Word: sunni
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...Turks. In 1932, when Lebanon was a French mandate, France conducted a national census that showed the Christians with a slight majority. When Lebanon became independent in 1943, followed by the evacuation of French troops three years later, the preponderance of political power was apportioned between Maronite Christians and Sunni Muslims on the basis of the 1932 head count, with a minimal share of representation for such minority groups as the Druze and the Shi'ite Muslims. In the late 1950s and 1960s, with Lebanon prospering as a Maronite-dominated haven of stability and mercantilism and as the only real...
...Lebanon's endless litany of sectarian violence, no feud has proved more bitter than that between Christians and Druze. The primary battlefield in their long-running confrontation is the Chouf, where both groups sought refuge from Sunni Muslim persecutors 1,000 years ago. Before Lebanon deteriorated into outright civil war in 1975, Aytat and Suq al Gharb lived in peace as summer resorts. Wealthy Arabs were drawn to the towns' cool mountain air scented by thick stands of parasol pines. Since the fighting resumed in earnest last October, the villages have become ghost towns. Gardens are overgrown, grape...
Assad's longevity is all the more remarkable considering that he is a member of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam that accounts for only 11% of his nation's population, which is predominantly Sunni Muslim. In a sense, it was Assad's religion that put him on the path to power. With few career opportunities available to a non-Sunni, Assad entered the military academy at 22; by 25, he was an air force officer. Around that time, the ambitious Assad became active in the country's Baath Party, which advocates...
...Druze, an esoteric, secretive religious sect that emerged in the 11th century as an offshoot of Islam, Walid Jumblatt, 34, speaks for about 250,000 Lebanese. Rashid Karami, 62, who served as Prime Minister during the 1960s and still retains a power base in Tripoli, is a Sunni Muslim, as are a million Lebanese. Though Suleiman Franjieh, 73, who served as President from 1970 to 1976, is a Maronite Christian like Gemayel, he has waged a long and bitter feud with Gemayel's family; Franjieh still holds the Phalangists responsible for the 1978 assassination of his eldest son Tony...
Sheik Isa's main worry centers on a religious schism within his people. The royal family, along with most of the nation's decision makers, are Sunni Muslims, but some 60% of the country, including most of the poor, belong to the Shi'ite branch of Islam. Bahrain thus is an inviting target for an Islamic revolution imported from Iran, where the Shi'ites are dominant. The island in fact was part of Persia until Sheik Isa's ancestors, who came from Qatar, drove out the Persians in 1783. Since the revolution that brought Ayatullah...