Religion in Lebanon

Lebanon's Sects

2011-08-27T21:45:00.000-07:00

There are different religions in Lebanon, 18 sects recognized by the Lebanese government. However there are other minor sects that are not recognized by the government.

The both greater religions here are Chrisitanity and Islam.

Lebanon is the land of those religions with many holy sites and temples. Take a look in some of those religions:

Ortodox Community

Greek Ortodox

The Greek Orthodox adhere to the Orthodox Eastern Church, which is a group using the Byzantine rite. Historically, these churches grew out of the four Eastern Patriarchates (Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, and Constantinople) which, from the fifth century diverged from the Western Patriarchate of Rome over the nature of Christ. The final split took place after the fall of Constantinople in 1096. From that time, with the exception of a brief period of reunion in the fifteenth century, the Eastern Church has continued to reject the claim of the Roman patriarchate to universal supremacy, and has also rejected the concept of papal infallibility . Doctrinally, the main point at issue between the Eastern and Western Churches is that of the procession of the Holy Spirit. There are also divergences in ritual and discipline.

Originally a peasant community, the Greek Orthodox include many free- holders, and the community is less dominated by large landowners than other Christian denominations. In present-day Lebanon, the Greek Orthodox have become increasingly urbanized, and form a major part of the commercial and professional class of Beirut and other cities. Many are also found in the southeast and north, near Tripoli. They are both highly educated and well versed in finance. The sect has become known for its pan-Arab orientation, possibly because it exists in various parts of the Arab world. The church has often served as a bridge between Lebanese Christians and the Arab countries. Members of the sect constitute 5 percent of the population.

Jacobites or Syrian Monophysites

The Jacobites or Syrian Monophysites, often referred to as the Syrian Orthodox Church, take their name from Jacob Baradeus who spread the teachings of the church throughout Syria in the sixth century. The doctrinal position of the Jacobites is that after the incarnation, Christ had only one divine nature. This is contrary to the orthodox Christian position that states Christ had both a human and divine nature. The church follows the Syriac liturgy of St. James and has an independent hierarchy under the Patriarch of Antioch, whose seat was formerly at Mardin in Turkish Kurdistan and is now at Homs, Syria. As of 1987 there were only a few thousand Jacobites in Lebanon.

Armenian Orthodox or Gregorian

The Gregorian Church was organized in the third century and became autocephalous as a national church in the fourth century. In the sixth century it modified the formulations of the Council of Chalcedon of 451 that believe in the dual nature of Christ in one person. Instead the Gregorian Church adopted a form of Monophysitism that believes in the single divine nature of Christ, a belief which is slightly different from the belief of the Copts and the Syrian Orthodox Church. The Armenian Orthodox Church has five patriarchs, of whom the Catholicos of Etchmiadzin in Soviet Armenia is the most revered. It also has an Armenian liturgy.

The Armenians in Lebanon were refugees who had fled Turkey during and after World War I. In 1987 they resided in Beirut and its northern suburbs as well as in Anjar. They are admired for their skills as craftsmen and diligence, which have enabled them to gain prominent economic positions. Politically, Armenians advocate compromise and moderation.

Assyrian or Nestorian Church

The Assyrians are the remnants of the Nestorian Church that emerged with the Christological controversies in the fifth century. The Nestorians, who have a Syriac liturgy, say that Christ consisted of two separate persons, one human and one divine, as opposed to having two natures in one person. Their doctrine was condemned by the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D. Subsequently, those Nestorians who accepted this doctrine formed an independent church, which has only a few thousand members in Lebanon.

Coptic Ortodox

The Church belongs to the Oriental Orthodox family of churches, which has been a distinct church body since the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, when it took a different position over Christological theology from that of the body of churches that would later split into Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. The precise differences in theology that caused the split with the Coptic Christians are still disputed, highly technical and mainly concerned with the nature of Christ. The foundational roots of the Church are based in Egypt but it has a worldwide following.

