Clash of Civilisations

The initial resignations from the Lebanese Cabinet were read out by Jibran Bassil of the Maronite-based Free Patriotic Movement at the Rabiyeh residence of none other than Michel Aoun. The other signatories did indeed include Mohamad Fneish and Hussein Hajj Hasan of Hezbollah, as well as Mohamad Jawad Khalife, Ali Shami and Ali Abduallah of Amal Movement, although it is worth pointing out that Amal was partly founded by the then Melkite Archbishop of Beirut.

But the rest were Charbel Nahhas and Fadi Abboud of Free Patriotic Movement, Abraham Dadayan of the solidly Armenian Tashnaq, and Youssef Saade of Marada, which is no less Maronite than its name suggests. The Government's fate was sealed by the resignation of State Minister Adnan Sayyed Hussein, obviously a Muslim himself, but who had been named by President Michel Suleiman, the occupant of whose office has to be a Maronite.

By contrast, the other side is bankrolled by Saudi Arabia, whence came the 9/11 attacks and which Jews are forbidden to enter, in stark contrast with their reserved parliamentary representation in certain other countries. Guess which side is busily restoring Beirut's historic Maghen Avraham synagogue, a project which would be preposterously profligate if there really were as few Jews left there as certain interests would have one believe.