Phoenicianism
Phoenicianism is a form of Lebanese nationalism that promotes the controversial belief that Lebanese people are not ethnically Arabs. Supporters maintain that Maronite Christian Lebanese descended from Phoenician origins, and are not Arab.
Controversy
During the Lebanese Civil War, political violence led to increasing sectarianism. Members of Christian right-wing groups sought additional ways to distinguish themselves from Muslim and Palestinian factions; hence, they renewed the belief that a historic ethnic difference exists.
It is claimed that Christian communities were ethnically distinct during four centuries of Ottoman rule; they draw a parallel to more recent Syrian influence and intervention during the Lebanese Civil War.
Phoenicianism is seen by some as a radical reactionary movement to Pan-Arabism.
Phoenicianism and the Lebanese Christian Militias
There have been suggestions that the Lebanese militias that were labelled as Christian Militias should have been reclassified as Lebanese Phoenicianist Militias because of their Phoenicianist identity ,idiology and politics. These Phoenicianists were composed mostly of Christians but Christianity had little to do with their ideology as militias because they viewed themselves as Phoenicians and the Muslims as the Arab invadors who brought Islam to Lebanon.The Phoenecianist beliefs were the major driving force behind their conflict with the Palestianians and the Muslim Lebanese.The political beliefs of the Phalange have been labeled as being both Phoenicianist and facist because the organization was formed in the 1930's modeling the facist movements of Germany ,Spain and Italy.The South Lebanon Army and the Phalange were closely allied with Israel and shared a common hatred of the Palestianians.The Phalange was responsible for destroying their fellow Phoenicianists like the Marada Brigades and the Brigade of the Lebanese Tigers. This consolodated the power of the Phoenicianist movement into the hands of the Phalangists.The Phalangists were also responsible for attacking other non-Lebanese Christians such as the Armenians who refused to take part in supporting the Phoenecianist (Christian) militias [1] .
There have been claims that these Phoencianist groups were also responsible for killing Christian Palestians suggesting that nationality and ethnicity rather than religion were the main motivators behind the Lebanese civil war.
Eventhough that the concept of Phoenician Origins of culture and ethnicity has been politically driven at a certain time, it does not mean that such a claim is totally biased, and does not hold ground. Recent studies have shown that the effects of the Phoenician culture and language are still present in modern Lebanese culture at large, both in Christian and Muslim societies alike. On the other hand, DNA tests and studies by a team of experts from the National Geographic team suggests that most Lebanese share a common DNA on a molecular level.
External links
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