Part One:

1. Read the chapter in our textbook about multicultural representation and the following paragraphs, showing how the problem of equal representation of religious groups was solved within the Lebanese constitution.

a. According to the following Wikipedia site, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Lebanon), Lebanon has “?The most religiously diverse society of all states within the Middle East, comprising 18 recognized religious sects. The main two religions are Christianity(Maronite Church, Greek Orthodox Church, Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Protestant Church, Armenian Apostolic Church), and Islam (Shia and Sunni). There is also the Druze minority religion, which is designated as one of the five Lebanese Muslim communities (Sunni, Shia, Druze, Alawi and Ismaili)”.

b. The CIA Factbook in the following link https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/le.html tells us that in Lebanon there are 54% Muslims (27% Sunni, 27% Shia), 40.5% Christians (21% Maronite Catholic, 8% Greek Orthodox, 5% Greek Catholic, 6.5% other Christians), 5.6% Druze, and other minorities.

c. In order to have proper representation of all the religious groups in the government, it was determined by the Lebanese constitution in 1943 that the political composition of the government should be as follows: The president must be a Maronite, the Prime Minister must be Sunnite, the Speaker of Parliament must be Shiite, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament must be Greek Orthodox, the Defense Minister must be Druze, and the Chief of Staff must be Maronite.

2. What were the problems of implementing the Lebanese agreement?

3. What do you think about the Lebanese solution? Can it be implemented in other countries and/or organizations (such as L.E agencies) as well?

Part One:

1. Read the chapter in our textbook about multicultural representation and the following paragraphs, showing how the problem of equal representation of religious groups was solved within the Lebanese constitution.

a. According to the following Wikipedia site, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Lebanon), Lebanon has “?The most religiously diverse society of all states within the Middle East, comprising 18 recognized religious sects. The main two religions are Christianity(Maronite Church, Greek Orthodox Church, Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Protestant Church, Armenian Apostolic Church), and Islam (Shia and Sunni). There is also the Druze minority religion, which is designated as one of the five Lebanese Muslim communities (Sunni, Shia, Druze, Alawi and Ismaili)”.

b. The CIA Factbook in the following link https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/le.html tells us that in Lebanon there are 54% Muslims (27% Sunni, 27% Shia), 40.5% Christians (21% Maronite Catholic, 8% Greek Orthodox, 5% Greek Catholic, 6.5% other Christians), 5.6% Druze, and other minorities.

c. In order to have proper representation of all the religious groups in the government, it was determined by the Lebanese constitution in 1943 that the political composition of the government should be as follows: The president must be a Maronite, the Prime Minister must be Sunnite, the Speaker of Parliament must be Shiite, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament must be Greek Orthodox, the Defense Minister must be Druze, and the Chief of Staff must be Maronite.

2. What were the problems of implementing the Lebanese agreement?

3. What do you think about the Lebanese solution? Can it be implemented in other countries and/or organizations (such as L.E agencies) as well?