Protestants

The Protestants in Lebanon were converted by missionaries, primarily English and American, during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. They are divided into a number of denominations, the most important being Presbyterian, Congregational, and Anglican. Typically, Lebanese Protestants are educated and belong to the professional middle class. They constitute less than 1 percent of the population and live primarily in Beirut.

Catholic Community

Maronites

Maronite Church of Saidet et Tallé in Deir el Qamar, Lebanon

The Maronites are the largest Uniate or Eastern church in Lebanon and represent an indigenous church. Maronite communion with the Roman Catholic Church was established in 1182, broken thereafter, and formally reestablished in the sixteenth century. In accordance with the terms of union, they retain their own rites and canon law and use Arabic and Aramaic in their liturgy as well the Karshuni script with old Syriac letters. Their origins are uncertain. One version traces them to John Maron of Antioch in the seventh century A.D.; another points to John Maron, a monk of Homs in the late fourth and early fifth centuries. The words maron or marun in Syriac mean "small lord."

Besides the Beirut archdiocese, nine other archdioceses and dioceses are located in the Middle East: Aleppo, Damascus, Jubayl-Al Batrun, Cyprus, Baalbek, Tripoli, Tyre, Sidon, and Cairo. Parishes and independent dioceses are situated in Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Côte d'Ivoire, and Senegal. There are four minor seminaries in Lebanon (Al Batrun, Ghazir, Ayn Saadah, and Tripoli) and a faculty of theology at the University of the Holy Spirit at Al Kaslik, which is run by the Maronite Monastic Order. The patriarch is elected in a secret ceremony by a synod of bishops and confirmed by the Pope.

The Maronite sect has traditionally occupied the highest stratum of the social pyramid in Lebanon. Leaders of the sect have considered Maronite Christianity as the "foundation of the Lebanese nation." The Maronites have been closely associated with the political system of independent Lebanon; it was estimated that in pre-Civil War Lebanon members of this sect held 20 percent of the leading posts.

Greek Catholics(Melkites)

Greek Catholics are the second largest Uniate community in Lebanon. They emerged as a distinct group in the early eighteenth century when they split from the Greek Orthodox Church. Although they fully accept Catholic doctrines as defined by the Vatican, they have generally remained close to the Greek Orthodox Church, retaining more of the ancient rituals and customs than have the Maronites. They use Arabic and follow the Byzantine rite. In Lebanon, when one speaks of Catholics, one is referring to this group, not to Roman Catholics or the Maronites.

The highest official of the church since 1930 has been the Patriarch of Antioch, who resides at Ayn Traz, about twenty-four kilometers southeast of Beirut. The patriarch is elected by bishops in a synod and confirmed by the Pope in Rome, who sends him a pallium (a circular band of white wool worn by archbishops) in recognition of their communion. Greek Catholic churches, like those of the Greek Orthodox, contain icons but no statues.

The Greek Catholics live primarily in the central and eastern parts of the country, dispersed in many villages. Members of this sect are concentrated in Beirut, Zahlah, and the suburbs of Sidon. They have a relatively higher level of education than other sects. Proud of their Arab heritage, Greek Catholics have been able to strike a balance between their openness to the Arab world and their identification with the West, especially the United States. Greek Catholics constituted 3 percent of the population (72,000) in 1986.

Latin/Roman Catholics

Catholics who accept the full primacy of the Holy See and follow the Latin rite comprised less than 1 percent of the population in the 1980s. The Lebanese refer to them as Latins to distinguish them from Uniate groups. The Latin community is extremely variegated, since both laity and clergy, including large numbers of foreigners, are mainly Europeans. As Roman Catholics, they acknowledge the supreme authority of the Pope in Rome, venerate the Virgin Mary and the saints, and recognize the seven sacraments of baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist (the sacrament of the Lord's Supper), confession and penance, ordination, matrimony, and extreme unction (given when facing the danger of death). Members of the clergy are celibate.

