Islam in Lebanon: An Overview

Abstract

Lebanon, crossroad of cultures and cradle of civilizations, launches a bridge between worlds. As a land of exchange between the West and the East, Christianity and Islam have, and will continue to for a long time, cross through Lebanon. A case in point is West Bekaa, which is made up of 40 percent Christians and 60 percent Muslims. Muslims belong to the Sunni and Druze communities, whereas in the Hermel and Baalbeck the majority of the population is Shi’i or Metwali.¹ The Shi’i presence goes back to the seventh century; at that time, the Muslim community split into Sunni and Shi’i sects. The Shi’i, who had been reduced to the status of dissenters after the twelve century, settled in Jabal Amel, part of Mount Lebanon, particularly in areas between the Shouf qada’ (district) and Northern Galilee, in the north of the Bekaa valley, and in the towns of Hermel and Baalbeck.