The first amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and the first
article of the Bill of Rights states:
”
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
”
This cornerstone principle of the American historical experience
is relevant as a backdrop to the tragic events in the Middle East.
It is particularly apropos to the current turmoil in Lebanon.
The first amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and the first article of the Bill of Rights states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” This cornerstone principle of the American historical experience is relevant as a backdrop to the tragic events in the Middle East. It is particularly apropos to the current turmoil in Lebanon.
But what of the recent history of Lebanon? The vast and long-running Ottoman Empire was defeated as part of the Central Powers in World War I. The lands of the Middle East were part of the Ottoman Empire with its capital in Istanbul. As a result of the outcome of the war, the French and the British were in a position to gain control over much of the Middle East and to oversee the dismantling of the Ottoman kingdom. The newly formed League of Nations mandated this control. Specifically, Britain would control the whole of Mesopotamia and the Southern parts of Damascus and Beirut.
This area was called Transjordan and Palestine. France for her part would gain a major share in the Turkish Petroleum Company, a spoil of war that had been confiscated by the Allies. In addition France would have direct control over the coastal areas of Aleppo and Beirut, plus a sphere of influence in inland Syria. There a new Arab state or states would be established. Thus, both France and England gained access to the inland areas of the Middle East with a continuous unimpeded land route from the inland oil fields to the Mediterranean Sea. Britain had the Southern part of the region, and France had the Northern sector including the new Iraq Petroleum Company and the coastal city of Beirut.
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, had a 1995 population of 3,700,000 people. It is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the West, Israel on the South, and Syria on the East and North. The population today is about 70 percent Muslim, and 30 percent Christian. Lebanese Christians are of the Maronite rite which is in communion with Rome. Beirut, the capital is the site of the ancient maritime city-state of Phoenicia. Per the Lebanese constitution of 1926, when there was a Christian majority, and as amended in 1927, 1929 and 1943, a division of leadership based upon religious affiliation was instituted. Under a covenant known as the National Pact, there was a Maronite Christian president, a Sunni Muslim prime minister, and a Shiite Muslim speaker of Parliament. Lebanon came to be considered as a state in the Middle East where Christians could freely worship.
During the 1950s and 1960s Lebanon prospered and became a regional center for finance and trade. A civil war broke out in the 1975. A coalition of government units and Lebanese Christian militias became know as the National Front. Yasser Arafat’s PLO joined the Lebanese National Movement and the civil war raged on. Syria entered the conflict on the side of the National Front. Before the war ended, the once-magnificent city of Beirut was reduced to rubble. The city became divided between Muslims and Christians at what was called the Green Line. In 1982, Israel forces advanced into Lebanon in response to PLO rocket attacks. Hezbollah was formed with backing from Iran. The bombing of the headquarters of U.S. Marines and French forces stationed there occurred on Oct. 23, 1983, and resulted in 298 American and French deaths.
“Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.” Matt. 22. It has always seemed to me that the source of the First Amendment clause in the U.S. Constitution traces its roots to this Biblical injunction. The nexus between Christians and European governments over the centuries often yielded a regime of oppression, duplicity, and brutality toward the faithful and toward other communions. Ultimately, the realization that the civil authority and the religious need in man could and needed to occupy different spheres of influence gained general acceptance in the West. This became codified in the Constitution of the United States. Religious leaders in the West have come to the realization that the proper sphere of religion is more with the soul than with direct control over civic affairs. The price of direct involvement leads to governmental control and intolerance to all but the state religion. It is our humble prayer that in a better time, the principle embodied in Matthew 22 will become a guidepost for religious and civic harmony in countries like Lebanon and throughout the world.
Al Kelsch is a Hollister resident who writes a weekly column for the Free Lance that appears on Saturday. Write to him at [email protected]
