The Maronites of Lebanon: Identity Crisis, a Divided Nation

For centuries, Lebanon has been a meeting ground of faiths, cultures, and ambitions, a fragile balance of communities struggling to live together under the weight of history. In The Maronites of Lebanon: Identity Crisis, A Divided Nation, Dr. Abraham Khoureis, Ph.D., continues his landmark series on the people and cultures of Lebanon by turning his attention to one of the country’s most controversial communities: the Maronites. What began as a quest for understanding quickly became an unsettling discovery: the story of a vibrant community elevated by France and Western powers to serve as their advanced post in the region. Two projects for western control and continuing influence: France in Lebanon, Britain in Palestine.

This twentieth-century Western project, still shaping Lebanon today, was built on undeserved privilege, manipulation, and foreign designs. It reshaped the nation’s politics, banking, and institutions not for the benefit of all Lebanese, but at the expense of other communities. Dr. Khoureis shows how this Western-backed dominance not only divided Lebanon but also betrayed the Maronites themselves, binding them to a failed design, a confused identity, and a weakened nation.

His observations raise urgent questions: Who gave one community the right to claim the presidency, the army, and the banks? How can a nation survive when built on injustice? And what future is possible if Lebanon is to heal?

Powerful, detailed, and provocative, The Maronites of Lebanon: Identity Crises, A Divided Nation is more than history. It is a stark reminder to the sons and daughters of this divided nation, and to the world, Lebanon can only endure through humility, fairness, and a country that truly belongs to all its people.