The Christian Reconquest Of Lebanon
THE CHRISTIAN RECONQUEST OF LEBANON I. THE 1943 FOUNDATION: THE ORIGINAL POWER FORMULA In 1943, when Lebanon gained independence as a 54 percent Christian Safe Haven , they created an unwritten "National Pact." This was the specific religious "formula" for the three top leaders: The President: Must always be a Maronite Christian (The lead role). The Prime Minister: Must always be a Sunni Muslim . The Speaker of Parliament: Must always be a Shia Muslim . The Hidden Christian Layer: While the "Top 3" included Muslims, the secondary power roles were reserved for the other large Christian group: The Deputy Prime Minister and the Deputy Speaker were reserved for the Greek Orthodox Christians . This ensured that even if a Muslim was Prime Minister, a Christian was always standing right behind him to maintain the "Safe Haven" balance. II. THE OUTSIDER CONTAGION: THE PLO TOUR The destruction of this Chr...