The Sunni Community in Lebanon: From “Harirism” to “Sheikhism”?

Meier, Daniel; Peri, Rosita Di

doi:10.1057/978-1-352-00005-4_3

Cited by 4 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…Prime Minister Rafi k Hariri was Lebanon's preeminent statesman (Baumann 2016), and his dominant position in Lebanese post-civil war politics and as leader of the Sunnis has been coined Harirism (Meier 2015;Meier and Di Peri 2017). Aft er Rafi k Hariri's assassination in 2005, the Sunnis' political decline was followed by sectarian tensions that deepened aft er the Syrian revolt.…”

Section: Political Sunnismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Aft er Rafi k Hariri's assassination in 2005, the Sunnis' political decline was followed by sectarian tensions that deepened aft er the Syrian revolt. Daniel Meier and Rosita Di Peri (2017) argue that this led to a shift from Harirism to Sheikhism, meaning that the moral leadership of the Sunni community changed from the urban party elite to the town's lay preacher, Sheikh Ahmad Assir. Th is also involved a shift in the locus of contentious politics from the capital, Beirut, to secondary cities such as Sidon, and a conceptual shift from elite politics to the grassroots.…”

Section: Political Sunnismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Th e widespread support for the Assir movement was enabled by the urban ecology in Sidon and the internal crises in Lebanon's Sunni political and religious establishment that for a brief period shift ed the moral leadership of the Sunnis from the elites in the capital of Beirut to the Sidon-based preacher. Th e growth of the Assir movement hence led to a temporary shift in the locus of contentious politics from the capital to secondary cities such as Sidon, and a conceptual shift from elite politics to that of grassroots (Meier 2015;Meier and Di Peri 2017). Here, I aim to explain this twin transition and analyze the movement's urban pathways that made Sidon (see Figure 1) the epicenter of Sunni discontent and shift ed the moral leadership from the party elite to the local Sheikh Ahmad Assir.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Recent studies have accounted for Sheikh Assir as leading a movement of the poor and disenfranchised (Meier 2015;Meier and Di Peri 2017). Th is refl ects the general assumption that the main supporters of Islamic activism are the urban poor, what Asef Bayat (2007) has termed an "urban ecology" attributed to the growth of Salafi st and other Islamist groups.…”

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confidence: 99%

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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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Section: Political Sunnismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Political Sunnismmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sheikhs and the City

Knudsen

2020

Conflict and Society

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“…The pivotal role played by the Sunni actors is captured in the National Pact 1943. This pact or agreement paved the way for Lebanon's independence from France, and the Taif Agreement 1989, which ended Lebanon's long civil war (Lust, 2011;Salem, 2011;Meier and Di Peri, 2017;Nagle & Clancy, 2019;Salloukh, 2019;Badran, 2021). The signing of the agreements culminated into the establishment of the confessional political system in Lebanon.…”

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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Competitive clientelism in secondary cities: urban ecologies of resistance in Lebanon

Knudsen

2020

Third World Thematics: A TWQ Journal

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This article analyses political and religious mobilisation in Sidon and Tripoli, both secondary cities struggling amidst deep social divisions, elite competition, and armed conflict during the contentious decade following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri . A central element in the sectarian and Islamic resurgence was discontent with the political and social decline of the Sunnis. The Syrian revolt magnified Sunni-Shia tensions and shifted the locus of contentious politics from the capital Beirut to secondary cities such as Tripoli and Sidon. In both cities, communal tensions spurred confrontations with the Army that were followed by closely contested municipal elections. By examining the urban ecologies of resistance, the article contributes to an understanding of how urban inequality, competitive clientelism, and Islamist (social) movements are intertwined and can explain why the political pathways and electoral outcomes differed and the implications for the understanding of religious-influenced politics. The city-level analysis testifies to the importance of contextual urban traits and political actors' agency in influencing the popular support for stateoriented social movements and sectarian parties and as determinants of their electoral fortunes.

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The Sunni Community in Lebanon: From “Harirism” to “Sheikhism”?

Cited by 4 publications

References 24 publications

Sheikhs and the City

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

Competitive clientelism in secondary cities: urban ecologies of resistance in Lebanon

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