Banu Amela

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The Banu Amela tribe are originally from southern Arabia, more precisely the present country of Yemen. Tracing their genealogy back to Amela bin (Arabic for son of) Sabaa' bin Yashjeb bin Ya'arib bin Qahtan who left Yemen after the destruction of the Ma'areb dam around 200 B.C. They travelled into the region of the Fertile Crescent and finally settled down in the southern and eastern parts of Lebanon. During the French mandate, the declaration of the state of Greater Lebanon, and the marking of the borders with Palestine in the year 1920, the population and their area of Jabal Amel covered the whole of Southern Lebanon.

Today, they are numbered around 1.5 million and live mostly in southern Lebanon, as well as southern parts of Beirut and Jubail (ancient Byblos) in the province of Mt. Lebanon. Their overwhelming majority are Shia Muslims, although due to the Ottoman repression some converted to Christianity to become Maronite Catholics or Orthodox. Also to avoid military conscription, religious persecution, and forced labour.

Contents 1 Early History 2 Under the French Mandate 2.1 Following Lebanese Independence 3 Political Parties, Families, and Prominent Members 4 Notes

[edit] Early History

Banu Amela were subject to many attacks waged against them by the crusaders in 1095 A.D. Many coastal cities successively fell in the Crusaders' hands, after witnessing many atrocities. But the villages were not subject to such mishandling since their inhabitants remained in them, and the Crusaders needed the local population to make use of the land in order to provide them with food and procurements.

The Banu Amela helped liberate their land form the Crusaders during the Ayubis and the Mamluks era, when the last city, Tyre, was regained on May 19, 1291 A.D. The Mamluks seized power afterward and persecuted those who opposed them, or belonged to a different religious sect than theirs (Mamluks were Sunni Muslims).

Many areas that had Banu Amelas residing in them lived through a number of upheaval and civil unrests, such as those surrounding Tripoli and the region of Kisrwan in Mount Lebanon. As a result, many of them fled to the south, into areas such as Jezzine, or the east, into the Bekaa Valley. One of their prominent clergymen during that time, Shamseddine was persecuted and eventually killed by the Mamluks in 1384 A.D., later to be named the 'First Martyr.'

They played an important role in the history of ancient and modern Lebanon. During the Ottoman rule (ca. 1517-1918), they established autonomy in their areas to the extent of having their own flag (tricoloured: red-symbol of Imam Hussein's martyrdom; black-symbol of their mourning of Hussein, and; green-the symbolic colour of Islam) and army, which fought against the Ottoman regional rulers in northern Palestine and Damascus.

[edit] Under the French Mandate

When the French took their mandate from the League of Nations after the Great War (WW1), Lebanon became part of that mandate, which established modern day Republic of Lebanon in 1920 by including south Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and north Lebanon to form the country.

Banu Amel in the South Lebanon Governerate resented the French rule on their territory, especially the establishment of French government offices and military bases, considering it an encroachment on their historical autonomy. Guerilla war ensued, leading many people and prominent resistance figures to ally themselves with the Druze of Lebanon and neighbouring Syria around the Houran region along the Golan Heights area.

Adham Khanjar, one of the most historical figures during this conflict found a close alliance with Sultan Basha Al-Atrash who offered help and sometimes refuge for Khanjar and his followers. The great revolt of 1925 - 1927 succeeded in driving French forces from the Jabal Druze and became a symbol of Syrian and Lebanese common objections to the mandate and all that it represented.^[1]

Also, many religious figures played an important role in deciding the fate of this revolt against the French. The Ulema-religious scholars-advocated and worked for unity between Lebanon and Syria, since they were opposed the Greater Lebanon idea, which was believed to be carved out of Bilad Al-Shamm, or Grand Syria. Some scholars, such as Sayyed Abdul Hussain Sharaffedine issued a Fatwa for Jihad against the French. The Ulema and the leaders in the South met in 'Wadi El Hujay' on the 24 of April 1920 to authorize Sayyed Sharafeddine, Sayyed Muhsen Al Amine and Sayyed Abdel Hussain Noureddien to discuss the future of Jabal Amel and its people with King Faisal in Damascus.

Many revolts broke out as a result beginning from the 1920s until the French departure, and a number of brigades were formed by Banu Amela to fight against the French. These were led by Adham Khanjar, Sadeq Hamzeh and Muhammad Ahamad Bazzi brigades. One of the most important events in the course of this revolt occurred in 1936 when the town of Bint-Jbeil carried a great fight against the Fench, which later was described as a unionist one for the sake of unity with Syria. People who were killed in that event were considered martyrs of the Syrian unity.

[edit] Following Lebanese Independence

After Lebanon gained its independence on November 22, 1943 and by the time French army withdrew its soldiers from Lebanon in 1946, the Lebanese National Pact, which is a notional and unofficial understanding, allocated the seat of Speaker of the Parliament to the Shia in recognition for their role demographically and politically, but they remained socially and financially marginalized.

This status had very much to do with the historical alliance the French compacted with the Maronites in Lebanon, and the fact that most of development projects took place in Beirut or the regions surrounding it, which somewhat had a positive outcome since many active young people travelled abroad looking for better opportunities. In the 1960s and 1970s West Africa received the bulk of emigrants from South Lebanon, especially the Senegal, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leon, Cameroon, and Zaire, therefore providing them with opportunities to build wealth and political connections that persists until today.

Later on, in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s new emigration destinations included the U.S, Canada, and many parts in South America such as Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.

[edit] Political Parties, Families, and Prominent Members

Some of the major political parties include: Amal Movement, Hizbullah, and the Social Democratic Movement (led by Kameyl Al-As'aad).

Traditional families: Al-As'aad, Al-Saghir, Mugniyeh, Berro, Khalil, Beidoon.

Prominent figures: Hassan Kameyl Al-Sabbah (inventor, born in Lebanon, lived and died in the U.S), the Sadr family (branched out into Iraq, Lebanon, and Iran) with famous religious figures in Iraq such as Muhammad-Baqir Al-Sadr who is known for his philosophic and economic writings, and Imam Musa Al-Sadr the founder of Amal and the Shia Supreme Council in Lebanon.

[edit] Notes