Maronites

Maronites
الموارنة
ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ

Top row (left to right) Estephan El Douaihy • Elias Peter Hoayek • Youssef Karam • Camille Chamoun • Fairuz • Khalil Gibran
Total population
3,200,000[1]
Regions with significant populations
Lebanon	1,062,000[1]
Argentina	750,000[1]
Brazil	550,000[1]
United States	215,000[1]
Mexico	160,000[1]
Australia	160,000[1]
Canada	85,000[1]
Syria	52,000[1]
France	52,000[1]
Venezuela	25,000[1]
Cyprus	10,500[1]
Israel	7,000[2]
Germany	5,500[1]
United Kingdom	5,000[1]
Egypt	5,000[1]
Sweden	2,500[1]
Belgium	3,500[1]
Italy	2,500[1]
Jordan	1,000[1]
Languages
Vernacular: Lebanese Arabic, Cypriot Maronite Arabic, Maronite, Hebrew, Greek Historical: Aramaic (Syriac) Foreign: French and English Diaspora: French, English, Spanish, Portuguese
Religion
Christianity (Maronite Catholic)
Related ethnic groups
Syriacs/Arameans • Levantine Arabs

The Maronites (Arabic: موارنة‎ mawārinah , mwārne ; Syriac: ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ māronāyé , morunoyé ) are an ethnoreligious group in the Levant. They derive their name from the Syriac saint Maron whose followers moved to Mount Lebanon from northern Syria establishing the nucleus of the Maronite Church.^[3]

Maronites were able to maintain an independent status in Mount Lebanon and its coastline after the Arab Islamic conquest, maintaining their religion and language there until the 13th century. Remnants of their language exist in Cyprus and formerly in some secluded mountain villages, which have since adopted Arabic due to government standardization.^[3] The Maronite Church is in communion with the Church of Rome.

The Ottoman Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate and later the Republic of Lebanon were created under the auspice of European powers with the Maronites as their main ethnic component. Mass emigration to the Americas at the outset of the 20th century and the Lebanese Civil War between 1975 and 1990 greatly decreased their numbers in the Levant. Maronites today form more than one quarter of the total population in the country of Lebanon. With only two exceptions, all Lebanese and Greater Lebanese presidents have been Maronites. The tradition persists as part of the Lebanese Confessionalist system, also meaning that the Prime Minister has historically been a Sunni Muslim.

History

A number of Maronite historians claim that their people were the descendants of the Canaanites or Phoenicians, or also the Mardaites, residents in parts of Caliphate province of Bilad al-Sham, who kept their identity under both Byzantine and Arab authorities. The reason for their adoption of the name is disputed and historians disagree whether it refers to Mar Maron, a 4th-century Syriac Christian saint, or to John Maron, the first bishop of Lebanon.^[4]

Population

Part of a series of articles on the Maronites History Mardaites County of Tripoli Ottoman rule (1860 conflict  · Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate) 1958 Lebanon crisis  · Greater Lebanon Lebanese Civil War (South Lebanon conflict  · Taif Agreement) Religious affiliation Maronite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East Lebanese Maronite Order Mar Bechara Boutros Raï Politics Lebanese politics Lebanese nationalism Phoenicianism Kataeb Party  · Lebanese Forces  · Free Patriotic Movement Languages Arabic (Lebanese Arabic  · Cypriot Arabic)  · Aramaic (Syriac) Communities Cyprus · Israel · Lebanon · Jordan · Syria Diaspora v t e

The Maronite population is estimated to be about 3 million, according to the Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Originating in the northern Levant, it has largely dispersed into diaspora over the last two centuries, now having large communities in the Americas. Significant Maronite communities still reside in the Middle East – most notably in Lebanon and Syria and to a lesser degree in Cyprus, Israel, Jordan and Egypt.