Armenian Catholic

In union with the other Eastern Rite, Oriental Rite and Latin Rite Catholics who accept the Bishop of Rome as spiritual leader of the Church. It is regulated by Eastern canon law. Since 1749, the Armenian Catholic Church has been headquartered at the Armenian Catholic Patriarchate complex in Bzoummar, Lebanon.

Syriac Catholic Church

A Christian church in the Levant having practices and rites in common with the Syriac Orthodox Church. They are one of the Eastern Catholic Churches following the Antiochene rite, the Syriac tradition of Antioch, along with the Maronites and Syro-Malankara Christians. This is distinct from the Greek Byzantine rite of Antioch of the Melkites, both Orthodox and Catholic. Their head, the Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, lives in Beirut. They have a separate church organization from the Melkites, Maronites, and Chaldean Catholics, which are other communities of the Levant also in full communion with Rome.

Chaldean Catholic Church

Is an Eastern Syriac particular church of the Catholic Church, maintaining full communion with the Bishop of Rome and the rest of the Roman Catholic Church. The Chaldean Catholic Church presently comprises an estimated 1,500,000 Chaldean Christians who are ethnic Assyrians.

The Chaldeans and Nestorians use in their church books the antique letters of the older versions of the Syriac Scriptures which are called "astrangelo", and their pronunciation is somewhat different. The Chaldean Church in ancient times was most flourishing, and its history under Persian rule was a bright one. In the sixth century it embraced the Nestorian heresy, for Nestorius on being removed from the See of Constantinople went to Persia and taught his views. The Chaldean Church took up his heresy and became Nestorian. This Nestorian Church not only extended throughout Mesopotamia and Persia, but penetrated also into India (Malabar) and even into China.

Islam

Muslims are those who believe in one God and all Messengers and Prophets until the last Prophet Muhammad(s.a.a.s).Their book is the Holy Quran, but they also believe in the older menssages of Jesus(a.s), Moses(a.s) and Abraham(a.s).

Sunni

Orthodox Sunni Muslims are those who regard the Quran, supplemented by the traditions of the Prophet most passed by his friends and some relatives, as the sole and sufficient embodiment of the Muslim faith. Religious leadership of the Sunni community in Lebanon is based on principles and institutions deriving partly from traditional Islam and partly from French influence.

Under the Mandate, the French established a Supreme Islamic Council at the national level, headed by a Grand Mufti and a national Directorate of Waqfs; these institutions continued to exist in the mid-1980s. The French also established local departments of waqfs, which staffed and maintained hospitals, schools, cemeteries, and mosques. In addition, the waqfs managed the funds that supported these operations.

The majority of Lebanese Sunnis resided in urban centers. It is estimated that more than two-thirds of them lived in Beirut, Sidon, and Baalbek. The few rural Sunnis lived in the Akkar region, the western Biqa Valley, around Baalbek, and in the Shuf Mountains. Their typical occupations were in the realms of trade, industry, and real estate. Large Sunni families enjoyed political and social significance.

The Kurds are non-Arab Sunnis of whom there are only a few in Lebanon, concentrated mainly in Beirut.

Twelver or Imami Shias

It is the bigger sect in Lebanon, they are those who regard the Quran, traditions of the Prophet(s.a.a.s) passed most by his family and some friends.They believe in 12 Imams, which descend from the Prophet Muhammad(s.a.a.s).

The appellation "Twelver" derives from the disappearance of the twelfth imam, Muhammad al Muntazar, in about 874. He was a child, and after his disappearance he became known as a messianic figure, Muhammad Mahdi, who never died but remains to this day hidden from view. The Twelver Shias believe his return will usher in a golden era. He will reappear with Jesus(a.s).

Ismailis

In the mid-1980s there were only a few hundred Ismailis in various parts of Lebanon. The Ismailis are Shias known as Seveners because they believe Ismail was the seventh Imam.

