mark farha was Assistant Professor of Politics and International
Relations at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies from 2015 to
2018, and Assistant Professor of Government at Georgetown Univer-
sity’s School of Foreign Service in Qatar from 2008 to 2015. He has
writtennumerousscholarlyarticlesonthemodernhistoryandpolitics
ofsecularismandsectarianisminLebanonandtheMiddleEast,andis
thecontributingeditor ofOvercomingSectarianFaultlinesaftertheArab
Uprisings (2016). He serves as a member of the Century Foundation’s
projectonminorities,citizenship,andinclusionintheMiddleEast.
Lebanon
The Rise and Fall of a Secular State under Siege
Mark Farha
GeorgetownUniversityinQatar
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www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781108471459
DOI:10.1017/9781108558846
©MarkFarha2019
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2019
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accurateorappropriate.
My primary thanks go to my parents Alfred and
Klara Farha without whom nothing would have
come to pass. Their marriage of East and West and
exceptional cosmopolitan paradigm no doubt served
as a touchstone for my academic quest to bridge
barriers. Their unstinting support and sacrifice
allowed me to pursue my research. My experience
at Harvard would not have been what it was
without the presence (and gentle prodding) of my
mentor, Professor Nur Yalman, the emblematic
embodiment of an (Ottoman) gentleman and source
of “enlightened” joy to all and sundry.
Contents
Listof Figures page viii
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xii
Introductionand Conceptual Framework 1
1 Definitions and GenealogiesofSecularism 28
2 Prototypes ofSecularism in Lebanon 34
3 Way Stations of the Lebanese Republic 144
4 Socioeconomic Globalization and Secularism 1990–2005 203
Conclusion: Secularism and Lebanon in the Eye of the
Sectarian Storm 266
Bibliography 284
Index 312
vii
Figures
I.1 Referencediagram:Globalpermutationsofsecularism page18
I.2 Situating the Lebanese predicament and individual
chapters 23
E2.1 This portraithas been authenticated as the only
contemporaneous,original depiction ofFakhr ad-Dīn II.
Source: Hāfiz Shihāb, “Reconstructing the MediciPortrait
of Fakhr ad-Dīn al-Ma‘an,” Muqarnas 11 (1994):
117–124 35
E2.2 Engraving of Beirut and environs, embraced by Mount
Sannine and the Mediterranean Sea. John Carne and
W. H. Barlett, Syria, London, 1838,8 46
E2.3 Panorama ofZurich and Lake Zurich in the 1990s with
the skyline stretching from the Säntis (on the left) to the
Glarner Alps (on the right) in the horizon. Photography
courtesyofChristian Heeb, ExposaVerlagsGmbH 47
E2.4 “The Holy Union.” Al-Ma’rad(Beirut),March/April
1922, 11 141
E2.5 The original “Martyr’s Statue” sculpted byYūsuf
Huwayyik (author’sphoto) 142
E3.1 Members ofthe Constitutional Commission duringone
oftheir visitsto the villagesof Lebanon. Doumet-Serhal,
Michel Shīhā 1891–1954,82–83; Lisānul Hāl No. 365/8015
_
March 23, 1920, 2 146
E4.1 Topography ofTā’fīya:Class and Confession in Lebanon.
Source: Richard HrairDekmejian, “Consociational
Democracyin Crisis: The Case ofLebanon,” Comparative
Politics 10.2 (1978): figure 1, 259 225
viii
