via Reuters
Ahmad El Asir embodies everything I am against: radicalism, oppression of women and intolerance among other things religious bigotry begets. He comes in line with the increasing pace of radical Islamism in Lebanon, that I am finding more and more alarming with every liquor store bombing and forced closure.
Perhaps that is why many were surprised when I posted a status condemning the overzealous Keserwan residents that blocked Asir and his 200 supporters headed to Farya’s slopes. It should tickle my fancy after all, that someone I utterly despise be not granted passage to a Christian area. It didn’t, and it shouldn’t tickle yours.
1- Assirism in Kfardebian
Assir and his violent rhetoric that appeals to some disgruntled radical Sunni groups cuts roads. He blocked Saida’s main avenue for weeks, and we all criticized it for him. It was such an extremist position that not even the Lebanese army or Hezbollah dared remove him and reopen the roads. (We’ll get back to this ineptitude of our army in a little bit)
So, the protestors that blocked the streets in front of Assir, are guilty of the exact same crime he is: blocking roads in front of other Lebanese people. And even though some, rather naive comments, were “he doesn’t let us go to Saida and drink alcohol, why should we let him and 500 partisans come to Faraya?” or variations of that. My answer is, because you are better than that, or think you are at least.
Today, I shook my head in extreme disappointment that a bunch of overzealous citizens and MPs, namely Farid Haykal El Khazen, made fools of themselves and the rest of us who oppose Assir and everything he stands for.
2- Dick Measuring
When residents insisted Assir not pass, Assir insisted he does. In keeping in line with his hotheaded and stubborn and provocative ideals, he refused to take other routes when he knew one particular one was closed. If it really was for fun, why waste your time and the time of your followers by making a scene? Take the other road and go have fun on your day off on the slopes.
So, all in all, it was a game of machoism where no one backs down or finds a compromise, of which both sides are guilty, but the Kfardebian one more so, since they decided to block Assir’s entry in the first place, contrary to customs of hospitality and tolerance Lebanese, and especially Faraya residents, are known for (or used to be at least).
3- Biased and Heavy-handed Response from LAF
While Assir built up a tent city in the middle of the road, rode his bike and did other hilarious things inappropriate for a man that splits his supporters by sex, not one single effort was made to remove him by the Lebanese Armed Forces. But, when it was a few Kfardebian residents, the LAF brawled with and forcibly removed the protestors. Now, I’m not inciting hatred or suspicion, but come on, really? It’s like when Kataeb students in NDU are beaten to a bloody pulp for setting off fireworks, while LAU Future and Amal students hurl concrete blocks at each other, and no one even bothers to check it out. Which begs the question, is the LAF at the mercy of political leaders? And have Christian leaders time and again pulled the rug from under the very supporters they incite to action, while Mulsim ones draw “red lines” left and right the LAF doesn’t dare cross?
Conclusion
What happened today was shameful. Kfardebian and Keserwan and other self-proclaimed moderate Christians should be the better example, not mirror Assir’s radical ideologies. All we see is “an eye for an eye” when Christ said “turn the other cheek”. I am extremely certain that Jesus never told anyone to block roads because someone is coming to do a “isti3rad” (elaborate show). I am also extremely certain that pride was the deadliest of the 7 sins, so I can’t really find any religious justification for today, only bigoted ones.
Assir sucks, and he’s scary and I honestly believe he will be the end of Lebanon as we know it in the not-so-distant future. I am wholeheartedly against every single word and idea he utters and stands for. However, I am better than him, and so are you. We believe in democracy and freedom and fairness and equality, one where “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it” as Evelyn Beatrice Hall said in her biography on Voltaire. Don’t get muddled down in the filth of religious bigotry and intolerance. Be the better person, the better side, the side people in the future will look back to and say “wow, these guys were awesome” instead of “I wish they didn’t shoot up that bus in”…
Photos via Reuters
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Gino, i love your blog, your writing, and your personality. Assir intention was not to go ski, as you said he could have taken another road. Assir intention was not to ski, since he went follwed by 8 buses full of extremist. Assir intention was not to ski, especially when they prayed at the jonction piste in public and outloud.
The reaction of people will be the same wether it is in kfardebian, bikfaya, bcharre or harissa!
The purpose of assir was to insult the christian community by his extremist mass behaviors and make you write about being open minded and tolerate public tourism in order to give more arguments to the danger of the orthodox law if it will be ever implemented.
See, the creation of the assir phenomenon is to replace and give boost to some of the political issues that the future movement want to implement. In a creative, well planned, and coordinated moves, this phenomenon is playing with our emotions, minds, and pushing us unconsciously towards political issues that once we were fighting for to become obviously retarded and closed minded.
The orthodox law proposed is a chance to break the routine, give rights of votes, fairness of representations, and new horizons for the lebanese people. They don’t want it. The druze are 5% of the population, yet they control the destiny of a whole nation. Ashrafieh should get the christian votes and not be under the mercy of the future movement.
Our system is based on religion, we need this electoral law to represent ourselves and vote for a government that will guarantee the right of people and work towards a new ta2ef system that will separate the religion and the government.
Christians are 38%, why should they get 50% of the vote? Anyway, my thoughts on the Orthodox Law have been documented in a post here on the blog.
As for the prayer in public, it’s a free country, and expressing your faith in a peaceful manner is ok. Just like ringing bells, athan, wearing hijabs or a crucifix.
As for the conspiracy theory, I wouldn’t be as keen as you to do go so far into the ulterior motives. You might be right, but I prefer to just handle the facts that are clear and obvious, versus speculation.
As for the refusal to go from another road, it’s the usual Lebanese machoism of “bfarjeek” and “ma bta3ref ma3 min 3am te7ke” etc.
