Examine individual changes

'{{Infobox ethnic group | group = Lebanese Sunni Muslims<br> المسلمون السنة اللبنانيين | image = | population = | languages = Vernacular:<br/>[[Lebanese Arabic]] | religions = [[Islam]] ([[Sunni Islam]]) | related = | footnotes = }} '''Lebanese Sunni Muslims''' refers to [[Lebanese people]] who are adherents of the [[Sunni branch of Islam]] in [[Lebanon]], which is the largest denomination in Lebanon tied with [[Lebanese people (Shia Muslims)|Shia Muslims]]. Sunni Islam in Lebanon has a history of more than a millennium. According to a [[CIA]] study, Lebanese Sunni Muslims constitute an estimated 27% of [[Lebanon]]'s population.<ref name="2012Report">{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2012/nea/208400.htm |title=2012 Report on International Religious Freedom - Lebanon |publisher=[[United States Department of State]] |date=20 May 2013 |accessdate=15 December 2013}}</ref> The Lebanese Sunni Muslims are concentrated in west [[Beirut]], [[Tripoli, Lebanon|Tripoli]], [[Sidon]], [[Western Beqaa]], and in the countryside of the [[Akkar]].<ref>[http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=5058&tmpl=printpage Lebanon Overview] World Directory of Minorities. June 2008. Retrieved 28 December 2013.</ref> Under the terms of an unwritten agreement known as the [[National Pact]] between the various political and religious leaders of Lebanon, Sunni notables traditionally held power in the Lebanese state together, and they are still the only sect eligible for the post of [[Prime Minister of Lebanon|Prime Minister]].<ref>[https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108487.htm International Religious Freedom Report 2008] US Department of State. Retrieved 28 December 2013.</ref> ==History== [[File:Lebanon sectors map.jpg|thumb|150px|upright|An estimate of the distribution of Lebanon's main religious groups, 1991, based on a map by GlobalSecurity.org]] [[File:Lebanon religious groups distribution.jpg|thumb|150px|upright|Lebanon religious groups distribution]] [[File:Lebanon religious groups.jpg|thumb|150px|upright|An estimate of the area distribution of Lebanon's main religious groups]] ===Origins=== The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Lebanese people is a blend of both indigenous Phoenician elements, Arab culture and the foreign cultures that have come to rule the land and its people over the course of thousands of years. In a 2013 interview the lead investigator, [[Pierre Zalloua]], pointed out that genetic variation preceded religious variation and divisions:"Lebanon already had well-differentiated communities with their own genetic peculiarities, but not significant differences, and religions came as layers of paint on top. There is no distinct pattern that shows that one community carries significantly more [[Phoenicia]]n than another."<ref>{{cite web|last=Maroon|first=Habib|title=A geneticist with a unifying message|url=http://www.nature.com/nmiddleeast/2013/130331/full/nmiddleeast.2013.46.html|publisher=Nature|accessdate=2013-10-03|date=31 March 2013}}</ref> [[Genealogical DNA test]]ing has shown that 27,7% of Lebanese Muslims (non-[[Druze in Lebanon|Druze]]) belong to the [[Y-DNA]] [[haplogroup J1]]. Although there is common ancestral roots, these studies show some difference was found between Muslims and non-Muslims in Lebanon, of whom only 17.1% have this haplotype. As haplogroup J1 finds its putative origins in the [[Arabian peninsula]], this likely means that the lineage was introduced by Arabs beginning at the time of the 7th century [[Muslim conquest of the Levant]] and has persisted among the Muslim population ever since. On the other hand, only 4.7% of all Lebanese Muslims belong to [[Haplogroup R1b (Y-DNA)|haplogroup R1b]], compared to 9.6% of [[Lebanese Christians]]. Modern Muslims in Lebanon thus do not seem to have a significant genetic influence from the [[Crusades|Crusaders]], who probably introduced this common [[Western Europe]]an marker to the extant Christian populations of the [[Levant]] when they were active in the region from [[First Crusade|1096]] until around the turn of the 14th century. [[Haplogroup J2]] is also a significant marker in throughout Lebanon (27%). This marker found in many inhabitants of Lebanon, regardless of religion, signals pre-Arab descendants, including the Phoenicians. These genetic studies show us there is no significant differences between the Muslims and non-Muslims of Lebanon.