Lebanese Christian village terrorized by Syrian shelling

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A tiny Christian village in northern Lebanon, perched on a hill overlooking Syria, Minjez is a bucolic and peaceful place by day but terrorised at night by shelling from across the border.

“We can’t sleep a wink,” laments Marcele Shahine, a 37-year-old mother of four. “The other night a rocket hit a house, but happily no one was there.”

“What have we got to do with what’s going on in Syria? Why are they bombing us and we paying the price?” she adds, calling for the government to do something to help the village and its 200 residents.

The answer is not difficult to find: it is very likely that anti-regime gunmen are slipping through the lush fields running down the hill from Minjez and across the Nahr al-Kabir River that serves as the border here.

The regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad announces on an almost daily basis that its forces have foiled attempts by “terrorists,” its term for rebels, to infiltrate the country.

The village priest, Father Esper Antoun, says: “We know that they are not targeting us, but it is said that armed men are entering Syria by way of the fields.”

Standing outside a lovely stone church just days before Pope Benedict XVI is due to visit Lebanon, Father Esper says the villagers’ biggest fear is one of “becoming the victims of someone else’s war.”

Numerous border villages in the north have been targeted by shelling in recent months, notably in the Wadi Khaled region, which has been the destination of many Syrians fleeing the killing and destruction at home.

The neighbouring region of Akkar is another target, and Issam al-Marouni, a seventy-something Christian, walks down a tiny street between the old stone houses in the village of Debbabiyeh.

Marouni said he has never abandoned his village, even during the 1975-1990 civil war, and that he never will.

“But since the uprising began in Syria, I have seen entire families leave. Our villages are becoming the transit point for armed men going to fight the Syrian regime.”

Marouni’s Syrian wife is from the village of Ghazir, just across the border, and they used to visit her family there.

“That has all changed now.”

And change is a word that causes these Christians to tremble, just as it does their fellow believers on the other side of the border.

Back in Minjez, Victor Tannous, aged 45, says: “We are worried, we are afraid of this period of uncertainty, afraid of a sectarian breakdown.”

Tannous lives in Beirut and has returned to his home town to check on his relatives after the latest shelling.

He appealed to Pope Benedict XVI, who has called for dialogue and reconciliation in the Middle East, ahead of a three-day visit to Lebanon that begins on Friday.

“We ask the pope to support us Christians, to encourage us to remain on our land, because there is great fear that chaos will come to Lebanon because of the Syrian conflict.”

“Perhaps I will sell my land in the future if the situation gets worse.”

Voicing a fear of Christians on both sides of the border, Marouni says they “could pay the price of the war in Syria, all the more because there is talk of (Islamist) extremists” emerging among the ranks of the rebels.

And as Shahine puts it, “we are a minority, and with changes in regimes, we have to watch out for our survival.”

France 24

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90 responses to “Lebanese Christian village terrorized by Syrian shelling”

  1. nayyashAl3arab Avatar
    nayyashAl3arab

    Thanks Mr marouni for expressing your fears of salafi extremists taking over power in syria; your words should have been highlighted in this blog unfortunately they just slipped them in small characters in between bigger issues just to undermine them. However we reassure you please do not sell your home, assadism is not leaving for time being and salafism wont be allowed everywhere; a sunna country will be born, and sunnas and geagea3ists will live under the reign of muslum botherhood which they declared to be happy with. Shia druze and christians will also have their enclave: this is the american plan that none can fight. Of course on the way many obstacles arising from the human factor will be encountered but they are all surmountable. Keep steady we are coming soon. May God bless you

    1. nayyashAl3arab Avatar
      nayyashAl3arab

      i had no doubts you belonged to geagea maffia and i do not think you ever shot towards any single syrian soldier: those you shot were christian resistants you called them syrian agents because they were going to put an end to your maffiosi practises; guess how many christian miltias men were slaughtered by geagea maffia in ashrafieh and thrown in front of their houses for their mothers to watch. As i answered your mayroun issue have the courage and the honesty to answer this question

      1. I was never with Geagea… After Bashir’s death I left the country… I agree with you afterwards East Beirut turned into mafias (not just Geagea) many others vied for the crumbs. I was disgusted by the Christian militia’s acts in Sabra and Shatila despite the fact that the whole scenario was orchestrated by the Israelis. I have many moslem and jewish friends who think like me BTW… They are areligious but NOT atheist. I am not a racist like dateam says I am but strongly opposes any organized religion. 