And thank you so much! =D
BRILLIANT
lol typical lebanese raction, cooking up a long senseless consipracy theory out of nothing… I don’t see the link between both incidents…
for starters the orthodox law will never pass… never ever ever ever….it is a stillborn child..dead at birth… it needs Berri’s approval (in addition to those who want it already) and he wont provide it….
as for al assir, so a “re7le” is suddenly illegal now? those people do a lot of activities together much like members of the same church or UCO do…. a bunch of religious friends who pray/play together…. to them this is a “re7le” or “mashrou3″…
imagine assir’s people prevented a maronite bishop along with several hundrer maronites from passing through saida on their way to Qana…. there are many roads one can take, but the one through saida is the easiest/shortest… imagine the outrage in the christian community…
Was waiting for your reply <3
Well as much as I agree with your post in its theoretical basis… you cannot expect theory to reflect actual action…. the whole “being the bigger person” concept only a rhetoric given to pacify situations among kids or small feuds…. but when you are approached in a face off, this strategy is directly interpreted as a weakness…. it depends who is able to exploit the fact…. so while some people may decide to ignore certain provocations… the room for interpretation is left for the party who can make the most convincing rhetoric…
(in this case the Assir shitlin…since he has greater control over his followers)…
the strategy of ignoring him may have worked assuming that no individual action is taken… and when u have no time to prepare for it, it is hard to reach consensus on such behaviorial organization… on the other hand, ignoring him could have limited the publicity that this has created about a bunch of bearded retards…
also… the slope managers could have used their authority to forbid him from conducting prayer on the jonction slope… and send him out to do it among the cars in the parking lot… (that would have been demeaning while maintaining the etiquette and reputation of the sect as a whole)… please note that I do not intend demeaning behavior to muslim prayer, but rather as a response to provocation…
as for the LAF response… I think we know very well that no action can be taken in this country without a political umbrella…. now the blame does not fall on the army… because they are not the ones who are castrated… its rather the so called “christian leadership” that has yet to find its testicles between the Hezbollah weapon stockpile and in the piling corruption petrodollars of the future movement….
It is undeniable that christian rights are taken for granted…. in an optimal situation they wouldnt exist and we would all have the same rights regardless of which mythical creature we worship… however in a society where shiites are protected by their leadership and sunnis are protected by their own…. the christians are the only window left for the security apparatus to seem like it is imposing the rule of law (which Im pretty sure states u cant close a fucking road to anywhere no matter who the fuck you are)…
While i totally agree with what you wrote, i also disagree with what u wrote… the issue is that if u act bigger/older/higher whatever u describe… they will only take it as more space to do more and worse…
Sorry, i hate democracy, it’s the worst form of lying to people. Freedom is not allowing others to overstep you while waiting for a “democratic” side to come and give you justice.
Hizbollah didn’t react to Assir’s embargo out of fear at all, but out of keen maturity adn realization of what he was trying to drag them into or create and getting them invovled…
As many liberals and democratic-minded peoplpe exist in a country, as much as ppl like Assir can and will take over. Democracy is just a gateway for whatever party to come and take over, just bc it uses the very goal of democracy to serve it.
When it comes to issues of fundamentalism and sectarian division, the bloodiest of dictatorships should be applied. No one allowed to lift his head and no one is allowed to srew with any of the country’s sectors, be it security, economy, public locations, institutions…
I know u don’t agree and u’ll slap me back with a whole manifesto about freedom and the crap it brings with it.
Sorry, democracy is just a way of making u sit and force u to tolerate and listen to other stupid people while u can be doing something more productive.
And no, i don’t believe in freedom or human rights when it’s the only concept shopped around by one hypocritical country to the other… ALWAYS sold around for the highest bidder in the name of higher interests…
Did I miss something? How did the ‘protestors’ know Assir was coming?
Reblogged this on Salam wrote and commented:
Couldn’t have said it better
I think Johnathan puts the whole incident in perspective. Thank you for making it clear that in a free country, people simply cannot continue to be as feudal and territorial as they are in ours. Besides… whoever said fight fire with fire is a complete moron… you fight fire with water!!
Well guys, I guess Christians in Lebanon are getting it all wrong. I am one and lived most of my life abroad. Dubai, Riyadh and California. My experience tells me that if Christians are going to get confrontational with the likes of Sheikh Assir, it is obviously a lost battle. Look around you guys. We might have right in Lebanon but if we keep on going this way, we will be history ourselves. we are a minority facing a crashing majority of zealots. Rich zealots that is. These guys being backed by their religious views will justify their hard-lining attitude as easily as those who are slaughtering innocents al around us. And the self claimed tough guys in Kferdebian, where are they when busses upon busses of Iranians in Chador and Lebanese Shiaa pass through to the snow slopes daily? I didn’t hear Mr Assir claiming that Keserwan is his for the taking while several Shiaa scholars claim that the Christian region is legally theirs and they are bound to take it back. (Check youtube for it) Which one is scarier?
With a world of hostility around us, i believe that only way to gain leverage is by adoption. If it were for me, I would have celebrated his coming as well as every other Lebanese whomever they are. Hostility leads to hostility. And what happened was not a Lebanese custom, but a political action triggered by the upcoming elections, scaring people.
As for the Orthodox law, I personally am all for it but from a different perspective than everyone is projecting.
If you review the creation the European Community, you will notice it started right after the second world war. Every European country had its own independence, were full of nationalism and after that, and only after that, they went willingly towards creating a singular community that comprises all. If we want this country to go forward, every group needs to feel that they are willingly going towards a union and not being forced into it. Or else we will keep on seing Mr Assir action and the tough skulls of Kferdebian creating havoc.
P.S. Damn that was a long reply. Sorry guys
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