Turkey-Lebanon Relation: Perceptions of Turkey Among The Religious and Sectarian Factions in Lebanon

Summary

Throughout history, Lebanon has been a land where civil wars and fight of regional and global powers were witnessed. It is known that a number of the great civilizations which have marked the history of the world tended to be dominant in Lebanese territories. Sometimes the powers of the time didn’t hesitate to endanger the continuation of the Empire for the competition over Lebanon. To date, Assyrians, Babylonians, Macedonians under the leadership of Alexander the Great, Catholic crusaders, Mamelukes from the Caucasus and Central Asia, Ottomans, the French, Syrians, Iranians and Israelis have fought for hegemony over Lebanon. From the time of the Phoenicians until the establishment of the modern state of Lebanon, Lebanon has hosted several civilizations and played a vital role in transmitting their cultural, political and religious heritage to our time. While some of the Lebanese Maronites claim that their early ancestors were the Phoenicians, the Eastern Orthodox and the Catholics consider themselves the Middle Eastern heirs of the Hellenic world founded by Alexander the Great. The Turks in Lebanon are a continuation of the Ottoman Empire, and the Druzes believe that they are the last representatives of a universal belief and culture in our time. In addition, the Lebanese Sunnis, Shiites, Alawis and Ismailians have a different understanding of history. That is why it is hard to define Lebanon simply as a country where various sects of Christianity and Islam live together. In other words, it is quite difficult to understand what the Lebanese problem is without living with the Druzes in Shuf, without witnessing how the Shiites and the Christians think and live in Tyre, without talking with the Armenians in Bourj Hammoud, and without communicating with the Maronite, Eastern Orthodox and Catholic sects in Kisrivan.