        1. i never said you were racist i dont know you well enough…i said your comment was racist…theres a difference

    2. nayyashAl3arab Avatar
      nayyashAl3arab

      i had no doubts you belonged to geagea maffia and i do not think you ever shot towards any single syrian soldier: those you shot were christian resistants you called them syrian agents because they were going to put an end to your maffiosi practises; guess how many christian miltias men were slaughtered by geagea maffia in ashrafieh and thrown in front of their houses for their mothers to watch. As i answered your mayroun issue have the courage and the honesty to answer this question

      1. I was never with Geagea… After Bashir’s death I left the country… I agree with you afterwards East Beirut turned into mafias (not just Geagea) many others vied for the crumbs. I was disgusted by the Christian militia’s acts in Sabra and Shatila despite the fact that the whole scenario was orchestrated by the Israelis. I have many moslem and jewish friends who think like me BTW… They are areligious but NOT atheist. I am not a racist like dateam says I am but strongly opposes any organized religion. 

        1. i never said you were racist i dont know you well enough…i said your comment was racist…theres a difference

  2. nayyashAl3arab Avatar
    nayyashAl3arab

    Thanks Mr marouni for expressing your fears of salafi extremists taking over power in syria; your words should have been highlighted in this blog unfortunately they just slipped them in small characters in between bigger issues just to undermine them. However we reassure you please do not sell your home, assadism is not leaving for time being and salafism wont be allowed everywhere; a sunna country will be born, and sunnas and geagea3ists will live under the reign of muslum botherhood which they declared to be happy with. Shia druze and christians will also have their enclave: this is the american plan that none can fight. Of course on the way many obstacles arising from the human factor will be encountered but they are all surmountable. Keep steady we are coming soon. May God bless you

    1. nayyashAl3arab Avatar
      nayyashAl3arab

      i had no doubts you belonged to geagea maffia and i do not think you ever shot towards any single syrian soldier: those you shot were christian resistants you called them syrian agents bvecause they were going to put an end to your maffiosi practises; guess how many christian miltias men were slaughtered by geagea maffia in ashrafieh and thrown in front of their houses for their mothers to watch. As i answered your mayroun issue have the courage and the honesty to answer this question

      1. I was never with Geagea… After Bashir’s death I left the country… I agree with you afterwards East Beirut turned into mafias (not just Geagea) many others vied for the crumbs. I was disgusted by the Christian militia’s acts in Sabra and Shatila despite the fact that the whole scenario was orchestrated by the Israelis. I have many moslem and jewish friends who think like me BTW… They are areligious but NOT atheist. I am not a racist like dateam says I am but strongly opposes any organized religion. 

        1. i never said you were racist i dont know you well enough…i said your comment was racist…theres a difference

  3. Marwan Kassem Avatar
    Marwan Kassem

    Absolutely correct. These salifi / wahabi extremists will make life hard for anyone that doesn’t follow their severely distorted view of Islam. Just look at what is happening in Tunisia with Salafi / Wahabi extremists attacking everyone and everything.

