Thousands march against sectarianism in Lebanon

Beirut: Thousands of Lebanese yesterday took to the streets in a demonstration that called for secularism and a new personal status law.

People from all walks of life gathered at the Ain Al Mreisseh area and marched towards the parliament while chanting against sectarianism, which controls both the political scene and daily life in Lebanon.

It was Lebanon's first such demonstration in favour of secularism.

"No to sectarianism, yes to secularism," and "There is no solution except secularism, we are all Lebanese," they chanted.

People from all ages and walks of life held banners explaining their message, such as ‘Civil Marriage, Not Civil War,' and ‘Freedom of belief is a right,' as well as various other causes, like the right of Lebanese women to pass on their citizenship to their children.

The rally was organised by four activists who accompanied the demonstrators and were shouting the slogans through microphones.

The march stopped briefly at the downtown area, which was the fire-line between East and West Beirut during the civil war.

"We pause here, at the fire-line that witnessed the worst times of the civil war to convey our message loud and clear to our parliament," one of the activists said.

"We don't want this to happen again. We don't want another hundred thousand people killed, and we don't want another civil war," the activist added.

Many of the young people said they were doing it to give themselves and their children a better future.

"As a young Lebanese woman, it was a spark of hope because we face frustration everyday when we hear about sectarian incidents," said Sarah Obaid, 21, a student at the American University of Beirut.

"We didn't expect that many people to join us and show support... because we hardly had any support or patronage," Sarah said.

"We are demanding our basic rights and perhaps that is what secularism in Lebanese politics stands for."

Sa'ad Al Qaderi a young man from the Syrian Nationalist Socialist Party, said his group were not out to offend sectarian symbols, but he wouldn't care much if they were offended.

Politics: Religion at the core

Religion still plays a key role in Lebanon which is home to no less than 18 different religious communities.

Under a complex power-sharing system, the president is a Maronite Christian, the speaker of parliament a Shiite and the prime minister a Sunni.

Seats in government and parliament are also equally divided among Christians and Muslims. In an unprecedented move last year, Interior Minister Ziadi Baroud allowed citizens to remove their religion from official records and replace it with a slash sign.

However, civil marriage is still not an option in Lebanon, leaving the Lebanese with no choice but to resort to church or mosque. Lebanese who marry someone from another religion must now either convert or get married abroad, with Cyprus the closest option.

— AFP

Do you think Lebanon's political system should be secularised? Why or why not? How will it affect the country?