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LEBANESE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY The Political Identity of South Lebanon from 1943 to 1978 By Abir Bassam A thesis Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in International Affairs School of Arts & Sciences June 2017 © 2017 Abir Bassam All Rights Reserved ii iii iv Dedication Page To Amera, the greatest woman on earth: my mother, You are all the love in the world! To Hassan, my beloved father, who made me the way I am! To my sisters, I will always carry you in my heart v ACKNOWLEDGMENT This project would not have been possible without the support of many people. I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Paul Tabar who has been very patient with me. I would also like to thank two wonderful persons who came to my help and supported me, Dr. Nashat Mansour is the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Marwan G. Rowayheb is the chair of the Department of Social Sciences, and Dr. Sami Baroudi. Also thanks to my committee members, Dr. Marwan Rowayheb and Dr. Sami Baroudi who offered guidance and support! vi Special Recognitions To those who made the library, my best studying refuge, from all my heart I thank you and I salute you: Said Kreidieh Dr. Kamal Jaroudi Nabil Badran Greg Leblebjan To Ali, Zeinab, Muhammad, Faisal, and all the wonderful people on the circulation desk, names I will never forget!! I would also like to dedicate special recognitions to the ‘Unknown Soldiers’, who are devoted in their work with everyone in the Writing Centre. vii THE POLITICAL IDENTITY SOUTH LEBANON FROM 1943 TO 1978 Abir Bassam ABSTRACT To understand the present political situation of the identity of South Lebanon, it is important to understand how this identity has developed since the formation of the Lebanese State. This thesis’s aim is to highlight a period of the history, from 1943 to 1978, during which the South of Lebanon was ignored by researchers. This small yet strategic place in area has played and is still playing an important role in conducting and contradicting the policy of the state of Lebanon, and sometimes the Middle East. This thesis has two major aims: one is to reveal the Southerner’s political identity before 1982 as well as to explain the different historical and social factors that led to this formation of identity. Secondly, to emphasize on the role of the different political parties in the South which have been marginalized in the studies in general, yet have played a role in forming the afore mentioned identity. Keywords: South Lebanon, Identity, Political Identity, Arab, Secularism, Sectarianism, Party, State, History. viii TABLE OF CONTENT Chapter page I. Introduction And Research Methodology…………………………………..…1 II. Literature Review………………………………………………………….......14 III. Historical Background……………………………………………………...…34 IV. The political parties in the South…………………………………………......64 V. Political Orientation…………………………...…………………………...…..89 VI. Political Identity Formation in Theory………………………………………118 VII. Conclusion………………………………………………………………..…....144 VIII. Bibliography…………………………………………………………........147-166 ix Chapter One Introduction and Research Methodology Jabal ‘Amel [Mount ‘Amel], or the South of Lebanon, is an area currently known by the two names. Though, Mount ‘Amel does not only include the Lebanese territories, but it also includes villages in the north of Palestine. The Name ‘Amel is given after the first Arab tribe ‘Amelah, which immigrated to the Mountain after the collapse of Marib Dam in Yemen. The area of Jabal ‘Amel is around 3200 square kilometres and constitutes in space about the third of the Lebanese State. Unfortunately, there were not any political studies on the ground concerning the inhabitants of the area whether it was among Muslims or Christians. Nonetheless, the ‘Amili people consider themselves to be Arabs and of an Arab origin. On the other hand, South Lebanon’s boarders nowadays stretch from Sidon to Naqoura in the West to Al-Sheikh Mountain in the East. The Eastern boarders form a triangular area. Its border lines meet with Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine. Therefore, the South has occupied a critical position in the Arab- Israeli struggle. The South includes two Casas which are Al-Janoub and Al-Nabatieh. On the other hand, in 1948 the Israeli occupied seven villages which are Hawnin, Qadas, Yosha’, Ebl Al-Qamkh, Salhah, Al-Malkiah and Tarbikha. The inhabitants of those villages, which are considered to be part of South Lebanon escaped from their villages to live in the South and later on moved to Beirut. To understand the present political situation of the political identity of South Lebanon, it is important to understand the facts related to its history and the history of founding the Lebanese State. Within this context, the relation of the South’s people to the area and to its surrounding can be understood. Accordingly, the development of the area’s identity can be clarified. It is essential to