    1. Islam is a distorted religion… There is no need to have salafis or wahabis to distort it. The majority of the troubled areas have moslem citizens… Chechnya, Eastern Europe, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Thailand, Yemen, Iran, Sudan, Somalia (pirate land), Palestine etc, etc, Now let us take a look at Christendom how peaceful they are: Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, Spain etc, etc, Only when you inject a moslem element that trouble starts like the moslems asking to add a minaret to their mosques in Switzerland. That big lollipop-like structure is ugly and the Swiss voted to abolish it. Wherever they go they bring with them terror and trouble. They cannot help it… It is the religion itself that has a reality distortion field… Now let us see if this post gets suppressed… I bet it won’t… because people say that this is a Salafi/Wahabi site. If they won’t suppress this post then they are not religulous…

      1. nayyashAl3arab Avatar
        nayyashAl3arab

        YALIBNAN ADMIN: I AM NOT MUSLUM MYSELF BUT IT IS HARD TO SEE ANOTHER BELIEF WHICH IS RECOGNISED BY THE COUNTRY CALLED LIBNAN AND YOU CLAIM TO REPRESENT ITS VALUES AND INTERESTS BE HUMILIATED IN SUCH A WAY BY REPRESENTING THEIR CRESCENT WHICH IS THE EQUIVALENT OF THE CHRISTIAN CROSS AS DICK. I DO NOT CARE BEING PERSONALLY INSULTED BY YOUR VULTURES (admins faking to be users and dissimulated as such) BUT I AM VERY KEEN THAT RESPECTABLE RELIGIONS SHOULD BE RESPECTED AND THIS MIGHT COST THE BLOG A LOT OF COURT ISSUES DESPITE THE FACT YOU ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE OF THE CONTENT OF THE BLOG YET THE BLOG SHOULD NOT TOLERATE DISPARAGING COMMENTS ON RELIGIONS

        1. OK do not worry, how about I describe it as a lollipop will you be ok with that? Costing court issue hahahahahahahahaha… Do you understand the meaning of Freedom of speech? of course not… You are an Assadi… and dude stop yelling you will ruin your voice chords. Have you visited the 3asfouriyeh yet for anger management? Man you need it… It is a friendly advice from a brother who lives in Ashrafiyeh… BTW do you happen to know the slogan of Ashrafiyeh? We used to call it qal3atou el somoud because this is where Hafez troops got belted. I myself shot about twenty of them in their behinds while they were running away… You see as a Lebanese resistance we had values and we decided not to shoot to kill and we shot them in their derrieres so every time they sit it will be a reminder of not to mess with Lebanon…

        2. Who said any religion is respectable? Most wars and slaughters were conducted by your religions…

      2. sorry but you have gone too far…..

        1. Give me a reason why? I am and have been anti-religion… It is my opinion that religion is the root of all evil starting by Judaism and ending by Islam passing by Christianity. Most wars and evil were done by religious wars. Even Bush went to church to pray before attacking Iraq. Do I need to list all the evil done in the name of organized religion?
          Remove religion from Lebanon and you will get a peaceful country. Same in all Arabia and Persia etc…

      3. there is a way of saying things…you could of said it the way you just did…thats your opinion good luck to you but you just dont say things like that…just like you want people to respect your opinion surely you must respect others to say it like that is just not right….your above comment is racist…but your below comment is acceptable

      4. $31060015 Avatar

        Hannibal, you have pretty much blamed the Moslem’s for all the wrong in the world. I suppose WW1 in your opinion was an Islam issue or Hilter during WW2 was also an Islam issue. As Dateam said, you have gone to far. I suggest you look up some history and have a look at what other religions have done.

        1. You are picking and choosing what I say… I am AGAINST ALL religions… ALL religions caused death of innocent people.

      5. $31060015 Avatar

        Sorry Hannibal, but your blog didn’t indicate that you have an issue with religion in general. It is simply targeting Islam. However if that is how you feel regarding all religion then I can respect your opinion even though I disagree.

  4. Marwan Kassem Avatar
    Marwan Kassem

    Absolutely correct. These salifi / wahabi extremists will make life hard for anyone that doesn’t follow their severely distorted view of Islam. Just look at what is happening in Tunisia with Salafi / Wahabi extremists attacking everyone and everything.

