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National, Linguistic, and Religious Identity of Lebanese Maronite Christians Through Their Arabic Fictional Texts During the Period of the French Mandate in Lebanon

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National, Linguistic, and Religious Identity of Lebanese Maronite Christians Through Their Arabic Fictional Texts During the Period of the French Mandate in Lebanon NATIONAL, LINGUISTIC, AND RELIGIOUS IDENTITY OF LEBANESE MARONITE CHRISTIANS THROUGH THEIR ARABIC FICTIONAL TEXTS DURING THE PERIOD OF THE FRENCH MANDATE IN LEBANON A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Georgetown University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Arabic By Amaya Martin Fernandez Washington, DC April 1, 2009 ATIOAL, LIGUISTIC, AD RELIGIOUS IDETITY OF LEBAESE MAROITE CHRISTIAS THROUGH THEIR ARABIC FICTIOAL TEXTS DURIG THE PERIOD OF THE FRECH MADATE I LEBAO Amaya Martin Fernandez Thesis Advisor: Reem Bassiouney, Ph.D. ABSTRACT This research questions and challenges the assumptions made about Lebanese Maronite Christians and their relation with the establishment of the State of Greater Lebanon. It focuses on three overlapping aspects of their identity - national, linguistic and religious - in order to clarify their thoughts about the new state and its foundations, their feelings of Arabness, the role of religion, and their relation with other religious communities. The primary source materials used for the research are prose fictional texts written during the period of the French Mandate by Maronite Christians who did not emigrate. The research shows that the Lebanon described in the texts rarely reaches the borders of the new state, and that there is no exclusive correspondence between Lebanon and the concepts of homeland, country, and state. Despite their association with French language and the emphasis over the Arabic- French bilingualism of many members of this community, the research proves that the linguistic identity of the non-emigrated community is purely Arabic, being Classical Arabic or an Arabic dialect their mother tongue. The research also shows that the sectarian character of the society is not strongly manifested in ii the texts, despite the common insistence upon this characteristic in any study related to Lebanon. The prose works analysed in this research belong to the famous prose writers Marun Abbud, Tawfiq Yussuf Awwad, and Karam Melhem Karam, the famous poet Salah Labaki, the writer and historian Lahad Khater, the priest Marun Ghosen, and the lawyer and historian Michel Shibli. iii The research and writing of this dissertation is dedicated to my family and to those friends who, along the way, have become like my family. Special thanks to Dr. Reem Bassiouney, who has been extremely helpful since she became my advisor; and to Dr. Amin Bonnah, who has always been a unique and treasured source of support. I would also like to thank my friends Erin Harris, Franjieh el-Khoury, and Carlos del Valle. I am grateful to the staff of Georgetown University Libraries, the Oriental Library in Beirut, and the Library of Congress for their help and kindness. Many thanks also to the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences of Georgetown University, for its constant good work and organization. I wish to extend my appreciation as well to the always helpful staff and administration in the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies. And finally, special thanks to all those who, even if not mentioned here by name, have made my life better all these years. Many Thanks, Amaya iv TABLE OF COTETS List of Figures xiii Spelling Criteria for Names of People and Places xiv Transliteration of Arabic Alphabet xiv Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: Review of the literature 8 2.1. Political and Social History 8 2.2. Literary History 13 2.3. Identity in Literature 16 2.4. Lebanese Identity in Literature 20 2.5. National Identity in Literature 23 Chapter 3: Methodology 25 Chapter 4: Background 42 4.1. Texts’ historical background 42 4.1.1. Political events of the Mandate Period 50 4.1.2. Ideological divisions 53 4.2. Cultural life during the Mandate Period 56 4.2.1. Arabic Renaissance and Institutions of Higher Learning 56 4.2.2. Press 60 4.2.3. Significant Publications 61 v 4.2.4. Phoenician Revival 65 4.2.5. Looking Back 69 4.3. A Closer Look at the Texts: authors and introduction to the texts 72 4.3.1. Lahad Khater (1881-1975) 74 4.3.2. Marun Ghosen (1880-1940) 76 4.3.3. Marun Abbud (1886-1062) 78 4.3.4. Michel Selim Shibli (1897-1962) 82 4.3.5. Karam Melhem Karam (1903-2003) 83 4.3.6. Salah Labaki (1906-1955) 84 4.3.7. Tawfiq Yusuf Awwad (1911-1988) 86 4.3.8. Literary Movements related to the Analyzed Texts 91 Chapter 5: National Identity 95 5.1 Lebanon 98 5.1.1. Lebanon before 1920 99 5.1.2. Three Different Lebanons 100 5.1.3. Lebanon Smaller than Greater Lebanon: Abbud 101 5.1.4. Lebanon Associated with Nature: Labaki, Karam, Shibli 102 5.1.5. Lebanon as Exclusive Territory: Ghosen, Shibli, Khater 103 5.1.6. Smaller Lebanon because of its Association with the Past: Abbud, Awwad. 