Despite Lebanese Civil Wars for many years, religion was never the main point of the struggle, but the political issues were. No one fought to change other’s religious believes, but they fought to change other’s political’ views.
In the civil war, the city and groups were divided based on religion, but the problem was not the religion itself, but the political part that each group follow.
Lebanon is a tolerant country that has born out of a religious unification. It is the only country in the entire Middle East which is dominated by Islam but with a large population of Christians, and also in a very short space.
The Religious Tolerance in Lebanon is great comparing with many other countries, and also West’s Countries as said David Samel, in his article: “What Lebanon can teach the U.S. about religious tolerance” , where he compared the Beirut synagogue restoration project and the controversy over Park51, an Islamic cultural center planned for lower Manhattan. As David said the Government of Lebanon did approval the restoration of the synagogue and Hezbollah too, even being enemies of Israel, because they respect the Religion.
David also said: “There was no public outcry, demonstrations, or even controversy. The contrast with the proposal to build the Islamic Center two blocks from the World Trade Center site could not be more stark. There have been increasingly strident and even frightening demonstrations against Park51.”
Another interesting article was by Alex Klaushofer in the BBC NEWS, where he speaks about the tolerance in Lebanese Schools, as an example was the National Evangelical School, founded by Presbyterian missionaries 75 years ago, the school is Christian, but its neighboors are Shia Muslims, and it is located in the town of Nabatieh in “Hezbollah's heartlands”.
As he said: “The school's governors long ago gave up any ideas of converting their young charges to Christianity. No Muslim became a Christian in 75 years," says head teacher Munther Antoun cheerfully, himself a Presbyterian Christian.
That is Lebanon, we see a lot of discussions about Politics, but very few discussions about religion, so each one usually stay in their own religion.
Instead of religious assembly, every morning the school's 783 pupils receive a 20-minute talk as part of their "ethical teaching".When using religious resources, teachers tread a fine line, choosing elements common to both faiths.
The Professors also try to balance: "So at Christmas, we have the Christmas story, and they act it out according to the Bible. But at Easter, we don't do anything, because they don't believe in the Resurrection."
Lebanon has a singular flexibility between their different religions. The tolerance exists in different places in the Country, in schools, universities, Companies, stores, and in all places. Each one respect other’s creed, rituals, holidays, ceremonies, etc...and no only respect but sometimes also participates in other’s commemorations.
According with the Book( which contains a series of researches and analysis of students): “University Students in Lebanon, Background and Attitudes: The Heritage of Divisions, chapter 11 by Muhammad Faour, cites:
“Students were asked about their attitude toward those who do not follow religious principles and guidelines. The responses,ranging from acceptance to total rejection and action to "redirect them back to the right track," form the scale of tolerance.
Although there is really a certain tolerance, breaks occur sometimes in specific cases but small cases, as written in the article by Mona Alami:
“Aida Suleiman, a public school teacher working in Aley, a predominated Druze city some 17km from Beirut, says that fights are erupting more frequently between children from different religious backgrounds. "Tensions are on the rise between Druze and Shia kids, who are a minority at our school."
In her article she put many different cases showing that children of all religions are no being so tolerant sometimes as an example of what they are learning from their families and society, and according to her, this tends to increase.
Fortunately it is not the case with children or specific cases that can label a country as tolerant or not, these cases are just to show that one maybe not agrees with other, and children different than adults show and repeat in front of everyone what adults say hidden.
I agree that no one can deny what is written in history, as conflicts between one group or another, but it was never about the religion itself or creed, was about different groups but religion was never the point that they were fighting for.
No one was trying to prove that they have the right religion, that they follow the right book, it was never about it. Religion was like“the color of the flag” that each group held, to represent in the war which political side each one belongs.
However Lebanon is certainly a country of tolerance and if is not a miracle, how 18 different religious groups would live in such a small space?
Doesn't means that all Lebaneses love all Lebaneses, it seems that they tolerate.
