A Lebanese flag stained with red, on Aug. 4, 2025, in Beirut, during the fifth commemoration of the explosion at the capital's port. (Credit: Illustrative photo by Matthieu Karam/L’Orient-Le Jour)
Hazem Saghieh is a journalist and writer. He is one of the leading figures in Arab journalism. He worked at As-Safir, then at al-Hayat, before joining al-Sharq al-Awsat in 2019. He is regarded as one of the most influential critical voices in contemporary Arab intellectual discourse. His books and articles primarily address issues of politics and culture, and are characterized by their critique of nationalist ideology, authoritarianism and political Islam.This week in L’Orient Today, he examines how Lebanon’s 1975 Civil War legacy endures in today’s language, fueling divisions and harsh political debate across media.There is a joke about an educated young man in a remote village, who mentioned the phrase “the World War between the Allies and the Axis.” His father immediately cuts in to ask: “and who were the Muslims and who were the...
Hazem Saghieh is a journalist and writer. He is one of the leading figures in Arab journalism. He worked at As-Safir, then at al-Hayat, before joining al-Sharq al-Awsat in 2019. He is regarded as one of the most influential critical voices in contemporary Arab intellectual discourse. His books and articles primarily address issues of politics and culture, and are characterized by their critique of nationalist ideology, authoritarianism and political Islam.This week in L’Orient Today, he examines how Lebanon’s 1975 Civil War legacy endures in today’s language, fueling divisions and harsh political debate across media.There is a joke about an educated young man in a remote village, who mentioned the phrase “the World War between the Allies and the Axis.” His father immediately cuts in to ask: “and who were the Muslims and who...