Lebanon

According to a 2007 report, there are approximately 930,000 Maronites in Lebanon, where they constitute up to 22% of the population.^[5] Under the terms of an agreement between the various political and religious leaders of Lebanon, the president of the country must be a Maronite.^[6]

Syria

Syrian Maronites total 51,000, belonging to the archdioceses of Aleppo and Damascus and the Diocese of Latakia.^[7]

Cyprus

There is also a Maronite community in Cyprus, which speaks Cypriot Maronite Arabic.^[8][9] They are a recognized religious minority on the island and the community elects a representative to sit in the House of Representatives to voice their interests. They are descended from those Maronites who accompanied the crusaders, although more recent Lebanese immigrants are often included as part of the community, which now numbers 10,000.^[7]

Israel

A Maronite population numbering some 7,500,^[7] exists in northern Israel, composed of the long existing community in Jish area, and recent fugitives (mostly former South Lebanon Army militia members and their families), who fled South Lebanon to Galilee in April–May 2000.

Diaspora

Americas

The two residing eparchies in the United States have issued their own "Maronite Census", designed to estimate how many Maronites reside in the United States. Many Maronites have been assimilated into Western Catholicism as there were no Maronite parishes or priests available. The "Maronite Census" was designed to locate these Maronites. There are also eparchies at São Paulo in Brazil; as well as in Argentina, Canada and Mexico.^[7]

Australia

Significant Maronite communities also reside in Australia, many with origins in traders who settled during the 19th Century.

France

An important Maronite community exists in France.

South Africa

The history of the Lebanese Community goes back to the late 19th century, when the first immigrants arrived in Johannesburg, the biggest city in the Transvaal coming from Sebhel, Mesyara, Becharre, Hadath El-Joube, Maghdoushe and other places. It is recorded that in the year 1896 the first Maronite and Lebanese immigrants arrived in Durban, Cape Town, and Mozambique, and congregated around their local Catholic Churches. The majority of the Lebanese immigrants were Maronite and being concerned about keeping their Maronite faith alive in a new country, they wrote to the Maronite Patriarch, insisting on the need for a Maronite priest to come to South Africa to continue their tradition and the Maronite Rite. In 1905, Patriarch Elias El-Hayek sent Fr. Emmanuel El-Fadle to South Africa from Kfarhata–Elzawye, North Lebanon. A historical year for the entire Maronite Community in South Africa – Fr. Emmanuel El-Fadle was the first Maronite priest to walk on South African soil. Having spent time as a student in Rome and Paris, he began serving the South African community on both spiritual and social levels. He converted a building in Johannesburg into a church and residence. He left South Africa after 2 years. Fr. El-Fadle never returned to Lebanon; he was a passenger on board the ship SS Waratah, which disappeared in July 1909 en route from Durban to Cape Town.

In 1910, Fr. Ashkar arrived to build a church and a home for the priests. The Patriarch, then sent another priest to assist – Fr. Wakim Estphan. Fr. Ashkar returned to Lebanon and retired in 1928. The mission was then handed over to The Congregation of Maronite Lebanese Missionaries. Fr. Yousef Juan, who was appointed as a temporary visitor, received instruction from the Patriarch and the General Superior for Fr. Yousef Moubarak to succeed him in serving the South African Maronite Community. The Congregation of Maronite Lebanese Missionaries have since served in South Africa among other countries and continue in their mission in serving and assisting in the Maronite Rite.

Identity

The followers of the Maronite Church form a part of the Syriac Christians and belong to the West Syriac Rite. The Maronite Syriac Church of Antioch traces its foundation to Maron, an early 5th-century Syriac monk venerated as a saint.^[10][11] Before the conquest by Arabian Muslims reached Lebanon, the Lebanese people, including those who would become Muslim and the majority who would remain Christian, spoke a dialect of Aramaic called Syriac.^[12][13][14] Syriac remains the liturgical language of the Maronite Church.^[15]

Phoenicianism

Phoenicianism as an alternative to acceptance of an Arab identity on the part of Lebanese Christians has developed into an integrated ideology led by key thinkers, but there are a few who have stood out more than others: Charles Corm, Michel Chiha, and Said Aql in their promotion of Phoenicianism.^[16] In post civil-war Lebanon since the Taif agreement, politically Phoenicianism is restricted to a small group.^[16]

Among leaders of the movement Etienne Saqr, Said Akl, Charles Malik, Camille Chamoun, and Bachir Gemayel have been notable names, some going as far as voicing anti-Arab views. In his book the Israeli writer Mordechai Nisan, who at times met with some of them during the war, quoted Said Akl, a famous Lebanese poet and philosopher, as saying;

