Customer Reviews

Lebanese Christian Nationalism: The Rise and Fall of an Ethnic Resistance

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Not only Phares book is the first comprehensive study of the Ethnic Claim of the Lebanese Christians in English, but it actually scares the Arabist elites worldwide. For "Lebanese Christian Nationalism" simply establishes facts that are hidden by Arabist Historians and Commentators. He shows that an ethnic group, the Aramaic Christians of Lebanon, have established a homeland of their own in Mount Lebanon for centuries. Therefore this enable them to claim autonomy, or a Federal system in Lebanon. Phares praises the Democratic solution to the conflict, and is inclusive of all other communities. However his study focuses on one group, therefore he doesn't examine the plight of others in his volume. Arabist scholars and reviewers resents the fact that a Maronite Lebanese intellectual demonstrates to the West what they try to hide for decades: The existence of many non-Arab and non-Islamic minorities in the Middle East. Phares being among the first authors to clearly shed light on this issue, one has to expect Arabist critiques to go ballistic. For if Phares -who is secular and not religious minded- demonstrate that claim in Lebanon, a domino effect will take place: Copts in Egypt, Assyrians of Iraq, Southern Sudanese, Kurds, Berbers will establish similar claims, setting a major blow to the Pan Arab dreams. Phares' conclusions were twisted by some Arabist reviewers. They put alien words in his mouth. They actually never read his previous and subsequent work. All shows that instead of religious dimension, he refers constantly to the sociological one. This is typical of "ideological" reviewers when they are confronted with a new phenomenon. For instance he never calls for a "Christian Movement" as portrayed in the imagination of Arabist commentators, but for a multi-ethnic secular state, under a Confederal regime.

Phares book has gained its place in the literature, and that is a fact. The caravan has passed..

Malek Adam Lebanese University

Lebanese Christian Nationalism is by far the best book on Lebanon, published in the West so far. Not only it shed light on unknown historical facts, but it also explains complex issues related to the identity of the Lebanese Christians. Walid Phares does an incredible job in summarizing and clarifying a very difficult subject, longtime disregarded by the academic and media worlds. Phares takes us to the heart of the issues, demonstrates the "existence" of a enthic group, the Lebanese Christians, and underline the fact that this group, like many others in the world, has a legitimate and historical claim. Phares book contradicts most books and essays on Lebanon and explain tothe reader why so many issues remained unclear despite the large literature on Lebanon. The book's only missing section is forecasting the future. I believe Phares reserved his opinion for another work, which I am awaiting for..hopefully.

I am doing by thesis on the development of a Lebanese ethnicity. After reading 5 other secondary sources, I turned to this one, since my topic is specifically how the Christian element controlled the ethnicity's development. This was the worst history book I have ever endured. It reeks of political bias, ignoring every other source's focus on inter-sect interactions. There is an assumption that, despite admitting the situation "varies case to case," the Christian resistance was coordinated, conscious, and continuous. There are outright lies: he claims Jews and Christians across the board shared a loss of sociopolitical rights after the Arab conquest and a jiziya tax that was "additional" from Byzantine taxation. These are completely untrue. Everything about this book denotes his attachment to Christian learning in Lebanon, and don't read this. Read any of the more comprehensive, accurate, and objective histories published recently, such as "Inventing Lebanon: Nationalism and the State under the Mandate." This is boring, repetitive, and pointless.

These are not "unknown" histories; instead, these histories are usually taught ALONG WITH acknowledgment that, for instance, Aramaic people are an Arabic tribe, Semitic people are an Arabic tribe, etc. There is nothing new in this; the old Aramaic kingdom was well-documented. Any of the truly previously "unknown" histories were unknown because they are untrue. Western media does not ignore Maronites; that is laughably untrue. They have always been portrayed as an unfortunately mistreated minority, when they actually have held the Presidency and much power for centuries. This gives a very whiny depiction of Lebanese history.

Phares does an excellent job discussing the roots and legitimacy of the Christian Nationalist movement in Lebanon. He then goes into an insightful analysis of the movement's successes and failures (rise and fall) through the ages.

A must read for anyone interested in Lebanon and Lebanese politics.

Lebanese Christian Nationalism is an excellent resource for those seeking to learn more about Christian myths. Not only does the author present a very biased view of the Lebanese civil war, but he also presents the unfounded argument that Lebanon has always been Christian and is only for Christians.

This book is in-line with the author's political views, which are to regenerate an exclusively-Christian movement in Lebanon including the revival of the Syriac language. The value of this book is only seen in its demonstration and promotion of typical Christian nationalist thought.