recognize whether these facts have changed after the formation of the Lebanese State, and if they did to what degree. This thesis aims to highlight a period of the history, which extends from 1943 to 1978. However, it is difficult to separate this period from the previous periods of history which shaped the 1 identity of the Southerners. Furthermore, the factors that determined the formation of the South’s political identity, which are history, language, culture, and economic interests. Therefore, it is difficult to ignore the prior historical period to the formation of the Lebanese State, such as World War I, and the awareness that was incited by Napoleon Bonaparte campaign on Egypt and Bilad Al-Sham in 1798. Subsequently, Lebanon’s formation and the division of the Arab area as we know it today was one of the consequences of WWI. Until 1943, South Lebanon has witnessed many confrontations with the French mandate authority, and suffered from its unjust treatment and exploitation. It was the price the South had to pay for its support for the Arab State led by King Faisal, resisting the mandate’s authorities, and supporting the Palestinian cause against the Jewish migration and the creation of the Israeli State. These realities about the South have played a major role in drawing its identity not only as it is known today, but also as it was expressed in the years of the conducted study. Identity is an accumulative process: it can only be acquired through time. Unfortunately, the South of Lebanon was ignored not only by the Lebanese government, but also by researchers. Most of the studies came to focus on South Lebanon within the assumption that the population are of a majority of Shiite sect. Accordingly, the South was politically labeled. This was an excessive exaggeration because the label ignored the fact that the South constitutes of multi-confessional diversity. Christians and Muslims, of all sects in the South, joined the same parties and fought the Israeli with and without the Palestinians. George Habash (1998) the Christian, Palestinian, Arab Nationalist, and later Communist says that it is absolutely unacceptable to deal with the Christians with the consideration that they are strangers to the Arab civil and social context. They are simply original Arabs with their own religious beliefs, which do not contradict with their national or cultural identity. He even goes further by saying that he believes that it is difficult to talk about Islam in the Arab region without relating it to Arabism and Vis versa; when it is easy to talk about Muslims or Islam in Pakistan without refereeing to Arabism (Habash, 1998). Furthermore, it is disappointing that until recently several academics that lectured about the Famine in Lebanon during World War I try to exclude the South’s suffering. Then, they try to deny it or minimize the consequences since there were not any statistics about South Lebanon famine victims. 2 The excessive interest in the South started in the year 2000; it was the year the rest of the South was liberated from the Israeli occupation. It was the Shiites of Lebanon who were the center of those studies. The liberation contributed to part of the Southerners instead of all the freedom fighters who fought Israel since it started its attacks on the South ever since the creation of the State of Israel. Ever since the attacks on the South started, the freedom fighters were mostly members in the secular parties and movements, who were highly active in the South and of the different sects. It was difficult to find resources or researches that deal with the political identity of South Lebanon. As it has been explained before, many of the studies were concerned with the Shiite as a sect framed within certain perspectives, which are: first, it is part of the Lebanese sectarian system. Second, its political orientation has to coincide with the policies directed in Iran, or the Islamic State in Iran. These kinds of studies were mostly derived after the liberation of the South from the Israeli occupation in 2000, and the rise of the Shiite power in Lebanon in particular after the Lebanese Civil War. The change in distribution of power in Lebanon allowed the two biggest Islamic sects to gain more power. In addition, the power of the Christian sect, mainly the Maronite, declined after Taif Agreement in 1989. It is essential in this thesis to look at the people of the South, as a multi confessional group that shared a certain identity before the Lebanese Civil War. There has been great injustice towards the South and its struggle to accomplish the liberation of its land. If we listen today to the Shiite leaders, even religious leaders, the Shiite speech nowadays still refers to the importance of the Arab nation, and then the Islamic nations, in targeting critical issues in the Arab region, such as the Palestinian cause, the economic and Arab regional cooperation, and the solidarity of Arabs towards crucial issues.

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