The establishment of the new state of Israel and its effects on Christians and Muslims in Lebanon

Chapter 2: Christians maintained hold on power from 1943-1975

The 1943 pact

It is very important to look carefully at the structure of the Lebanese political sectarian regime. That structure has ensured Christian political dominance until 1990. The sectarian system was reinforced with the declaration of independence in 1943 following the collapse of the French mandate. President Bishara Al-Khouri (a Christian) and Prime minister Riad Soleh (a Muslim) joined in an unwritten agreement, which was called the National Pact.

The National Pact set a new political system for Lebanon. It resolved to preserve the position of the presidency for the Maronites, the premiership for the Sunnis, and the parliament speakership for the Shiites. Moreover, the Pact agreed to distribute parliamentary seats, cabinet posts, and administrative and army positions at all levels on a sectarian basis. Sami Ofeish said that the National Pact favoured Christians and in particular the Maronite elite.

The 1943 Pact cemented the Christian political power, which was given to them in the 1920s by the French Mandate. It enabled Christians to rule Muslims for the next 32 years until it started to crack in 1975. Certainly, Christians enjoyed overwhelming control of the political system, despite the allocation of the next two top political office positions to Muslims.

Similarly Mark Tomass noted that the Christians acquired the lion's share of sectarian jobs:

This pervasive sectarianism was reflected in the constitution of 1943 drawn under the French Mandate (1920-1945). It allocated specific government posts to sect leaders. Because of their greatest and specific ties to France, Maronite-Christians acquired the lion's share of posts.

All the above may give the indication that the Christians were given the edge over the Muslims, and, therefore, they dominated the country until the start of civil war.

This chapter argues that the Christians managed to hold on to power despite the Muslims attempt to demand a far more share of power from the Christians.

According to Brenda Seaver, the Lebanese political situation between 1943-1975 endured periods of severe internal strain. The major causes of this strain were the 1958 civil war, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the influx of Palestinian refugees and the PLO's arrival in Lebanon[1]. These above-mentioned events would serve as a catalyst for the civil war of 1975 and the fall of the 1943 political system in 1990.

The creation of Israel in 1948 greatly affected the cordial harmony between the Lebanese Christians and Muslims. The reason for this is that some Christian leaders publicly met with Israel. However, Muslims saw Israel as the main enemy to the Arab world and that any cooperation with it would be considered treason.

Patriarch Antoine Arida was the first Christian leader to sign a Zionist-Maronite treaty of 1946[2]. The treaty laid down the guidelines for the establishment of close ties and co-operation between the Maronites in Lebanon and the Jewish Yishuv in Palestine, on the basis of mutual recognition of rights and national desires[3]. The Christians made no secret of the fact that they believed that they could benefit from the ties and experience of the Jewish Yishuv[4].

Eyal Zisser explained the reason for the Maronites seeking ties with Israel:

The only thing the Maronites wanted was to recruit discreetly Israel support for their struggles in the Lebanese domestic arena, keeping these connections as tightly under wraps as possible[5].

Despite the fact that the parties involved did not execute the treaty, it shows how Christians were looking for an ally to protect them from the enemy within namely "the Muslims" who started to gradually distance themselves from the National pact of 1943.

According to Eyal Zisser, there were other Christian leaders who voiced their sympathy to the Zionist movement publicly, namely the archbishop of Beirut, Ignatius Mubarak[6]. Since the Muslims saw Israel as an obstacle for a mightier Muslim Arabic world, they sought support from outsiders such as the Palestinians in the early stages of the Lebanese civil war and Syria in the later stages.

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