The Ismaili sect is divided into two branches: the Mustalian branch is found primarily in North Yemen, and the Nizari branch is found in the Iranian district of Salamiya, Afghanistan, Soviet Central Asia, India, the hitral and Gilgit areas of Pakistan, and East Africa. The Ismailis split into two branches over a succession dispute. The current Nizari Imam is a revealed ruler and is well known, even in the West, as the Agha Khan.

Ismailis place particular emphasis on taqiyya, the practice of dissimulation about one's beliefs to protect oneself from harassment or persecution. Ismaili beliefs about the creation of the world are idiosyncratic.

Alawis

Lebanese Alawis have assumed more significance since the rise to power of the Alawi faction in Syria in 1966, and especially since the Syrians established a military presence in Lebanon in 1976.

The Alawis are also known as "Nusayris" because of their concentration in the Nusayriyah Mountains in western Syria. They appear to be descendants of people who lived in this region at the time of Alexander the Great.

Alawis claim they are Muslims, but conservative Sunnis do not recognize them as such.

Because many of the tenets of the faith are secret, Alawis have refused to discuss their faith with outsiders. Only an elect few learn the religion after a lengthy initiation process; youths are initiated into the secrets of the faith in stages. Alawis study the Quran and recognize the five pillars of Islam. Most of all they have Imam Ali as the big figure for their religion.

Druzes

The religion of the Druzes may be regarded as an offshoot of Ismaili Islam. Historically it springs from the Fatimid caliph of Egypt, Hakim (996-1021 A.D.).

His close associates and followers Hamza and Darazi (hence the name Druze) spread the new doctrine among the inhabitants of southern Lebanon, and founded among them a sect which non-Druzes called "Druze" and Druzes called "Unitarian." The Druzes believe that Hakim is not dead but absent and will return to his people. Like the Ismailis, they also believe in emanations of the deity, in supernatural hierarchies, and in the transmigration of souls.

The Druzes are religiously divided into two groups. Those who master the secrets and teaching of the sect and who respect its dictates in their daily life, are referred to as uqqal (the mature) and are regarded as the religious elite. Believers who are not entitled to know the inner secrets of the religion and who do not practice their religion are called juhhal (the ignorant).

The leadership of the Druze community in Lebanon traditionally has been shared by two factions: the Jumblatt (also seen as Junblatt) and the Yazbak family confederations.

Jewish Community

Lebanese Jews historically have been an integral part of the Lebanese fabric of confessional communities. In 1947, they were estimated to number 5,950. After the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, Lebanese Jews did not feel compelled to emigrate because they enjoyed a prosperous status in Lebanese society and had been granted equal rights by law with other citizens.

However, the intensification of the Arab-Israeli conflict politicized attitudes toward local Jews, who were often associated with the policies of Israel.

During the June 1967 War, Lebanese authorities stationed guards in Jewish districts, when hostility toward Lebanese Jews became overt. Several hundred chose to leave the country.

As of 1987 it was estimated that only a dozen Jews remained in West Beirut, and some seventy others in the eastern sector of the city.

The Jewish community in Lebanon was an mirror reflecting Lebanon’s unique identity as a diverse center of religious tolerance and coexistence.

Today they are almost 200 in Lebanon, and they try to construct their community again in the Wadi Abu Jamil(Beirut) which was home for 17 Synagogues, 4 remained.

Sufism

In the city of Lebanon Tripoli and Saida, there is the group of Muslims, that are called Naqshbandi-Haqqani, historically speaking, the Naqshbandi tariqat can be traced back to Abu Bakr. There are in Lebanon other tariq of sufism. Here I could met Shayk Adnan Kabbani, the successor to Mawlana Sheikh Nazim Al-Haqqani in the Naqshbandi Sufi Order, who kindly wellcomed us, and gave much of his time answering our questions.
There are some definitions for Sufis, some called them Mystical people, other called them Wise Men, but the bases of Sufism is Love for God, just for God. is defined by its adherents as the inner, dimension of Islam. Classical Sufi scholars have defined Sufism as "a science whose objective is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God."
In Lebanon there are other Tariqs of Sufism as Shadili, Rifaiyah, Qadiriyah, Nashqabandi etc..