“	"I would cut off my right hand just not to be an Arab."[17]	”

Akl believes in emphasizing the Phoenician legacy of the Lebanese people and has promoted the use of the Lebanese dialect written in a modified Latin alphabet, that had been influenced by the Phoenician alphabet, rather than the Arabic one.^[18]

In opposition to such views, Arabism was affirmed at the March 1936 Congress of the Coast and Four Districts, when the Muslim leadership at the conference made the declaration that Lebanon was an Arab country, indistinguishable from its Arab neighbors. In the April 1936 Beirut municipal elections, Christian and Muslim politicians were divided along Phoenician and Arab lines in the matter of whether the Lebanese coast should be claimed by Syria or given to Lebanon, increasing the already mounting tensions between the two communities.^[16] Phoenicianism is still disputed by many Arabist scholars who have on occasion tried to convince its adherents to abandon their claims as false and to embrace and accept the Arab identity instead.^[18] This conflict of ideas of identity is believed to be one of the pivotal disputes between the Muslim and Christian populations of Lebanon and what mainly divides the country to the detriment of national unity.^[19] In general it appears that Muslims focus more on the Arab identity of Lebanese history and culture whereas the older Christian communities focus on the pre-Arabization, pre-Islamic and non-Arab elements of the Lebanese identity and rather refrain from the Arab characterization.^[20]

Support for Lebanese nationalism

Lebanese Christians are known to be specifically linked to the root of Lebanese Nationalism and opposition to Pan-Arabism in Lebanon, this being the case during 1958 Lebanon crisis. When Muslim Arab nationalists backed by Gamel Abdel Nasser tried to overthrow the then Christian dominated government in power, due to displeasure at the government's pro-western policies and their lack of commitment and duty to the so-called "Arab brotherhood" by preferring keep Lebanon away from the Arab League and the political confrontations of the Middle East. A more hard-nosed nationalism among some Christian leaders, who saw Lebanese nationalism more in terms of its confessional roots and failed to be carried away by Chiha's vision, clung to a more security-minded view of Lebanon. They regarded the national project as mainly a program for the security of Christians and a bulwark against threats from Muslims and their hinterland.^[21]

The right-wing yet secular Guardians of the Cedars, with its exiled Leader and founder Etienne Saqr (also the father of singers Karol Sakr and Pascale Sakr) took no sectarian stance and even had Muslim members who joined in their radical stance against Arabism and Palestinian forces in Lebanon.^[22] Saqr summarized his party's view on the Arab Identity on their official ideological manifesto by stating;

“	Lebanon will remain, as always, Lebanese without any labels. The French passed through it yet it remained Lebanese. The Ottomans ruled it and it remained Lebanese. The stinky winds of Arabism blows through it, but the wind will wither away and Lebanon will remain Lebanese. I do not know what will become of those wretched people who claim that Lebanon is Arabic when Arabism disappears from the map of the Middle East and a new Middle East would emerge, which is clean from Arabs and Arabism.[23]	”

On an Al Jazeera special dedicated to the political Christian clans of Lebanon and their struggle for power in the 2009 election entitled, Lebanon: The Family Business the issue of identity was brought up on several occasions, by various politicians including Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, who claimed that all Lebanese lack somewhat of a real identity and the country is yet to discover one everybody could agree on. Sami Gemayel, of the Gemayel clan and son of former president Amin Gemayel, stated he did not consider himself an Arab but instead identified himself as a Syriac, going on to explain that to him and many Lebanese the "acceptance" of Lebanon's "Arab identity" according to the Taef Agreement wasn't something that they "accepted" but instead were forced into signing through pressure.

