Lebanese nation

The writer asks with utmost clarity and without any ambiguity, despite the harshness of clarity: Is our beautiful Lebanon a definitive homeland? And if so, is it a complete nation or part of a broader and more comprehensive nation? And if it is part of a nation, which one: Islamic, Arab, Syrian, or all three? And if it is a nation with all the conditions, which one: a Lebanese nation or a nation of what? ... Then, are the urgent Lebanese issues radically different from the Syrian, Arab, or Islamic issues? And in the same field; political, economic, social, and even sovereign; Are there purely Lebanese and pressing issues unrelated to regional and international relations? By discussing these and other questions, the author addresses the concept of the "Lebanese nation" in the propositions of its leading advocates and missionaries, such as Charles Malik, Michel Chiha, Jawad Boulos, and others; its deep foundations in the conscience of Kamal Salibi; and Amin Maalouf's concept of identity, intersecting with Michel Aflaq's concept of the "Arab nation," Antoun Saadeh's "Syrian nation," and the "Islamic nation" in contemporary Islamic thought. "The Lebanese nation" is a new and different exploration of the essence of Lebanese identity and the foundations and distinguishing features that make the Lebanese nation a nation in its own right, one that some of its sons have sought to destroy, while others have sought to revive.