References

http://www.armeniancatholic.org/inside.php?lang=en&page_id=10

http://countrystudies.us/lebanon/41.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syriac_Catholic_Church

Guia- Libano (Turistico e Cultural) por Roberto Katlab

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/religion-christian-chaldean.htm

http://www.thejewsoflebanonproject.org/

http://srnnews.townhall.com/photos/

http://i-cias.com/e.o/syr_cath.htm

Religion Mix in the Journey of Faith

2011-08-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

n the Journey of Faith

Jewish in Lebanon

2011-08-23T06:45:00.000-07:00

This photo is from the Facebook in the page of Beirut Maghen Abraham Synagogue. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beirut-Maghen-Abraham-Synagogue/52472386024?v=app_2347471856#!/pages/Beirut-Maghen-Abraham-Synagogue/52472386024?sk=photos

"Lebanon is more than a country- but a message of religious tolerance and coexistence".

Pope Jean Paul II.

Existed a time when Muslims, Christians and Jewish lived like brothers in Lebanon. Where the three monoteistic religions were all present in the same land, where they lived in peace.

The Jewish community was legalized in the time of Ottoman Empire, the community once numbered 22.000 people, and today there are few than 200 living in Lebanon and 2.000 Lebanese jewish living around the world according with the Official Site of Jewish in Lebanon.

After many conflicts and wars between Arab Countries and Israel, Jewish that lived in Lebanon left to another countries. However a small number of people stayed, because they are Lebaneses jewish and want to be in their country and profess their religion.

Beirut’s Jewish neighborhood, Wadi Abu Jamil, were home to 17 Synagogues. Today there are four located in the country.

Now, the Jewish Community with the permission and help of the authorities are planning to rebuilt the Synagogue of the Maghan Avraham in the Wadi Abu Jamil, jewish living outside the country and even the Bank Safra are suporters.

Asking some people’s opinion about the Jewish in Lebanon, many of them said that they don’t have any problem with the jewish, but with the israel’s occupation of land.

An old woman resident from Beirut, that prefered to don’t use her name, said that their parents had very good jewish friends, and also she had not problem with Jewish, but she is against Israel after the political Conflicts. But she said: “We must know the difference between Jewish and Zionism.”

However some people were just against.

While going to take photos on the synagogue, we had to ask permission of a Private Company, Solidere, to take photos in a Public Space, and is not the first time that we had to take permission not from the authorities. But the fact is that they gave me a half permission, but after that they give me a contact, who said that I also should have the permission of the Seat of the Government, we are still waiting...

We dont know the future of Lebanon, but at least for the Lebanese Jewish that lives outside it is a dream to came back to Lebanon, and profess their religion as one day it was possible.

Speaking with a Lebanese jewish in the internet, he said: “I am Jewish, and proud to be Lebanese.”

Lebanese Tolerance

2011-08-04T13:21:00.000-07:00

Despite Lebanese Civil Wars for many years, religion was never the main point of the struggle, but the political issues were. No one fought to change other’s religious believes, but they fought to change other’s political’ views.

In the civil war, the city and groups were divided based on religion, but the problem was not the religion itself, but the political part that each group follow.

Lebanon is a tolerant country that has born out of a religious unification. It is the only country in the entire Middle East which is dominated by Islam but with a large population of Christians, and also in a very short space.

The Religious Tolerance in Lebanon is great comparing with many other countries, and also West’s Countries as said David Samel, in his article: “What Lebanon can teach the U.S. about religious tolerance” , where he compared the Beirut synagogue restoration project and the controversy over Park51, an Islamic cultural center planned for lower Manhattan. As David said the Government of Lebanon did approval the restoration of the synagogue and Hezbollah too, even being enemies of Israel, because they respect the Religion.

