Death of a Statesman - Birth of a Martyr: Martyrdom and Memorials in Post-Civil War Lebanon

Knudsen, Are

doi:10.3167/ame.2016.110202

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…This choice is to be located in the framework of a broader discursive construction aiming at framing his assassination—and, hence, his political mission—as a martyrdom in the path of nationhood, reconciliation, and sovereignty (Vloeberghs 2012; Volk 2010:163–175). The symbolic passage from statesman to martyr was definitively consumed during his funeral, celebrated 3 days later at the graveyard's site, in a spectacular public ceremony carefully crafted—as Knudsen notes—to look as neither partisan nor sectarian, but rather as the popular mourn of a wounded nation, finally reunited around the common flag (Knudsen 2016).…”

Section: In the Name Of The Father: Mustaqbal Militants Reclaiming Ma...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobilizing the Past in Revolutionary Times: Memory, Counter‐Memory, and Nostalgia During the Lebanese Uprising

Porta

Tufaro

2022

Sociological Forum

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Social movement studies have addressed the issue of nostalgia within two perspectives, focusing, respectively, on emotions and on memory. Our contribution looks at nostalgia in social movements by building upon the combination of these two streams in social movement studies. Going beyond a stereotypical vision of reactionary movements as backward looking and progressive ones as forward looking, we will suggest that while both types of movements look at some aspects of the past with nostalgia, they do it in a very different combination of emotions and memory. To compare how different movements perform their emotional and memory work, we focused on the recent uprising in Lebanon as a critical case in which mobilizations and counter‐mobilizations have been carried out by different actors at the same time. In both cases, nostalgia was strategically developed for different moments of Lebanon's history through the movements' choices of the very spaces for the performance of contentious acts, but also the symbolic meaning attributed to them and the emotional work performed around the protest events. By developing a “tick description” of some main contentious moments where nostalgia emerged in the Lebanon uprisings, we aim to understand the ways in which nostalgia intervenes in the social construction of memories and counter‐memories, in an emotionally dense environment.

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Section: In the Name Of The Father: Mustaqbal Militants Reclaiming Ma...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobilizing the Past in Revolutionary Times: Memory, Counter‐Memory, and Nostalgia During the Lebanese Uprising

Porta

Tufaro

2022

Sociological Forum

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“…Th e claim to Sunni political preeminence lies at the heart of what has been termed Sunnism (Gade 2012) and is linked to the Sunnis' political decline that followed Rafi k Hariri's assassination (Knudsen 2016). Despite being a numerical majority in Lebanon, the Sunnis have since acted as if they are a minority, spurred by their political disempowerment vis-à-vis Hezbollah and the Shias, as well as the regional standoff between Sunni and Shia states embroiled in the so-called New Arab Cold War (Wehrey 2017: 3).…”

Section: Political Sunnismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sidon and Tripoli are Sunni-majority cities that have remained at the economic and political margins of the capital Beirut. In both cities, clientelist networks are entrenched, with local businessmen-turned-politicians contesting elections and, in the process, upstaging traditional elites to become new political patrons and leaders (Knudsen 2016(Knudsen , 2017. Historically, Tripoli and Sidon have both reeled under social inequalities that gave rise to social protests serving as foundations for new social movements.…”

Section: Urban Pathwaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sheikhs and the City

Knudsen

2020

Conflict and Society

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This article examines the rise and fall of the “Assir movement,” a neo-Salafist campaign led by a charismatic local sheikh who, after years of community activism, rose to prominence in the wake of the Syrian uprising (2011–present) protesting the Sunnis’ political decline and disempowerment. To understand the Assir movement’s popular appeal, it is necessary to examine the pathways of contention in specific urban contexts and the extension of Salafism to secondary cities such as Sidon, where Sheikh Ahmad Assir’s neo-Salafism became a political force and can be classified as a new social movement. Neo-Salafism combines populism with sectarianism, and this accounts for its widespread support after 2011, when the Syrian uprising increased Sunni-Shia tensions and shifted the locus of contentious politics from the capital, Beirut, to Sidon, a Sunni-majority city and the seat of the Assir movement. Ultimately, this led to an armed confrontation that crushed the movement, eroded its popular support, and was followed by an electoral defeat in which local elites reasserted control.

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“…Despite these challenges, the Sunni community saw the emergence of these notable Sunni leaders and prime ministers as a powerful inspiration. It is arguable however, that the emergence of Rafik Hariri raised the status of Sunnis within Lebanon's political system (Knudsen, 2016;Author, 2019). Promising to rebuild post-war Lebanon, Hariri manifested himself as a national leader for all the Lebanese communities regardless of their religious affiliations (Meier and Di Peri, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, it was unsurprising that Sunnis, regardless of their political alignments, rallied behind the Sunni-based Future Movement, which was established by the Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 1992 (Majed, 2020) and is currently led by his son the Prime Minister Saad, to foster solidarity and bring about unity in the face of tough domestic and regional challenges (Gade, 2019). It is in these circumstances that the Future Movement was able to mobilise Sunnis and reconsolidate its presence as the predominant player in the Sunni politics, but the tragic assassination of Rafik Hariri in 2005 significantly weakened Sunni political leadership and positions in Lebanon (Rougier, 2007;Knudsen, 2016). This was not the first time that the Lebanese Sunnis face serious challenges regarding their influence over Lebanon, but Hariri's assassination marked a turning point in (re)shaping their perceptions on the state (Meier and Di Peri, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lebanese Sunni Muslim Politicians’ Narratives on the Political and Religious Leadership of the Lebanese Sunnis: Reconstructing Inclusive Political Leadership in Lebanon

Sayed

2022

IJSSRR

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In this article, Sunni Muslims politicians’ narratives on the political and religious leadership of the Lebanese Sunnis are examined in an effort to reconstruct inclusive political leadership in Lebanon. The Lebanese Sunnis are primary actors in the Lebanese politics. The significant role played by Sunnis is recognised in the National Pact 1943, which paved the way for Lebanon’s independence from France together with the Taif Agreement, which ended Lebanon’s civil war. The signing of the agreements culminated into the establishment of the confessional political system in Lebanon and enabled the Sunnis to constitute an integral part of that system. However, Lebanon is still saddled with internal political problems worsened by the struggle for influence over Lebanon from external actors. The overlapping between domestic and foreign factors is critical in constructing Sunni narratives on their leadership. Sunni framing constructions suggest that the Sunni leadership is galvanising the Sunni community to serve its own interests. The disempowerment of Sunnis is mainly attributed to the failure of their political and religious leadership. This article, therefore, argues for the reconstruction of inclusive leadership in Lebanon. This will enable the Lebanese actors to delegitimise identity politics and promote national cohesion and stability. It also recommends the establishment of independent electoral commissions, prohibition of foreign funding of political groupings, and dismantling of the confessional political system in Lebanon.

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Death of a Statesman - Birth of a Martyr: Martyrdom and Memorials in Post-Civil War Lebanon

Cited by 5 publications

References 29 publications

Mobilizing the Past in Revolutionary Times: Memory, Counter‐Memory, and Nostalgia During the Lebanese Uprising

Mobilizing the Past in Revolutionary Times: Memory, Counter‐Memory, and Nostalgia During the Lebanese Uprising

Sheikhs and the City

Lebanese Sunni Muslim Politicians’ Narratives on the Political and Religious Leadership of the Lebanese Sunnis: Reconstructing Inclusive Political Leadership in Lebanon

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