    1. Islam is a distorted religion… There is no need to have salafis or wahabis to distort it. The majority of the troubled areas have moslem citizens… Chechnya, Eastern Europe, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Thailand, Yemen, Iran, Sudan, Somalia (pirate land), Palestine etc, etc, Now let us take a look at Christendom how peaceful they are: Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, Spain etc, etc, Only when you inject a moslem element that trouble starts like the moslems asking to add a minaret to their mosques in Switzerland. That big lollipop-like structure is ugly and the Swiss voted to abolish it. Wherever they go they bring with them terror and trouble. They cannot help it… It is the religion itself that has a reality distortion field… Now let us see if this post gets suppressed… I bet it won’t… because people say that this is a Salafi/Wahabi site. If they won’t suppress this post then they are not religulous…

      1. nayyashAl3arab Avatar
        nayyashAl3arab

        YALIBNAN ADMIN: I AM NOT MUSLUM MYSELF BUT IT IS HARD TO SEE ANOTHER BELIEF WHICH IS RECOGNISED BY THE COUNTRY CALLED LIBNAN AND YOU CLAIM TO REPRESENT ITS VALUES AND INTERESTS BE HUMILIATED IN SUCH A WAY BY REPRESENTING THEIR CRESCENT WHICH IS THE EQUIVALENT OF THE CHRISTIAN CROSS AS DICK. I DO NOT CARE BEING PERSONALLY INSULTED BY YOUR VULTURES (admins faking to be users and dissimulated as such) BUT I AM VERY KEEN THAT RESPECTABLE RELIGIONS SHOULD BE RESPECTED AND THIS MIGHT COST THE BLOG A LOT OF COURT ISSUES DESPITE THE FACT YOU ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE OF THE CONTENT OF THE BLOG YET THE BLOG SHOULD NOT TOLERATE DISPARAGING COMMENTS ON RELIGIONS

        1. OK do not worry, how about I describe it as a lollipop will you be ok with that? Costing court issue hahahahahahahahaha… Do you understand the meaning of Freedom of speech? of course not… You are an Assadi… and dude stop yelling you will ruin your voice chords. Have you visited the 3asfouriyeh yet for anger management? Man you need it… It is a friendly advice from a brother who lives in Ashrafiyeh… BTW do you happen to know the slogan of Ashrafiyeh? We used to call it qal3atou el somoud because this is where Hafez troops got belted. I myself shot about twenty of them in their behinds while they were running away… You see as a Lebanese resistance we had values and we decided not to shoot to kill and we shot them in their derrieres so every time they sit it will be a reminder of not to mess with Lebanon…

      2. sorry but you have gone too far…..

        1. Give me a reason why? I am and have been anti-religion… It is my opinion that religion is the root of all evil starting by Judaism and ending by Islam passing by Christianity. Most wars and evil were done by religious wars. Even Bush went to church to pray before attacking Iraq. Do I need to list all the evil done in the name of organized religion?
          Remove religion from Lebanon and you will get a peaceful country. Same in all Arabia and Persia etc…

      3. there is a way of saying things…you could of said it the way you just did…thats your opinion good luck to you but you just dont say things like that…just like you want people to respect your opinion surely you must respect others to say it like that is just not right….your above comment is racist…but your below comment is acceptable

      4. $31060015 Avatar

        Hannibal, you have pretty much blamed the Moslem’s for all the wrong in the world. I suppose WW1 in your opinion was an Islam issue or Hilter during WW2 was also an Islam issue. As Dateam said, you have gone to far. I suggest you look up some history and have a look at what other religions have done.

  5. Marwan Kassem Avatar
    Marwan Kassem

    Absolutely correct. These salifi / wahabi extremists will make life hard for anyone that doesn’t follow their severely distorted view of Islam. Just look at what is happening in Tunisia with Salafi / Wahabi extremists attacking everyone and everything.