David also said: “There was no public outcry, demonstrations, or even controversy. The contrast with the proposal to build the Islamic Center two blocks from the World Trade Center site could not be more stark. There have been increasingly strident and even frightening demonstrations against Park51.”

Another interesting article was by Alex Klaushofer in the BBC NEWS, where he speaks about the tolerance in Lebanese Schools, as an example was the National Evangelical School, founded by Presbyterian missionaries 75 years ago, the school is Christian, but its neighboors are Shia Muslims, and it is located in the town of Nabatieh in “Hezbollah's heartlands”.

As he said: “The school's governors long ago gave up any ideas of converting their young charges to Christianity. No Muslim became a Christian in 75 years," says head teacher Munther Antoun cheerfully, himself a Presbyterian Christian.

That is Lebanon, we see a lot of discussions about Politics, but very few discussions about religion, so each one usually stay in their own religion.

Instead of religious assembly, every morning the school's 783 pupils receive a 20-minute talk as part of their "ethical teaching".When using religious resources, teachers tread a fine line, choosing elements common to both faiths.

The Professors also try to balance: "So at Christmas, we have the Christmas story, and they act it out according to the Bible. But at Easter, we don't do anything, because they don't believe in the Resurrection."

Lebanon has a singular flexibility between their different religions. The tolerance exists in different places in the Country, in schools, universities, Companies, stores, and in all places. Each one respect other’s creed, rituals, holidays, ceremonies, etc...and no only respect but sometimes also participates in other’s commemorations.

According with the Book( which contains a series of researches and analysis of students): “University Students in Lebanon, Background and Attitudes: The Heritage of Divisions, chapter 11 by Muhammad Faour, cites:

“Students were asked about their attitude toward those who do not follow religious principles and guidelines. The responses,ranging from acceptance to total rejection and action to "redirect them back to the right track," form the scale of tolerance.

Although there is really a certain tolerance, breaks occur sometimes in specific cases but small cases, as written in the article by Mona Alami:

“Aida Suleiman, a public school teacher working in Aley, a predominated Druze city some 17km from Beirut, says that fights are erupting more frequently between children from different religious backgrounds. "Tensions are on the rise between Druze and Shia kids, who are a minority at our school."

In her article she put many different cases showing that children of all religions are no being so tolerant sometimes as an example of what they are learning from their families and society, and according to her, this tends to increase.

Fortunately it is not the case with children or specific cases that can label a country as tolerant or not, these cases are just to show that one maybe not agrees with other, and children different than adults show and repeat in front of everyone what adults say hidden.

I agree that no one can deny what is written in history, as conflicts between one group or another, but it was never about the religion itself or creed, was about different groups but religion was never the point that they were fighting for.

No one was trying to prove that they have the right religion, that they follow the right book, it was never about it. Religion was like“the color of the flag” that each group held, to represent in the war which political side each one belongs.

However Lebanon is certainly a country of tolerance and if is not a miracle, how 18 different religious groups would live in such a small space?
Doesn't means that all Lebaneses love all Lebaneses, it seems that they tolerate.

Nice Example in the Airport of Beirut

2011-08-03T13:24:00.000-07:00

Prayer rooms are available for both Muslims and Christians located on the second level above the Duty Free zone in the departure area.

Reference:

http://www.beirutairport.gov.lb/_Facilities.php?PageID=6

Similarities in Religion

2011-08-02T13:26:00.000-07:00

Althoug religions are different, they have many similarities, in case of Lebanon where the majority follow a monoteistic faith all religions call for the worship of a One Superior Being , God, which for Chritians and Muslims Arabs, it is Allah.

Many commun things exist in these religions, as the existence of a Holy Book, the existence of many Prophets and Saints, the end of the days with a final judgement etc...

Moreover, all religions encourage people work on goodness, honesty, morality, compassion. In all religions you are instructed to do and not to do several things like: don’t steal, dont kill, dont’ lie, don’t be jealous, don’t desire the prohibited, dont hurt people etc...