<ref>Zalloua, Pierre A., [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2427286/pdf/main.pdf Y-Chromosomal Diversity in Lebanon Is Structured by Recent Historical Events], ''The American Journal of Human Genetics 82'', 873–882, April 2008</ref> ==Relations== ===With Saudi Arabia=== The Sunnis of Lebanon have close ties with [[Saudi Arabia]], which supports them financially.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Lucy Fielder|title=Trial by fire for Lebanon's government|journal=Al Ahram Weekly|date=23–29 June 2011|issue=1053|url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2011/1053/re7.htm|accessdate=28 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hughmacleod.co.uk/stormtripoli.htm|title=Tripoli|publisher=Hugh Macleod|accessdate=4 July 2010}}</ref> Moreover, Tripoli, the stronghold of the Lebanese Sunnis, is also the birthplace of Lebanon's [[Salafism|Salafi Movement]], a non-Sunni movement from Saudi Arabia.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lebanon's Sheikhs Take on Assad and Hezbollah|url=http://www.wilsoncenter.org/islamists/article/lebanon%E2%80%99s-sheikhs-take-assad-and-hezbollah|work=Wilson Center|accessdate=28 December 2013|author=Garrett Nada|date=10 May 2013}}</ref> ===With Lebanese Alawites and Syria=== The Lebanese Sunni Muslims initially opposed the creation of the Lebanese state separated from Syria, where the majority of the population was also Sunni Muslim, and wanted the territory of present-day Lebanon to be incorporated within the so-called [[Greater Syria]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=J3PsAb1uV94C&pg=PA63&dq=%22Sunni+Lebanese%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=HSsTVZ-SN4qoogTSzoK4CQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22Sunni%20Lebanese%22&f=false Greater Syria By Daniel Pipes]</ref> Sunni Muslims and [[Shia Islam in Lebanon#Alawites|Alawites]] have been in conflict with each other for centuries. The Alawites of the Levant were oppressed by the Sunni [[Ottoman Empire]], but gained power and influence when the French recruited Alawites as soldiers during the [[French mandate of Syria]].<ref>Mordechai Nisan. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=keD9z1XWuNwC&pg=PA118&lpg=PA118&dq=#v=onepage&q&f=false Minorities in the Middle East: a history of struggle and self-expression]''. McFarland, 2002. {{ISBN|0-7864-1375-1}}, {{ISBN|978-0-7864-1375-1}}</ref><ref>Reva Bhalla (5 May 2011). [http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20110504-making-sense-syrian-crisis Making Sense of the Syrian Crisis] Stratfor. Retrieved 28 December 2013.</ref><ref>Seale, Patrick. ''Asad Of Syria : The Struggle For The Middle East'' / [[Patrick Seale]] With The Assistance Of Maureen McConville. Seale, Patrick. Berkeley : University of California Press, 1989, c1988.</ref> After independence from France, their co-religionists the [[Assad family]] came to power in Syria in 1970.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/doc/199302/kaplan|title=Syria: Identity Crisis|author=Robert Kaplan|date=February 1993|work=The Atlantic|quote=But the coup of 1970, which brought an Alawi air force officer, Hafez Assad, to power, was what finally ended the instability that had reigned in Syria since the advent of independence.}}</ref> Over the years, there have been numerous clashes between the Sunni and Alawi communities in [[Tripoli, Lebanon|Tripoli]], particularly over the past 14 months since [[Syrian uprising (2011–present)|Syria's uprising]] began, as part of the [[Arab Spring]] that started in [[Tunisia]]. The deadliest exchange took place last June, when seven people were killed and more than 60 wounded, after Sunni Muslims staged a protest against the Syrian government. At the best of times, the [[Alawites]] are regarded by [[Sunnis]] as heretics; at times of tension, when thousands of Sunnis in [[Syria]] are being killed, they are regarded as the enemy. And when a popular Salafist figure is strangely abducted and arrested by Lebanon's General Security Service – an organization linked to the Hezbollah militia that, in turn, is linked to the Syrian government – the Alawites become the whipping boys.