    1. Islam is a distorted religion… There is no need to have salafis or wahabis to distort it. The majority of the troubled areas have moslem citizens… Chechnya, Eastern Europe, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Thailand, Yemen, Iran, Sudan, Somalia (pirate land), Palestine etc, etc, Now let us take a look at Christendom how peaceful they are: Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Portugal, Spain etc, etc, Only when you inject a moslem element that trouble starts like the moslems asking to add a minaret to their mosques in Switzerland. That big dick-like structure is ugly and the Swiss voted to abolish it. Wherever they go they bring with them terror and trouble. They cannot help it… It is the religion itself that has a reality distortion field… Now let us see if this post gets suppressed… I bet it won’t… because people say that this is a Salafi/Wahabi site. If they won’t suppress this post then they are not religulous… 

      1. nayyashAl3arab Avatar
        nayyashAl3arab

        YALIBNAN ADMIN: I AM NOT MUSLUM MYSELF BUT IT IS HARD TO SEE ANOTHER BELIEF WHICH IS RECOGNISED BY THE COUNTRY CALLED LIBNAN AND YOU CLAIM TO REPRESENT ITS VALUES AND INTERESTS BE HUMILIATED IN SUCH A WAY BY REPRESENTING THEIR CRESCENT WHICH IS THE EQUIVALENT OF THE CHRISTIAN CROSS AS DICK. I DO NOT CARE BEING PERSONALLY INSULTED BY YOUR VULTURES (admins faking to be users and dissimulated as such) BUT I AM VERY KEEN THAT RESPECTABLE RELIGIONS SHOULD BE RESPECTED AND THIS MIGHT COST THE BLOG A LOT OF COURT ISSUES DESPITE THE FACT YOU ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE OF THE CONTENT OF THE BLOG YET THE BLOG SHOULD NOT TOLERATE DISPARAGING COMMENTS ON RELIGIONS

        1. OK do not worry, how about I describe it as a lollipop will you be ok with that? Costing court issue hahahahahahahahaha… Do you understand the meaning of Freedom of speech? of course not… You are an Assadi…

        2. Who said any religion is respectable? Most wars and slaughters were conducted by your religions…

      2. sorry but you have gone too far…..

        1. Give me a reason why? I am and have been anti-religion… It is my opinion that religion is the root of all evil starting by Judaism and ending by Islam passing by Christianity. Most wars and evil is done by religious wars. Even Bush went to church to pray before attacking Iraq. Do I need to list all the evil done in the name of organized religion?
          Remove religion from Lebanon and you will get a peaceful country. Same in all Arabia and Persia etc…

      3. there is a way of saying things…you could of said it the way you just did…thats your opinion good luck to you but you just dont say things like that…just like you want people to respect your opinion surely you must respect others to say it like that is just not right….your above comment is racist…but your below comment is acceptable

      4. Hannibal, you have pretty much blamed the Moslem’s for all the wrong in the world. I suppose WW1 in your opinion was an Islam issue or Hilter during WW2 was also an Islam issue. As Dateam said, you have gone to far. I suggest you look up some history and have a look at what other religions have done.

        1. You are picking and choosing what I say… I am AGAINST ALL religions… ALL religions caused death of innocent people.

      5. Sorry Hannibal, but your blog didn’t indicate that you have an issue with religion in general. It is simply targeting Islam. However if that is how you feel regarding all religion then I can respect your opinion even though I disagree.

  6. i just want to make a point here…do you see how we can not get out of the sectarian mentality…why couldnt this village just be a lebanese village? yet we all claim we want to be progressive….