In Judaism, see Leviticus 19:18 NIB. "What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellowman."

In Christianity, see Luke 6:31 NIB. "Do to others as you would have them do to you."

In Islam, Prophet Muhammad(pbuh): "No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself."

Also many other things that you should do, take care of youserlf, keep promises, be good to your parents, pray, ask for forgiveness, repenting, acts of charity, be good with your neighboor, fast, and many other rituals and things that you have to do, or many behavior that u must have, in order to be considered as a believer of the faith.

Those who have beautiful and good behavior are going to be rewarded and those who don’t have such good actions can be punished. Eternal Heaven or Eternal Hell is promised by God to us, the children of Adam.

For the Druse it's reincarnation the process after death. You assume the form of another being after you die, usually with no memory of what you once were. Sometimes you'll be reincarnated many times until you reach perfection, or something similar. But if you were a druze in the past-life you will certainly be a druze now, that is why no one can became a druze, because if he was not a druze in the past- life, there is no sense for him to be a druze now.

In the religions recognized here in Lebanon, one man and/or woman were created first, and from them, came the rest of mankind. Some religions don’t see this as a real story that happens but just a metaphor of the truth story. For others the story really happens, as they way is told in the Holy Bible, or in the Holy Quran.

Moreover another thing that I was observing here is that different than many Western Churches, in Lebanon some women cover their heads while going to Churches or Sacred Places. That is one picture that I took, in the Lady of Mantara, at the entrance there are veils to Christians women cover their heads if they want to.

In Addition many Druze Women also cover their head with the traditional white long veil, and also in Judaism Tzniut is a term frequently used with regard to the rules of dress for women. Married women are asked to put the veil and in some countries singles do it too. All religions ask for Men and specially women to dress in a modest, chaste, and respectful way.

One more thing that are in those religions is the existence of angels, and demons, which are part of the mystical, invisible cenary where we live in. Angels write our actions or protect ourselves, demons are wroking non-stop to make men fall into temptations.

Life is shown to us like a game where you can win or lose, it is just one chance, but we have our entire life.Similarities in religions show that there are things that don’t change, and basic rules that are for all. We can conclude that good actions and behaviors are the base of any religion and symbolizes a great personality and bad actions is the base of the individual alone, because no religion is guilty of men’s ignorance.

Lebanon Religious Holidays

2011-08-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

The list below are the Holidays in Lebanon in the year 2011, maybe some changes can happen.

January 1	New Year's Day
January 3	Christmas Holiday (end)
January 6	Armenian Chistmas
February 9	Saint Maroun's Day
February 11	Mid-Term Holiday(beginning)
February 15	The Prophet's (s.a.a.s)Birthday
February 21	Mid-term holiday(end)
March 25	Feast of the Annunciation
April 15	Easter Holiday(beginning)
April 22	Good Friday
April 24	Ortodox Easter
May 1	Martyr's Day
May 1	Labour Day
May 2	Labour Day
May 2	Easter Holiday (end)
May 8	South Resistance and Liberation day
May 25	Resistance and Liberation
June 24	Summer Holiday(beginning-schools)
August 15	Assumption
August 31	End of Ramadan (may be changed to the nearest day)
September1	End of Ramadan (may be changed to the nearest day)
September 12	Summer holiday (end)
October 28	Fall holiday (beginning)
November 7	Eid-ul-Adha - Feast of the Sacrifice (may be changed to the nearest day)**
November 7	Fall holiday (end)
November 22	Independence Day*
November 27	El am Hejir New Year (may be changed to the nearest day)
December 6	Ashura
December 21	Christmas holiday (beginning)
December 25	Christmas Day*

In Lebanon we all respect other's religions holidays, so if you are a Muslim you are not going to work in Easter Holiday for example, and if you are a Christian you will take the day off while Eid for Muslims, also all other religions follow the same concept. Which is a good thing for all, many days off, not work or study too much, almost everyday is Holiday!