The al-Hassanein Mosque, in the Berjaoui district of Beirut, in Achrafieh, in 1948. (Credit: social media)
The project to rebuild the al-Hassanein mosque in the Berjaoui sector of Achrafieh, Beirut, has recently rekindled some sectarian tensions on social media, though without significant escalation. "Christian Lebanon is under attack. Achrafieh, the heart of the Christian home, is facing a serious threat," lamented one user, calling on "Christian leaders" to respond. Others, however, pointed out that Achrafieh has always been home to people of various faiths, and that in many predominantly Muslim areas, churches stand as "symbols of longstanding coexistence."Despite the harsh discourse online, the reality on the ground tells a different story. Just meters from the construction site, Karim and Nadim, students at the Grand Lycée Franco-Libanais, told L’Orient-Le Jour they had "not heard about the...
The project to rebuild the al-Hassanein mosque in the Berjaoui sector of Achrafieh, Beirut, has recently rekindled some sectarian tensions on social media, though without significant escalation. "Christian Lebanon is under attack. Achrafieh, the heart of the Christian home, is facing a serious threat," lamented one user, calling on "Christian leaders" to respond. Others, however, pointed out that Achrafieh has always been home to people of various faiths, and that in many predominantly Muslim areas, churches stand as "symbols of longstanding coexistence."Despite the harsh discourse online, the reality on the ground tells a different story. Just meters from the construction site, Karim and Nadim, students at the Grand Lycée Franco-Libanais, told L’Orient-Le Jour they had "not heard about the...