    1. nayyashAl3arab Avatar
      nayyashAl3arab

      i never claimed to be progressive myself and i believe that cultures are dilutable but not miscible. you cannot annihilate ones culture which is deeply anchored in his religion; hafez assad tried to create syrian nationalism but as an intelligent person he kept in his back mind the alawi state (hence those who are gambling on assads departure will be wrong: in the worst scenario the alawi state is ready). syrian nationalism failed. lebanese nationalism failed too: why do you want a salafi hariri to agree to share power or to be dominated by a bunch of a million or two or three of kouffars when he is surrounded by a lake of 700 million salafi sunna around him. Get rid of salafism then talk to us about nationalism; till then bye

    2. Totally agree… I come from the area and the people there are all impoverished like the South was. They Never think religion… We eat drink and sleep and intermarry between villages. During the civil war we had one serious incident and it was proven that it was instigated by the Syrians. But people love each others and never think sects.

  7. i just want to make a point here…do you see how we can not get out of the sectarian mentality…why couldnt this village just be a lebanese village? yet we all claim we want to be progressive….

    1. nayyashAl3arab Avatar
      nayyashAl3arab

      i never claimed to be progressive myself and i believe that cultures are dilutable but not miscible. you cannot annihilate ones culture which is deeply anchored in his religion; hafez assad tried to create syrian nationalism but as an intelligent person he kept in his back mind the alawi state (hence those who are gambling on assads departure will be wrong: in the worst scenario the alawi state is ready). syrian nationalism failed. lebanese nationalism failed too: why do you want a salafi hariri to agree to share power or to be dominated by a bunch of a million or two or three of kouffars when he is surrounded by a lake of 700 million salafi sunna around him. Get rid of salafism then talk to us about nationalism; till then bye

    2. Totally agree… 

  8. Mahdi Kenaani Avatar
    Mahdi Kenaani

    @hbarca:disqus  name me ONE conflict in the whole world which is caused by religion???????? 

    1. You are kidding Mahdi right?

      1. Mahdi Kenaani Avatar
        Mahdi Kenaani

        absolutely not, name me one conflict in the world that has ANYTHING to do with religion????

        1. 5thDrawer Avatar

          Nicely done Hannibal … although you know some here think everything in Wikipedia is made up … or faked by ‘someone’. 😉
          Hmmm … maybe they could make that ‘History Book’ that never comes to the schools simply a ‘reference list’ of factual documentation somewhere on the net … and supply the kids with iPad 3’s. After teaching them to read, of course.
          Hmmm … of course, we need a working net … they can’t all go to school in Babda Palace.

        2. Mahdi Kenaani Avatar
          Mahdi Kenaani

          @hbarca:disqus im not even going to waste my time reading your link even if you had come up with a more trustworthy source than wiki cause i know it isnt gonna answer my question… the right answer is: NONE! religion is just an excuse… a cover.. a facade… a fake appearance…. i dont know… anything BUT the reason to any war.
          the real reasons are POWER and MONEY! please… look at the middle east and tell me if im wrong.. Ya Allaaaaaaaah, you consider yourself educated and you didnt even know this? did your teachers ever teach you that not everything is how it appears and seems to be and the fact that sometimes you have to look beyond the surface??

          this is why your opposition to religion is TOTALLY lost on me, just that you know! and oh yeah one more thing… please dont you ever blame any religion for any war again…

      2. $31060015 Avatar

        Hannibal, the issue is not religion. It is the people that interpret it who are the issue. Religion in its self whether it be Christen, Islam, Judaism or Buddhism is a beautiful thing. Mahdi is right, Religion has never been the cause of any wars.  

