Christians and Muslims In Lebanon

Beirut is one of those rare cities that has an energy all to its own. Its dynamism is reflected not just in the architectural mix of French, Ottoman and Arab influences, but in the people. It is not uncommon to see scantly dressed women next to those covered in hijab.

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[Beirut, Lebanon.]

Lebanon, the only Middle Eastern country without a desert, is an incredible place with excellent food, nice beaches and a fun nightlife. But it does have one great flaw that undermines the potential of the nation: its sectarianism.

Lebanon fought a brutal civil war between Christians and Muslims between 1975-1990 that resulted in the death of 150,000 Lebanese. 20,000 of those deaths can be pinned on the 1982 Israeli invasion of the country.

The war ended in a new confessional power-sharing agreement with the 1990 Saudi-brokered Tafa agreement. If only that put an end to the nation's confessional ways. It did not, it only restructured it.

Reading about all the new construction going on in still war torn Beirut, one feels great joy that the city is rebuilding itself but at the same time cannot help but feel that Beirut is not on solid ground; that war may be around the corner. This is due to the politics in the country.

The Lebanese would do so much better if these instituted secularism and pan-Lebanese nationalism instead of the confessional system. Then one could breath easy in Beirut 24/7.

For starters, the Lebanese at least should teach their children the same history. But, alas, they do not.

While Christian schools tend to focus more heavily on the Phoenician past, which the Christian community here identifies with, the Muslim schools teach more about Lebanon under the Arabs.

But when it comes to contemporary times, in schools across Lebanon history simply comes to a halt.

This is well-known. Although the civil war ended in the life time of current college-aged students and shortly prior to those in high-school now, the Lebanese school children are not taught about the war in public schools. Why? The sects cannot agree on a narrative.

This is a great loss. Understanding the civil war and what lead to it would hopefully embed the lesson that secularism not confessionalism is the proper course the nation should take. As the old saying goes, "Those who fail to learn history are bound to repeat it."

The Lebanese see the consequences of that war in front of them and yet cannot find the will to teach their children about it. A national narrative is lost.

"It's a real problem," says Ohaness Goktchian, professor of political science at the American University in Beirut.

"We are raising another generation of children who identify themselves with their communities and not their nation.

"History is what unites people. Without history we can't have unity."

After decades of civil strife, the Lebanese could use unity.