“	The official declared "Arab Identity" of Lebanon was created in 1990 based on the Taif Agreement, without any free discussion or debate among Lebanese people and while Lebanon was under Syrian custody and in the presence of armed Syrian military inside the Lebanese parliament when votes on constitutional amendments were taking place.[24]	”

In a speech in 2009 to a crowd of Christian Kataeb supporters Gemayel declared that he felt there was importance in Christians in Lebanon finding an identity and went on to state what he finds identification with as a Lebanese Christian, concluding with a purposeful exclusion of Arabism in the segment. The speech met with an applause afterward from the audience;^[24]

“	What we are missing today is an important element of our life and our honor, which is our identity. I will tell you today, that I as a Lebanese citizen, my identity is Maronite, Syriac, Christian, and Lebanese(مارونية سريانية مسيحية لبنانية : Maroniya, Syryaniya, Masïhiya, Lubnaniya).[24]	”

Etienne Sakr, of the Guardians of the Cedars Lebanese party, in an interview responded "We are not Arabs" to an interview question about the Guardians of the Cedars' ideology of Lebanon being Lebanese. He continued by talking about how describing Lebanon as being not Arab was a crime in present day Lebanon, about the Lebanese civil war, and about Arabism as being first step towards Islamism, claiming that "the Arabs want to annex Lebanon" and in order to do this "to push the Christians out (out of Lebanon)", this being "the plan since 1975", among other issues.^[25]

Embrace of Arab identity

During a final session of the Lebanese Parliament, a Marada Maronite MP states his identity as an Arab: "I, the Maronite Christian Lebanese Arab, grandson of Patriarch Estefan Doueihy, declare my pride to be a part of our people’s resistance in the South. Can one renounce what guarantees his rights?"^[26]

Maronite Deacon Soubhi Makhoul, administrator for the Maronite Exarchate in Jerusalem, has said "The Maronites are Arabs, we are part of the Arab world. And although it’s important to revive our language and maintain our heritage, the church is very outspoken against the campaign of these people.” ^[27]

Culture

Religion

The Maronites belong to the Maronite Syriac Church of Antioch, which is an Eastern Catholic Syriac Church that had affirmed its communion with Rome since 1180 A.D., although the official view of the Church is that it had never accepted either the Monophysitic views held by their Syriac neighbours, which were condemned in the Council of Chalcedon, or the failed compromise doctrine of Monothelitism (the latter claim being found in contemporary sources).^[28] The Maronite Patriarch is traditionally seated in Bkerke north of Beirut.

Names

Modern Maronites often adopt French or other Western European given names (with biblical origins) for their children, including Michel, Marc, Marie, Georges, Carole, Charles, Antoine, Joseph and Pierre.

Given names of Arabic origins identical with those of their Muslim neighbors are also common, such as Khalil, Toufic, Jamil, Samir, Salim or Hisham. Other common names are strictly Christian and are Aramaic, or Arabic, forms of biblical, Hebrew, or Greek Christian names, such as Antun (Anthony or Antonios), Butros (Peter), Boulos (Paul), Semaan or Shamaoun (Simon or Simeon), Jergyes (George), Elie (Ilyas or Elias), Iskander (Alexander) and Beshara (literally Good News in reference to the Gospel). Other common names are Sarkis (Sergius) and Bakhos (Bacchus), while others are common both among Christians and Muslims, such as Youssef (Joseph) or Ibrahim (Abraham).

Some Maronite Christians are named in honour of Maronite saints, including the Aramaic names Maroun (after their patron saint, Maron), Nimtullah, Charbel and Rafqa (Rebecca).

Persecution & struggle

Maronite Christians felt a sense of alienation and exclusion as a result of Pan Arabism in Lebanon.^[29][30] Part of its historic suffering is the Damour massacre by the PLO, which was a response to the Karantina massacre by Phalangists. Until recently, the Cyprus Maronites battle to preserve their ancestral language.^[31] The Maronite monks maintain that Lebanon is synonymous with Maronite history and ethos; that its Maronitism antedates the Arab conquest of Syria and Lebanon and that Arabism is only a historical accident.^[32] The Maronites also felt mass persecution under the Ottoman Turks, who massacred and mistreated Maronites for their faith, disallowing them from owning horses and forcing them to wear only black clothing. The Druze also persecuted the Maronites for their identity, and massacred in excess of 50,000 of them in the mid-1800s. Yet the Maronites later prevailed, and ushered Lebanon into its golden age, which was followed by the sectarian conflict that resulted in the Lebanese Civil War

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maronites.

• Religion in Lebanon
• Christianity in Lebanon
• Arameans
• Syriac Christianity
• Druze

References