        1. nayyashAl3arab Avatar
          nayyashAl3arab

          wikipedia can never be a reliable reference; it is made by anyone who wants to add his 2 cents; it is like internet but in miniature: it is an ocean of wild information that needs filtering; hence only experts can effectively profit from it & select the useful from the incorrect. however, like part of truth is a big lie, a lie by omission, part of knowledge is ignorance; from here you understand why people with no or little knowledge, when they know anything, regardless of how little it is, pretend to know it all & become refractory to learning; while people who know, regardless of how much they know, do not pretend to know: actually the more you know the more you realise how ignorant you are. knowledge is like a weapon: in the hands of a non expert can hurt the one manipulating it; dont we say “al silah bi ‘id al khara bi yijra7”. Hence guys go to schools and universities and encourage your children to do so because only then you can, though not necessarily, profit from the greater university called life & enjoy it at its real value. PS: a new branch of this big life university is called internet

        2. Mahdi Kenaani Avatar
          Mahdi Kenaani

          exactly my friend 🙂

        3. 5thDrawer Avatar

          And, Nay-Arab … you said it yourself. “actually the more you know the more you realise how ignorant you are”. 
          And THAT is why Wiki and other encyclopaedia are very useful. Few have a brain that will hold huge amounts of history they could not experience. AND WIKI TELLS YOU when things have not been verified. IF you think you know more, you can put it in … someone will eventually check it.
          Mahdi, meanwhile, is like my Grandmother … “I wouldn’t believe it if you proved it to me.” So, no use trying to change a mind like that one.
          But the more you try to stuff into a head, the better the chance of having some understanding, even if you don’t like the conclusions. At some point, some will admit to themselves a ‘truth’ – even if seeming distasteful.
          No-one likes a volcano popping up … slightly distasteful … but, there it is after all. Why not try to learn something about it? You might save a life – even your own, if you have the sense to run away. That sense comes from knowledge … watching molten rock run around you is not a necessary experience, after all.

  9. Mahdi Kenaani Avatar
    Mahdi Kenaani

    @hbarca:disqus  name me ONE conflict in the whole world which is caused by religion???????? 

    1. You are kidding Mahdi right?

      1. Mahdi Kenaani Avatar
        Mahdi Kenaani

        absolutely not, name me one conflict in the world that has ANYTHING to do with religion????

        1. 5thDrawer Avatar

          Nicely done Hannibal … although you know some here think everything in Wikipedia is made up … or faked by ‘someone’. 😉

        2. Mahdi Kenaani Avatar
          Mahdi Kenaani

          @hbarca:disqus im not even going to waste my time reading your link even if you had come up with a more trustworthy source than wiki cause i know it isnt gonna answer my question… the right answer is: NONE! religion is just an excuse… a cover.. a facade… a fake appearance…. i dont know… anything BUT the reason to any war.
          the real reason is POWER and MONEY! please… look at the middle east and tell me if im wrong.. Ya Allaaaaaaaah, you consider yourself educated and you didnt even know this? did your teachers ever teach you that not everything is how it appears and seems to be and the fact that sometimes you have to look beyond the surface??

          this is why your opposition to religion is TOTALLY lost on me, just that you know! 

      2. Hannibal, the issue is not religion. It is the people that interpret it who are the issue. Religion in its self whether it be Christen, Islam, Judaism or Buddhism is a beautiful thing. Mahdi is right, Religion has never been the cause of any wars.  

        1. nayyashAl3arab Avatar
          nayyashAl3arab

          wikipedia can never be a reliable reference; it is made by anyone who wants to add his 2 cents; it is like internet but in miniature: it is an ocean of wild information that needs filtering; hence only experts can effectively profit from it & select the useful from the incorrect. however, like part of truth is a big lie, a lie by omission, part of knowledge is ignorance; from here you understand why people with no or little knowledge, when they know anything, regardless of how little it is, pretend to know it all & become refractory to learning; while people who know, regardless of how much they know, do not pretend to know: actually the more you know the more you realise how ignorant you are. knowledge is like a weapon: in the hands of a non expert can hurt the one manipulating it; dont we say “al silah bi ‘id al khara bi yijra7”. Hence guys go to schools and universities and encourage your children to do so because only then you can, though not necessarily, profit from the greater university called life & enjoy it at its real value. PS: a new branch of this big life university is called internet

