Lebanon

Lebanon is a country of its own in Middle East with a rich background hence the reason of its rich aspect of cultural, economical, political, sectarianism and social as compared to other countries in Middle East. Despite of it having 18 religious communities it’s an oasis of peace because the different religious groupings having been living together in harmony which is an issue that most countries with multi religious communities have not been able to live harmoniously in peace. Lebanon has embraced democracy in dissemination of information and creation of awareness to its citizen. Therefore, it has a large number of newspapers which according to registrar of publication and news there are 40 daily newspapers, which report without fear or favor in issues which are affecting the citizen, government or any organization which is of interest of Lebanese. Lebanese value education and they are aware of its role in development of the country hence it has strived to establishment of 42 universities which ensure that it has educated its human resource. With such large number of institution of higher learning it has ensure that its citizens are highly effective hence they contribute to development of the country.

Apart from education they have also improved their medical services which are 10 times better than United States or even Europe. Due to its well established training institution it has been able to train many Doctors and health providers to a rate of 1 doctor per every 10 people while in Europe and United States it has 1 doctor for every 100 patients. According to Lebanon has been a pillar of religion in the world having been mentioned 75 times in the Old testaments is a fact that it has significant role in shaping of the religion today all over the world for both Christians and Muslims despite of the fact that Muslims forms 70% of 4.5 Million Lebanese who lives in Lebanon. The fact that Lebanon is mentioned in the old testaments is a proof that it has been in existence for many years which are believed to be 4000 years. It has the oldest name of a nation/country which is in existence today because it has been able to retain its name over the years due to its uniqueness in historical development of religion.

Amazingly it’s the only Asian/African country which does not have a desert despite of it being surrounded by countries which most of its acreage is desert. As compared to the size of other neighboring countries, Lebanon is considered to be one of the most populated countries in the region. The first alphabet of the noun Lebanon was first created in Byblos, which is one of the cities in Lebanon. The country host historical sites, for instance, the one and only temple of Jupiter that is under existence, is hosted by Baalbek, which is a region in Lebanon. This temple in other words is referred to as the main Roman god, while Baalbek is referred to as the city of the sun. Amongst the countries in the world, Leanon is the only country that has most books written about it.

This might be an indication that, the country’s population comprises of many educated people. This might also be an indication that, it is one of the most loved countries, as even authors from other countries get interested in it. This has made the country much famous. Considering victory, Lebanon amongst all other strongest countries in the world, is the only country that has defeated Israel, not just once, but twice. In most cases, Israel is perceived as being one of the countries with strongest military in the world. In addition, it has the best military weapons in the world.

Never the less, the military recruit training program of Israel is ranked amongst the best in the world, but it was defeated by Lebanon in May 2000 and July 2006. This indicates that, though Lebanon is taken to be an underdog in military activities, it has the strongest military operations. In the Arabic world, all states have dictatorial kind of leadership, apart from Lebanon, which has non-dictatorial leadership style. The country has the president who is voted in by the people. This shows that, it is the government is made up of the people by the people for the people, hence most peaceful Arabic country.

One of the most memorable events that have made Lebanon to be one of the most famous countries in the world is that, Jesus Christ made his first miracle at Qana, which is one of the cities in Lebanon. Other events in the country are many. For instance, the Phoenicians, who are the original inhabitants of Lebanon, were the once who built the first boat and as a result, they were the first to sail ever in history.In addition, the first school of law in the whole world was first built in Lebanon in downtown Beirut. This shows that, Lebanon was the first country to embrace law in the world.

One of the most lovable things about Lebanon is that, it is called the God’s Country on Earth. This is based on the reason that, it is claimed that, cedar trees were planted by the Hand of God Himself and this is the reason as to why they are called the Cedars of God. Lebanon has a rich aspect of cultural, economical, political, sectarianism and social as compared to other countries in Middle East. Historically Lebanese were mainly identified with their family. As a result, there was a clash between this identity and the process of national integration and cohesion. The division in the society was both into sectarian and the socioeconomic, with the later cutting across the confessional lines.

The manifestation of the family’s primacy in the life of the Lebanese was evident in private/personal relations, financial status, the political endeavors and all other life phases. Politically, the competition exists amongst the families mainly for power and prestigious gains. The uprising personalities gain a lot of support from the combination of the kinsmen; this is a factor that most leaders base on in their struggle foe the leadership positions. Most employers in the business sector prefer to hire their close family members, the family enterprises are operated by either a union of brothers or cousins who merge all their resources for the purposes of creating large business empires. Family members who seemed to be wealthy were given the responsibility of sharing their worth with the unfortunate relatives, in most cases the urban relatives or the expatriates played this role by giving financial support to their kinsmen in the village. The had a great influence on the personal sphere , for instance, an individuals access to the determinants of social mobility such as Education , Wealth and prominence.

The family’s status had a direct link to the individual’s success and hence the conformity to the established family code of behavior, this was partly to maintain the honor of the family. The family was regarded as the molding tool responsible for shaping an individual in accordance to the ambitions and the group’s long term ambitions. Individuals were expected to be loyal and offer service to the family in return for status protection, financial/social support and life opportunities.In the Lebanese society, the family unit was highly regarded and it commanded the highest loyalty. A team of the American sociologists set out in 1959 and conducted a successful study at the University of Beirut, the results of which the results showed that in most groupings which included; Christians, Muslims, males, females, and the students, the family loyalty was ranked first. This was followed closely with religion, nationality, Tribe or ethnic group and the political in that order.

The results were the exact reflection of the Lebanese attitudes in 1987. The 1975 Civil war had a great influence to the Lebanese family by helping increase the primordial ties. The idea of ethnicity and family consciousness was boosted by the emergency of the Christian and the Islamic fundamentalism. The Maronites, are a good example of the familial idealism where the Phalange party’s Motto has a motto which recognizes God, their homeland and the family. The family members in a Lebanese set up, were assigned the roles by a the family which was responsible for the assignment of all the chores basing on the gender and physical ability. The Lebanese accorded superior status to men both in the society as a whole and also in the nuclear family unit; therefore most Lebanese have patriarchal family structures.

The father figure has its origin from the economical point of view since the father is regarded as the master and the overall owner of the properties. The father is the main producer and the central pillar upon which everybody depends on for survival. In the rural parts of Lebanon, women have a chance to supplement through participation in simple peasant chores but still the above notion of chauvinism prevails. This being an Arab society, chauvinism precedes the Islam religion.