<ref>Patrick Martin, (14 May 2012). [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/syrias-war-ignites-sectarian-strife-in-lebanon/article2432708/ Syria's war ignites sectarian strife in Lebanon] ''The Global and Mail''. Retrieved 28 December 2013.</ref> ==Geographic distribution within Lebanon== Lebanese Sunni Muslims are concentrated in cities if west [[Beirut]], [[Tripoli, Lebanon|Tripoli]], [[Sidon]] and in north Lebanon in the [[Akkar]] and minyeh dinnieh districts, middle and west bekaa, Chouf district and laqlouq in mount lebanon , hasbaya district, and Northeastern Beqaa Valley mainly in and around the city of [[Arsal]].<ref>[http://www.minorityrights.org/5063/lebanon/sunnis.html Lebanon Sunnis Overview] World Directory of Minorities. June 2008. Retrieved 28 December 2013.</ref> ==Demographics== {{bar box | title = Lebanese Sunni Muslims<ref name="2012Report"/><ref name="CIA1985">{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/91684898 |title=Contemporary distribution of Lebanon's main religious groups |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |date= |accessdate=15 December 2013}}</ref> | titlebar = #ddd | left1 = '''Year''' | right1 = '''Percent''' | float = right | bars = {{bar percent|1932|#FFCCCC|22}} {{bar percent|1985|#CCCCCC|27}} {{bar percent|2012|#6666FF|27}} }} The last census in Lebanon in 1932 put the numbers of Sunnis at 22% of the population (178,100 of 791,700).<ref name="CIA1985"/> A study done by the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) in 1985 put the numbers of Sunnis at 27% of the population (595,000 of 2,228,000).<ref name="CIA1985"/> Sunni Muslims constitute 27% of [[Lebanon]]'s population, according to a 2012 estimate.<ref name="2012Report"/> ==Notable people== * [[Khaled Chehab|Emir Khaled Chehab]], former [[Prime Minister of Lebanon]] and [[List of Speakers of the Parliament of Lebanon|Speaker]] of the [[Parliament of Lebanon]]. * [[Riad Al Solh]], the first [[Prime Minister of Lebanon]] (1943–1945), after the country's independence * [[Rafik Hariri]], assassinated former [[Prime Minister of Lebanon]] * [[Saad Hariri]], former Prime Minister of Lebanon * [[Fouad Siniora]], former Prime Minister of Lebanon * [[Abdul Hamid Karami]], former Prime Minister of Lebanon * [[Omar Karami]], former Prime Minister of Lebanon * [[Rashid Karami]], former Prime Minister of Lebanon * [[Najib Mikati]], former Prime Minister of Lebanon * [[Saeb Salam]], politician, who served as Prime Minister six times between 1952 and 1973 * [[Tammam Salam]], politician and current Prime Minister of Lebanon * [[Walid Toufic]], singer * [[Al-Waleed bin Talal]], Saudi-Lebanese businessman and grandson of Riad Al Solh, Lebanon's first Prime Minister * [[Marwa (singer)|Marwa]], singer * [[Suzanne Tamim]], the late singer * [[Fadl Shaker]], singer * [[Hassan Khaled]], late former leader of Lebanon's Sunni Muslim community * [[Wissam al-Hassan]], assassinated brigadier general at the Lebanese [[Internal Security Forces]] (ISF) * [[Mohamad Chatah]], assassinated Lebanese economist and diplomat * [[Ahmed Assir]], Sunni activist and former Imam of the Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque in [[Sidon]] * [[Ali Al Hajj]], former major general and director of [[Internal Security Forces|the Lebanese Internal Security Forces]] * [[Ashraf Rifi]], former major general and director of [[Internal Security Forces|the Lebanese Internal Security Forces]] and current minister of justice * [[Amal Clooney]], a London-based [[United Kingdom|British]]-[[Lebanon|Lebanese]] lawyer, activist, and author. (Sunni mother and [[Druze in Lebanon|Druze]] father.) ==See also== * [[Religion in Lebanon]] * [[Lebanese Shia Muslims]] * [[Lebanese Druze]] * [[Lebanese Maronite Christians]] * [[Lebanese Melkite Christians]] * [[Lebanese Greek Orthodox Christians]] * [[Lebanese Protestant Christians]] * [[Bab al-Tabbaneh–Jabal Mohsen conflict]] ==References== {{Reflist|33em}} {{Lebanese people by religious background}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Sunni Islam in Lebanon}} [[Category:Sunni Islam in Lebanon| ]]'