From Resistance to Scapegoating? Lebanon’s Dangerous Sectarian Drift

A new wave of controversy erupted in Lebanon after reports circulated alleging that MP Nabil Keserwani made inflammatory remarks proposing the revocation of citizenship from segments of Lebanon’s Shiite population and their relocation to Iraq. The statements — whether fully accurate, partially distorted, or politically weaponized online — triggered intense backlash across Lebanese social media, including boycott calls against businesses allegedly linked to him, particularly the SANITA brand.

But beyond the outrage lies a far deeper and more dangerous question:

Why are entire communities increasingly being treated as political liabilities because of war, resistance, and regional conflict?

Since the escalation on the Lebanese-Israeli front after October 8, 2023, southern Lebanon — predominantly Shiite regions such as Bint Jbeil, Marjayoun, Tyre, and Nabatieh — has endured continuous Israeli bombardment, assassinations, drone strikes, and infrastructure destruction. Thousands were displaced. Hundreds were killed. Entire border villages were devastated.

Yet amid this destruction, a parallel media and political discourse emerged inside Lebanon itself:

one that increasingly portrayed Shiites not as citizens under attack, but as a demographic burden tied to Hezbollah’s military choices.

This is where criticism of a political party crosses into dangerous sectarian territory.

There is a legitimate debate in Lebanon over war strategy, state sovereignty, Hezbollah’s weapons, and Iran’s regional influence. But when rhetoric shifts from criticizing armed groups to questioning the belonging, citizenship, or legitimacy of an entire sect, the country enters a historically explosive zone.

Lebanon has already witnessed this before:

During the civil war (1975–1990), sectarian incitement destroyed the state.

After 2005, political polarization deepened Sunni–Shiite tensions.

Following the Syrian war, anti-refugee and sectarian narratives intensified further.

Since the Gaza war and the Lebanon-Israel escalation, social media discourse has become even more radicalized.

Historically, the origins of Lebanon’s sects remain academically debated. Some historians argue that large parts of today’s Shiite population descend from ancient local communities in Jabal Amel and the Bekaa, while Maronite historical narratives trace migrations and ecclesiastical links through the Levant, including areas of present-day Syria. But weaponizing historical migration narratives to delegitimize modern communities is intellectually weak and politically reckless. Nearly every Levantine community emerged through centuries of migration, intermarriage, empire, and displacement.

The real issue is not ancestry.

It is whether Lebanon still believes in coexistence.

And another uncomfortable question must be asked:

Why does resistance against Israeli occupation become “national heroism” for some groups in Arab history, but “sectarian militancy” when carried out by Lebanese Shiites defending the south?

Israel occupied southern Lebanon from 1978 until 2000. The 2006 war killed around 1,200 Lebanese and displaced nearly one million people. Today, border communities again pay the highest price. Yet parts of the political elite continue speaking about those same communities as if they are outsiders.

A country that survives on sectarian balance cannot survive sectarian dehumanization.

Questions That Cannot Be Ignored

When political rhetoric begins targeting an entire sect instead of a policy, where does it stop?

Is Lebanon confronting Israeli aggression collectively, or turning internal divisions into another battlefield?

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