It is said that during their rebellion against feudalism in their region in the mid-nineteenth century, the Kesrwan farmers used to post the flags of the French Republic on the castles they occupied. Between the poor Kesrwan Maronites and the land owners from the Al-Khazen family, there were no sectarian, ethnic or linguistic differences. However, the need for them to differentiate themselves at the level of their identity pushed the revolutionaries to adopt the symbol and values of the French Republic, which reflected their belief in the loyalty of the feudal lords to the Bourbon monarchy. The class-based characteristic of the uprising was not enough for the farmers who tried to enhance their “symbolic capital." The sectarian crimes being committed in Syria prompt the reconsideration of the formation of groups in the Arab East, their ability to peacefully coexist with each other and their relationship with the culture they claim to advocate. Sectarianism, as a system governing the relations between groups with different religious and ethnic belongings, was always presented as a sign of backwardness and surrender to values that are below the state values, rejecting the other and attempting to eradicate him. But in reality, this false and rash description of sectarianism was sufficiently criticized in Lebanon, especially since it is the only country that recognized its existence, legitimized it and presented the suffering it caused to public debate, without being able to overcome it. The other Arab countries nonetheless prefer to adopt the ostrich [head buried in sand] policy, thus denying the existence of the sectarianism problem to begin with. What is important is that the escalation of violence at the level of the sectarian rhetoric and the formation of political-civil entities, is always accompanied – and this is inevitable – by the disappearance of the cultural factor that contributed to the formation of sectarian groups, and the progress of the war rhetoric that points to the culture and religious and social practices of the opponent to deride and belittle them. This prompts the emergence of accusations drawn from ancient history that have nothing to do with the present but are useful to instigate the group and mobilize it for the fight, and the summoning of figures from the distant past and religious fatwas issued in historical contexts that are in complete contradiction with our current times, in order to brandish weapons in the face of the opposing group. The origins of the groups that exist in our region are not unlike those of groups in other places around the world. Indeed, geographic positioning, livelihood and its requirements, the culture produced throughout the years and the life-related necessities and interactions, explain the formation and multitude of the sects in the region. Therefore, one can easily notice – after the conflicts took a sectarian turn – how the other has become limited to a few words referring to one component in his culture, namely “takfir," “pleasure marriage," “the Safavids" or the “Bedouins," without even looking into the meaning of these terms. There is no doubt that we are witnessing the distancing of the group's culture, with its history, poetry, jurisprudence and religious customs, from its war practices, and it is natural for the political leaders of the sects to reproduce the old speeches of hatred as the “group's conscience" and lively voice. At this point, one should recall Olivier Roy's Holy Ignorance, which tackles the complex relationship between what is religious and what is cultural, and the prevalence of the first over the second in light of globalization and the hegemony imposed by its powers. It also tackles various belongings amid a prevailing culture, the clash between identity and culture, neo-paganism, the disconnection from culture and the waging of war against it in the name of the group. It is useless to say that “culture-makers" are often among the leaders of the group, and the symbols of its uniqueness and autonomy, and that intertwinement is clear between culture and identity. Nevertheless, gravely mistaken are those who believe that cultures are now clashing in Syria and Lebanon among other places and that the other side is carrying an evil seed in its genetic or cultural components, as a fierce propaganda campaign is currently trying to convince us.