        2. Mahdi Kenaani Avatar
          Mahdi Kenaani

          exactly my friend 🙂

        3. 5thDrawer Avatar

          And, Nay-Arab … you said it yourself. “actually the more you know the more you realise how ignorant you are”. 
          And THAT is why Wiki and other encyclopaedia are very useful. Few have a brain that will hold huge amounts of history they could not experience. AND WIKI TELLS YOU when things have not been verified. IF you think you know more, you can put it in … someone will eventually check it.
          Mahdi, meanwhile, is like my Grandmother … “I wouldn’t believe it if you proved it to me.” So, no use trying to change a mind like that one.
          But the more you try to stuff into a head, the better the chance of having some understanding, even if you don’t like the conclusions. At some point, some will admit to themselves a ‘truth’ – even if seeming distasteful.
          No-one likes a volcano popping up … slightly distasteful … but, there it is after all. Why not try to learn something about it? You might save a life – even your own, if you have the sense to run away. That sense comes from knowledge … watching molten rock run around you is not a necessary experience, after all.

        4. nayyashAl3arab Avatar
          nayyashAl3arab

          answering 5th: ikra’ tafra7, jarrib ta7zan; hence knowledge & know how comes from learning & schooling not just reading; internet as well as wiki have proven to be a dangerous weapon for the non professional: many tried to treat themselves based on what they read on websites; cases died from it. Ultimately: i3ti khoubzak lil khabbaz wa law akal nisso

  10. The ultimate dictator “Aoun The Great” is the only savior of all Lebanon (Christians and muslims).

  11. The ultimate dictator “Aoun The Great” is the only savior of all Lebanon (Christians and muslims).

    1. nayyashAl3arab Avatar
      nayyashAl3arab

      i hope you dont think i am still a supporter of aoun but i believe that aoun is an honest person maybe a bad politician, you cant expect from a general to be more intelligent than that & certainly not as much crook as geagea; however, strategy wise i believe his alliance with hizbollah is an intelligent strategic one; i personally left him exactly because of this alliance, however after rethinking my stance i believe this is a very interesting & certainly very intelligent alliance especially after the rotten situation that geagea & his maffia put the christians in

  12. Mahdi Kenaani Avatar
    Mahdi Kenaani

    @5thDrawer:disqus so i am like your grandma? dont be  sorry… soon you will have one thing in common with her too. i mean you will be buried in a grave too very soon.. just like her

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar

      That, Mahdi dear, at my age, is an accepted truism. Some facts, I see, you CAN live with. :-))

  13. Mahdi Kenaani Avatar
    Mahdi Kenaani

    @5thDrawer:disqus so i am like your grandma? dont be  sorry… soon you will have one thing in common with her too. i mean you will be buried in a grave too very soon.. just like her

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar

      That, Mahdi dear, at my age, is an accepted truism. Some facts, I see, you CAN live with. :-))

  14. sunshinewoman Avatar
    sunshinewoman

    Religion as an organized body is a doctrine of Truths…each one claiming ‘THE Truth…and each religion binding people to be blind to any other truth. So who holds the banner of Truth? Who really represents GOD? All these regional conflcts either are in operation for greed or power or God. They will go on until people will redefine GOD to include All…and that means ALL THAT IS…in creation, And for greed? The winners in these wars are the Arms Dealers of the World.  But they will lose as well as then we might all get blown up by those mighty new bombs in the making, or Mother Nature herself will take charge and wipe us all away.

  15. sunshinewoman Avatar
    sunshinewoman

    Religion as an organized body is a doctrine of Truths…each one claiming ‘THE Truth…and each religion binding people to be blind to any other truth. So who holds the banner of Truth? Who really represents GOD? All these regional conflcts either are in operation for greed or power or God. They will go on until people will redefine GOD to include All…and that means ALL THAT IS…in creation, And for greed? The winners in these wars are the Arms Dealers of the World.  But they will lose as well as then we might all get blown up by those mighty new bombs in the making, or Mother Nature herself will take charge and wipe us all away.

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