BEPPU, Oita Pref. — The march for secularism held on April 26 in Lebanon focused attention on the country and the region's conflicts and battle of values. Thousands of Lebanese from various social backgrounds — Shiite, Sunni, Maronite and more — took to the streets and marched to the national parliament in Beirut to demand a secular state.
Lebanese have a deep-rooted distrust of state-endorsed consociationalism. In this system, religious authority comes first before the state. As a consequence, being a Lebanese in Lebanon is not just a matter of citizenship. The first question that comes to mind when Lebanese meet is "what is your sect?" without considering the fact that all citizens are equal before the law and have equal rights guaranteed by the constitution.
However, collusion between short-sighted religious leaders and corrupt politicians makes implementing the mandate of the constitution difficult. The sectarian system has turned Lebanon, once dubbed the Paris of the Middle East, into a battlefield of civil wars driven by geopolitical interests between conflicting parties in the region.