Government Asserts Power, yet Hezbollah Increasing Sectarianism

The problem in Lebanon is not sectarianism. It's the inability of the state to protect its citizens.

The December 1 protest has been good for one reason: it's made Lebanese understand that when another sect expresses itself their sect is not necessarily endangered.

Many Christians, Sunnis, and Druze were desperately afraid that Hezbollah would "go to the streets." Shia would flock to the downtown from the southern suburbs, the Bekaa, and the Jounoub and violence would ensue.

There was good reason to believe this. When Hassan Nasrallah was parodied on LBC, Hezbollah supporters raced through Ashrafieh cracking heads, and burnt tires on the airport highway. During the 2005 elections, Amal supporters cracked heads in Sassine Square. During the 14 March occupation of the downtown, an Amal supporter showed up with a gun and shot a Christian young man.

In the tense atmosphere of post-summer war Lebanon, things could have escalated quickly.

And yet they didn't. Why?

It's not because Hezbollah restrained its supporters. When three hundred men try to chase a Syrian into Ashrafieh for allegedly insulting Nasrallah, you know there can't be much restraint. And the government had reason to believe that Hezbollah's intention was to try and take over the Grand Serail on the first day of the protest.

The reason things did not get out of hand was because Beirut became a fortress. Unlike during the other incidents listed above, the Army was there and ready to stop any conflict. The government took action to make sure a sectarian war didn't break out. General Michel Sleiman saw his Fouad Chehab moment and did not take sides. No one wanted innocent Lebanese to die.

Tripoli

It was funny to hear from Shia and Aounist friends after the Tripoli protest. They suddenly started sounding like the Christians, Sunni, and Druze prior to Hezbollah's uprising.

The Christians were worried that marauding Sunnis would swoop down from Tripoli, destroying Christian businesses in Kesrouwan with even the slightest hint of orange.

A few Shia worried about the "distant and radical" Sunni in the north who, unlike the Sunni in Beirut, Saida, and the Bekaa, had never lived with Shia and truly hated them. These uncontrollable people from the north would swoop down upon Beirut threatening every Shia in their path.

I poke fun at these notions now, but there's a reason why people worry about them. Sectarian rage is a problem in Lebanon because the government has done a poor job of protecting its citizens. Enraged Sunnis could, actually, swoop down on your area on a beautiful day, burn down a building and throw rocks at a church because they're angry about something that happened in another country. And the Internal Security Forces would watch and then run away.

The government finally put some constraints on the citizenry.

Hezbollah and Sunnis

I can't say this any better than Mustapha, so I won't. If you want some clues as to why Hezbollah and Aoun are increasing sectarianism, take a look at his post.