http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2012/1221/In-Hezbollah-stronghold-Lebanese-Christians-find-respect-stability
In Hezbollah stronghold, Lebanese Christians find respect, stability
In a Christian home in a Shiite suburb of Beirut, images of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah share mantel and wall space with the Virgin Mary.
Ariel Zirulnick, Staff writer
December 21, 2012
The face of the revered Shiite militant leader appears on posters, a
calendar, and in several photographs nestled amid those of Christian
homeowner Randa Gholam's family members. Mr. Nasrallah is, Ms. Gholam
asserts amid a string of superlatives, “a gift from God.”
Lebanon’s sectarian divides are legendary, and the residents of the historically Christian neighborhood of Harat Hreik, now a Hezbollah stronghold, remember well the civil war that set Beirut
on fire. They were literally caught in the middle of some of the most
vicious fighting, with factions firing shots off at one another from
either side of their apartment buildings.
But in the intervening years, as Hezbollah cemented its control over the suburb of Dahiyeh,
which includes Harat Hreik, the militant group has been an unexpected
source of stability and even protection for the few remaining Christian
families. Just a few blocks away from Nasrallah’s compound is St.
Joseph’s Church, a vibrant church that Maronite Christians from across
Beirut flock to every Sunday.
“I feel honored to be here. They
are honest. They are not extremists. It’s not like everyone describes,”
Gholam says. “I can speak on behalf of all my Christian friends. They
would say the same thing."
The Christians living in Harat Hreik
are a bit of an anomaly, to be sure. Christians represent a sizable
population in Lebanon, though no census has been held in decades. And
while Beirut's neighborhoods are gradually becoming more integrated,
they still divide largely along religious lines. The fragile peace is
under deep strain as regional tensions swirl because of the conflict
next door in Syria.
Not fanning the flames
In
Hezbollah's early days, its creed was "virulent," and in the past, it
may have been responsible for fanning some of those flames. But as
Hezbollah gained power and joined the political system, that changed,
says Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Endowment Middle East Center.
“It
doesn’t carry with it an anti-Christian strain anymore," he says.
"That’s almost entirely gone. It’s not in their rhetoric, it’s not in
their creed.”
Recently,
when the Shiite holiday of Ashura was approaching, the streets were
choked with residents shopping and passing out sweets and blanketed with
black banners commemorating the martyrdom of Hussein Ali. But
Christians live openly here, and they describe Hezbollah as a tolerant
group that has steadfastly supported their presence, even sending Christmas cards to Christian neighbors like Gholam.
Gholam, who throws a party every year in honor of Nasrallah’s birthday
and places a photo of him in her Christmas tree, is certainly an
anomaly. But other Christian families also speak approvingly of their
life under Hezbollah, especially when compared to its predecessor, Amal,
which they say forced many Christian residents to sell their homes. In
contrast, Hezbollah extended financial support to the Christian families
when Dahiyeh needed rebuilding after the civil war and the 2006 war
with Israel.
Rony Khoury, a Maronite Christian who was born in Harat Hreik and
still lives in the same apartment, says he feels comfortable drinking
alcohol on his front porch, in full view of members of Hezbollah, and
his wife feels no pressure to don a head scarf or follow other rules
governing Muslim women's attire. They have property in a predominantly
Christian area of Beirut, but have no desire to move.
“After
Hezbollah came, we didn’t have any worries,” Mr. Khoury says, citing
safe streets. "The security is No. 1 in the world. I leave my car open, I
forget something outside…. It's very safe now, under Hezbollah."
Only
between 10 and 20 of the pre-civil war Christian families remain, out
of the thousands who lived there before the fighting. While the numbers
are low, Khoury insists that many would come back, if only they could
afford it. But property values have climbed, and many of those who left
can’t afford to move back.
Of course, there are calculations
behind Hezbollah's magnanimity. Hezbollah’s political alliance with the
Lebanese Christian political party, the Free Patriotic Movement, is
important to the group, and it “bends over backward to keep those
relations comfortable,” Mr. Salem says.
It might also be a way to
one-up Sunnis in Lebanon, with whom Shiites are constantly vying for
dominance. “They pride themselves on saying they’re more tolerant, more
open than Sunnis. In Lebanon, it’s a point of pride,” Salem says.
Both Khoury and Gholam, as well as neighborhood Shiites who dropped by their homes, said there are far more issues with Sunnis.
"Shiite
extremists like Hezbollah, they come to our church" as a show of
support, says Khoury. "But Sunni extremists, like Salafis, they kill me,
they kill you."
Things could change
Ultimately,
it is Hezbollah’s foreign backers dictating the mood in Harat Hreik. If
it became politically expedient for Hezbollah to abandon its acceptance
of Christian neighbors, Hezbollah would be compelled to make life
difficult for them.
“For Iran
and Syria, their main backers, Hezbollah is mainly a strategic force
against Israel. That’s the point – not creating an Islamic state or
fighting a sectarian war," Salem says. “Hezbollah is a very top-down
organization. If Iran decrees something else, something else will
happen.”
But that’s not something Gholam can fathom.
"I will never even think about Hezbollah giving anyone a hard time. I can't even think about answering that question," she says.
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