Word: sunni
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Amal Leader Nabih Berri, who is known as one of Lebanon's more pragmatic opposition figures. For the first time, he joined Druze Chieftain Walid Jumblatt in calling for Gemayel's resignation. More important, he urged three Muslim members of the Cabinet to quit, prompting Wazzan, a Sunni Muslim, to quit as well. Gemayel tried frantically but failed to find a respected Muslim politician to replace Wazzan (according to Lebanese political tradition, the Prime Minister is always a Sunni while the President is a Maronite Christian). Gemayel then appeared on TV, offering an eight-point plan to appease...
...time Lebanon became independent in 1943, after 23 years of French rule under a League of Nations mandate, political power was largely divided between Maronite Christians and Sunni Muslims. This demographic equilibrium was jeopardized by the influx of Palestinian refugees following the Arab-Israeli wars of 1948 and 1967 and Jordan's 1971 crackdown on the P.L.O. The resulting destabilization led to Lebanon's 1975-76 civil war, to the presence of Syrian forces, and to the P.L.O.'s "state within a state...
...dissimulate in the face of persecution. That means that he can renounce his faith in an emergency, and then renounce his renunciation later, with no permanent ill effects on his piety. This doctrine was developed out of historical necessity--the Shi'ites have often been a minority in Sunni states, and have met repeated persecutions over the centuries...
...rarely experienced that phenomenon before he came to power 13 years ago. His durability is especially noteworthy considering that Assad belongs to the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam that accounts for only 13% of his country's 9.6 million people (most of the rest are Sunni Muslims). Assad's long tenure has, however, been purchased at great cost. The regime cruelly silences opponents both at home and abroad, maintains a standing army of 275,000, and has five intelligence agencies to keep watch on the citizenry...
...proposals: a parliament with upper and lower houses would replace the single-chamber legislature and be equally divided between Muslims and Christians, instead of the current ratio in favor of the Christians. The posts of President and Prime Minister would continue to go to a Maronite Christian and a Sunni Muslim, respectively, but a vice presidency would be created and be reserved for a Muslim. Although heartened by the results, committee members stressed that these were suggestions that must be approved by Lebanese leaders when they reconvene, probably in early December...