106 5.1.7. Lebanon as State: Karam, Ghosen. 108 vi 5.1.8. Lebanon Linked to Christianity: Khater, Labaki 111 5.1.9. Conclusion 114 5.2. Phoenician revival 115 5.2.1. First Stage- Introduction: Awwad 116 5.2.2. Second Stage- Integration: Abbud, Shibli 119 5.2.3. Third Stage- Assimilation: Labaki. 121 5.2.4. Conclusion 122 5.3. Concepts of Homeland, Country, and State 123 5.3.1. Homeland (Watan) 124 a. Watan with possessive: outside perspective and temporal distance 125 b. Adjective Watani: local 126 c. Watan with Definite Article: the country or the state with emotional sense 127 d. Sequence: Possessive – Adjective – Definite Article 128 e. Watan Referring to a City: Ghosen 128 f. al-Watan Referring to the Afterlife: Khater 129 g. al-Awtan: Abbud 130 5.3.2. Country (balad / bilad) 131 a. Balad Referring to Lebanon: Shibli, Awwad 131 b. Balad as Region or Area: Ghosen, Khater, Awwad, Karam 133 c. Bilad Referring to Foreign Countries: Abbud 136 vii 5.3.3. State (Dawla) 136 5.3.4. Conclusion 137 5.4. Lebanon: Mountain and City 138 5.4.1. Marun Abbud as example of the Clash Between Mountain and City 139 5.4.2. Mountain Associated with the Divine. 140 5.4.3. Mountain Associated with Nature, Health, and Good Qualities 141 5.4.4. The City as Loss of Freedom and Lack of Solidarity 145 5.4.5. The City as Escape and Hope 146 5.4.6. Duality of the City: Positive-Negative Timeline 147 5.4.7. Mountain as a Place to Escape from Corruption 148 5.4.8. The City as Escape for the Corrupted 149 5.4.9. The City as Place of Corruption 151 5.4.10. The City as Choices and Freedom 155 5.4.11. Ghosen: a Point of View from the City 156 5.4.12. Karam: the City Ideology and its Influence on Terminology 158 5.4.13. Conclusion 158 5.5. Comparative Perspectives and Conclusions 159 5.5.1. Lebanon 159 a. Lebanon Outside the Target Group: Khalil Taqi al-Din 160 b. Lebanon Outside the Target Group: the Mahjar 162 viii c. Lebanon Outside the Target Group: Taha Husayn 163 5.5.2. Balad/bilad, Watan, and Dawla 165 5.5.3. Urban and Rural Areas 167 a. Urban and Rural Areas: Khalil Taqi al-Din 167 b. Urban and Rural Areas: Egypt 168 Chapter 6: Ethnic and Linguistic Identities 172 6.1. ‘Arabi: Arabic-Arab 176 6.1.1. Arab by Opposition: Awwad and Abbud 177 6.1.2. Arab as “the Other” 182 6.1.3. Arabic Literary Tradition 183 6.1.4. Lahad Khater: Arab as the outsider and Arabic as Imposed Language 189 6.1.5. Marun Ghosen: Arabic Dialect over Classical Arabic 192 6.1.6. Conclusion 194 6.2. Foreign Languages 195 6.2.1. Syriac 196 6.2.2. Turkish 197 6.2.3. Spanish and French: Criticism and Mockery 198 6.2.4. Knowledge of Foreign Languages 201 6.2.5. Conclusion 205 6.3. Comparisons and Conclusions 205 ix Chapter 7: Religious Identity 213 7.1. Religious References in the Texts 215 7.2. Clergy 216 7.2.1. Power of the Clergy 217 7.2.2. Weaknesses of the Clergy: Dependency on Worldly Powers 218 7.2.3. Weaknesses of the Clergy: Abuse of Authority 218 7.2.4. Weaknesses of the Clergy: Hypocrisy 220 7.2.5. Weaknesses of the Clergy: “Extra Functions” 223 7.2.6. Weaknesses of the Clergy: Internal Trade 224 7.2.7. First Abbud: Clerics as victims of their own blind faith 225 7.2.8. Second Abbud: Clerics as reflection of the disenchantment of adulthood 228 7.2.9. Karam: The corrupted priest used as basis for criticism 230 7.2.10. The Maronite Patriarch 233 7.2.11. Conclusion 236 7.3. Lay people 236 7.3.1. Strong Faith despite Criticism 237 7.3.2. Popular Religiosity: Religion as Trade 239 7.3.3. Popular Religiosity: Superstition and Ignorance 240 7.3.4. Education as Parameter for Religious Attitude 242 7.3.5.Religion as Law 244 x 7.3.6. Conclusion 246 7.4. Maronite 246 7.4.1. Maronite applied to Liturgical Concepts 247 7.4.2. Maronite Used by an Outsider 248 7.4.3. Maronite Used by a Member of the Community 249 7.4.4. Maronite as Emphatic 250 7.4.5. Indirect references to the Maronite community 251 7.4.6. Conclusion 255 7.5. Foreign References 256 7.5.1. Mentions of the Holy Land 256 7.5.2. Mention of the Holy See 256 7.5.3. Cyclical Travel of Religious images 257 7.5.4.
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