The wounds in Lebanon are deep, and the suffering experienced by its people cannot easily be described. At its core, this is a Lebanese–Zionist war, even if only a portion of the Lebanese people are directly resisting on the battlefield. For this reason, I do not particularly favor the religious labels that are sometimes used to describe this war. In reality, the issue is not a religious conflict but a political and historical struggle over land, freedom, dignity, and sovereignty.
Yet despite all this, Lebanon remains a country that is difficult to defeat. Not only because of the strength of its resistance, but also because of what may be called the profound cultural power it has accumulated over many centuries.
Since the nineteenth century, the Lebanese have played a pivotal role in shaping modern Arab consciousness. Lebanese migration to Egypt and to the Americas was part of a broader cultural movement that contributed to the emergence of the Arab Renaissance. It is enough to recall that the Shawam among whom the Lebanese formed the majority established hundreds of newspapers in Egypt, including major publications such as Al-Ahram and Al-Muqattam, among others. This was not merely journalistic activity; it was part of a broader intellectual and cultural project aimed at redefining Arab thought in the age of modernity.
Within this context, major thinkers such as Shibli Shumayyil emerged, introducing ideas of enlightenment and modern science into Arab intellectual debates and helping to break the intellectual stagnation that weighed heavily on Arab societies in the late Ottoman period.
Then came the generation of Mahjar writers, who carried Arabic literature into new horizons. From Kahlil Gibran to Mikhail Naimy and other members of the Pen League, a new literary language emerged one that blended Eastern sensibility with universal human aspirations. This was not merely a literary development; it reflected deeper transformations in the consciousness of the Arab individual and his relationship with the wider world.
Alongside this intellectual and cultural renaissance, Lebanon also developed enduring traditions of political and national resistance. Figures such as Youssef Bey Karam and Hamza Sadek stood against foreign domination and injustice, while religious and intellectual leaders such as Abdul Hussein Sharafeddine played an important role in defending justice and dignity.
Perhaps the most profound expression of Lebanon’s cultural spirit, however, has been embodied in its art. Lebanese art was never simply an aesthetic luxury; it became part of the collective memory of the modern Arab world. No military power can silence the voice of Fairuz, which has become a symbol of Arab memory and longing, nor erase the presence of Sabah, the musical legacy built by Wadih El Safi and Nasri Shamseddine, or the modern poetic experience represented by poets such as Unsi Al-Hajj.
Military resistance in Lebanon, important as it is, represents only a small part of the vast cultural and civilizational reservoir that this country possesses. Lebanon’s true strength lies in its ability to produce meaning to transform suffering into culture, memory into creativity, and temporary defeat into renewed energy for revival.
For me personally, speaking about Jabal Amel carries a special emotional dimension. My testimony may be biased, as this region formed part of my intellectual and human upbringing. Yet the truth remains the truth. This region has produced major religious figures such as Patriarch Sfeir, as well as prominent literary and intellectual personalities from the poets of the Abdullah family to Abbas Beydoun, who was one of my teachers, as well as Mohammad Ali Shamseddine, Shawqi Bazzi, and Mahmoud Shaaban, who also taught me, in addition to many other names that have enriched Arab cultural life.
Lebanon, despite all the wounds it suffers, possesses a unique capacity for survival.
Countries that possess a deep cultural memory cannot be easily defeated.
And for this reason I say, despite everything:
Lebanon will not be defeated.
[Dr. Salim Nazzal is a Palestinian Norwegian researcher, lecturer playwright and poet, who has written more than 17 books on thought, culture, ideology and political sociology. Courtesy: Countercurrents.org, an India-based news, views and analysis website, that describes itself as non-partisan and taking “the Side of the People!” It is edited by Binu Mathew.]
