Qifa Nabki
Sectarianism
The Great Sorting Out: Ethnicity & the Future of the Levant
In the discussion section of the last post (“Syria and the Lessons of Iraq”), my friend Joshua Landis made an interesting comment that I felt should be promoted to the main page. I publish it below with a few minor edits, and with Joshua’s permission. It is followed by some brief comments by me. I’ll ask … Continue reading
Pathos and Promises: Nasrallah on the Dahiyah Blast
Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyid Hasan Nasrallah addressed a large crowd of supporters in Aita al-Shaab this evening via videolink from Beirut. The topic was yesterday night’s car bomb in al-Dahiyah, which killed two dozen people, wounded hundreds, displaced hundreds more, and caused enormous damage to a residential neighborhood. Nasrallah called on the Lebanese to work together … Continue reading
Highly Unorthodox: The Week Lebanon Went Secular (And Ended Up More Sectarian Than Ever…)
When some future historian writes a chronicle of 21st-century Lebanon, she will likely devote a bemused footnote to the odd events of February 2013, when the country’s leaders saw fit to tear down a pillar of the confessional regime one week, only to erect another one a week later. On February 11, the Justice Ministry … Continue reading
What to Read on Lebanon’s Proposed 2013 Electoral Law
More in-depth remarks and commentary to follow, but for now I thought I’d put up a post containing links to some of the most relevant analysis of Lebanon’s Orthodox Gathering law, which has been passed by legislative committees and is headed to Parliament for a vote. See below: The OMG Proposal: Proportional Representation Meets Sectarian … Continue reading
Will Civil Marriage End Confessionalism in Lebanon?
I’ve written an essay for Jadaliyya that explores the long-term political implications of implementing civil marriage in Lebanon. As it currently stands, the wedding between Nidal Darwish and Khulud Sukkariyyeh has been rejected by the Lebanese government, even though the civil society organization that orchestrated the marriage had allegedly received assurances in the past from … Continue reading
Qifa Nabki 
And the people say…