Warmed or Burnt by Fire? The Lebanese Maronite Church Navigates French Colonial Policies, 1935

This article sheds light on the development in the relationship between the Lebanese Maronite church and the French colonial authorities during the mid-1930s. It focuses on the confrontational stance of the church toward the French under the leadership of Patriarch Antoine 'Arida (1863–1955). I...

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Main Author: Malek Abisaab
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Pluto Journals 2014-09-01
Series:Arab Studies Quarterly
Online Access:https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/arabstudquar.36.4.0292
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author Malek Abisaab
author_facet Malek Abisaab
author_sort Malek Abisaab
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description This article sheds light on the development in the relationship between the Lebanese Maronite church and the French colonial authorities during the mid-1930s. It focuses on the confrontational stance of the church toward the French under the leadership of Patriarch Antoine 'Arida (1863–1955). I delineate 'Arida's resistance to the imposition of the tobacco monopoly, the Régie, and his diplomatic and political maneuvers, culminating with the 1935 popular uprising against the French, which cut across Muslim and Christian lines. Through the analysis of French archival documents and reports, I argue that the deterioration in Maronite-French relations was primarily caused by the colonial mapping of Grand Liban and its disruptive consequences for Mount Lebanon's leadership and economy. With the French imposition of the tobacco monopoly, the conflict took the form of a nationalist resistance against the French. Ultimately, the Maronite Church pursued a delicate balance between the interests of its parish and commitments to the French. The crisis sparked a critique of the French colonial logic, pushing the Maronite Church and the nationalist Lebanese elite to struggle for independence from the French.
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spelling doaj.art-cc35b0fe0bdc4c2190bda71792c398f92023-09-13T10:24:45ZengPluto JournalsArab Studies Quarterly0271-35192043-69202014-09-0136429231210.13169/arabstudquar.36.4.0292Warmed or Burnt by Fire? The Lebanese Maronite Church Navigates French Colonial Policies, 1935Malek AbisaabThis article sheds light on the development in the relationship between the Lebanese Maronite church and the French colonial authorities during the mid-1930s. It focuses on the confrontational stance of the church toward the French under the leadership of Patriarch Antoine 'Arida (1863–1955). I delineate 'Arida's resistance to the imposition of the tobacco monopoly, the Régie, and his diplomatic and political maneuvers, culminating with the 1935 popular uprising against the French, which cut across Muslim and Christian lines. Through the analysis of French archival documents and reports, I argue that the deterioration in Maronite-French relations was primarily caused by the colonial mapping of Grand Liban and its disruptive consequences for Mount Lebanon's leadership and economy. With the French imposition of the tobacco monopoly, the conflict took the form of a nationalist resistance against the French. Ultimately, the Maronite Church pursued a delicate balance between the interests of its parish and commitments to the French. The crisis sparked a critique of the French colonial logic, pushing the Maronite Church and the nationalist Lebanese elite to struggle for independence from the French.https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/arabstudquar.36.4.0292
spellingShingle Malek Abisaab
Warmed or Burnt by Fire? The Lebanese Maronite Church Navigates French Colonial Policies, 1935
Arab Studies Quarterly
title Warmed or Burnt by Fire? The Lebanese Maronite Church Navigates French Colonial Policies, 1935
title_full Warmed or Burnt by Fire? The Lebanese Maronite Church Navigates French Colonial Policies, 1935
title_fullStr Warmed or Burnt by Fire? The Lebanese Maronite Church Navigates French Colonial Policies, 1935
title_full_unstemmed Warmed or Burnt by Fire? The Lebanese Maronite Church Navigates French Colonial Policies, 1935
title_short Warmed or Burnt by Fire? The Lebanese Maronite Church Navigates French Colonial Policies, 1935
title_sort warmed or burnt by fire the lebanese maronite church navigates french colonial policies 1935
url https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/arabstudquar.36.4.0292
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