Monthly Archives: July 2010

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Why Beirut Is The Place To Learn Arabic

Learning Arabic in AUB

Very often I hear about foreigners who decide to go Egypt, Syria or Morocco to learn Arabic because they provide more “authentic” environments than Beirut.

This always felt wrong to me but I never really was able to put in words why. Until I read today’s article’s in the Daily Star: “Beirut Hot Spot For Arabic-eager Students“.

The insight is this: A large proportion of the Lebanese live abroad in countries where they can’t learn Arabic. This creates a vibrant and competitive market for Arabic teaching in Lebanon, targeting the dollars of the Lebanese Diaspora.

I, for example, want my son one day to learn Arabic. And I know that one day he’ll have to take some special courses in Lebanon to catch up with people who grew up there. I also know that there’s a lot of options for me to choose from.

It’s true that Syria provides a better environment for purists (since less people speak english, you’ll be forced to practice your Arabic), and maybe even better teachers. But if you want to learn in a where there’s a lot of experience with teaching Arabic to non-Arabic speakers, Beirut is the place to be.

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❊ The Qatari Emir's Trip to Lebanon

I find the Emir’s visit to Lebanon quite significant. It is a known fact that Hezbollah prefers the Emir of Qatar over the Saudi King as an arbitrator, and the Emir is obviously enjoying that role. He pointedly came at the same day as the Saudi King and the Syrian President without crossing their paths. He will spend more time in Lebanon and unlike the others, he will visit the Lebanese south.

A lot has been made of the fact the the Syrian president came with the Saudi Monarch. The takeaway was that President Assad and King Abdallah represented both sides of the Lebanese divide, and that they could together calm things down. That analysis ignores the possibility that Assad could have “sold out” Hezbollah. The party of God continue to look warily at Syria’s acrobatics, and is scratching its head trying to guess what Syria’s quid-pro-quo could be.

Enter the Emir of Qatar, who likes to portray himself as an independent broker. Hezbollah likes to give weight to the Emir as a way of kicking Saudi Arabia’s authority in the side. I Expect a lot of rice to be thrown at him in southern villages in the upcoming days.

One thing is for sure, things remain in flow and the coming few months remain uncertain for Lebanon.

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Note: Posts with titles starting with an ❊ (asterisk) are my opinion posts. I used this system to separate long posts from quick links and comments.

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If You Had 48 Hours Only To Spend In Lebanon, Where Would You Go?

The Washington Post is proposing an answer. In short:

Day 1 (arrival in the evening):

  1. Downtown (Grand Serail > St George Cathedral > M. Amine Mosque > Hariri mausoleum)
  2. Corniche > AUB > Hamra
  3. Eat (suggestions: Abdelwahab, Karam, Mayyas or as-Saha )
  4. Bar-hop in Gemmayze
  5. Music Hall

Day 2 (all day):

  1. Breakfast in Chtoura (Man2oush or/and Knefeh)
  2. Ksara Vineyards
  3. Baalbak Ruins and Temples
  4. Back to beirut, dinner in Barometre Hamra.

Day 3 (morning)

  1. St. Georges Yacht Club
  2. Brunch in Casablanca Restaurant
  3. Stroll down corniche, have tea.
  4. Head to Byblos, Launch at Pepe’s Fishing Club

Not bad.. What would you add? Do you have an alternative itinerary?

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Solar Heating Makes A Lot Of Sense In Lebanon

One of the biggest complaints about summer in Lebanon is that most electricity output is diverted to luxury resorts, hotels and the tourism sector in general, leaving the rest of the population under a terrible rationing regime.

But another aspect of summer might as well be its redeeming feature: The smoldering sun. Yesterday, with the help of the Spanish embassy, Lebanon’s first project for solar power heating at government hospitals was inaugurated.

The best thing is that It will cut reheating energy costs by 50%, and it will provide an uninterrupted source of energy that won’t be affected at all by the amount of tourists who come in.

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No, Hezbollah Is Not In Trouble

I linked recently to two articles, one by Hanin Ghaddar and one by Paul Salem, in which both argue that Hezbollah is in a tenuous situation. That view is becoming more and more mainstream in pro-March14 circles.

Nicholas Noe of Foreign Policy magazine, however, begs to differ.

Those who have been peddling the view that Hezbollah is in trouble, according to Noe, are “partisans and/or polemicists and have a stake in shaping the course of the fight.” Instead he thinks Hezbollah is as strong as ever:

This sort of counter factualism ignores the enduring common interests that Resistance Axis members share and will likely continue to share in the coming period as the momentum for a confrontation rather than a settlement apparently builds. Nor is it likely that Hizbullah particularly fears the outbreak of some scenario of “Sunni violence” following an indictment of its members. As in May 2008, the Sunnis of Lebanon have no supply lines, little military training and increasingly less political capital in the country as a whole 

Then why is Hezbollah defensive and angry? Noe proposes:

An STL indictment against Hizbullah would, perhaps decisively, push the de-legitimization of Hizbullah forward, especially in Europe where Hizbullah raises money freely (it is not on the EU terror list) and where many of Hizbullah’s Christian allies look for support and succor 

Noe makes some good arguments, but in my opinion the jury is still out on the matter.

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So What Is The Largest Obstacle For Peace In The Middle East?

It’s not the occupation. It’s not the strangling siege and definitely not the daily humiliation, according Sol Stern. It’s the Palestinian “Obsession With The Nakba“:

The Nakba is the heart of the Palestinians’ backward-looking national narrative, which depicts the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 as the original sin that dispossessed the land’s native people. Every year, on the anniversary of Israel’s independence, more and more Palestinians (including Arab citizens of Israel) commemorate the Nakba with pageants that express longing for a lost paradise. Every year, the legend grows of the crimes committed against the Palestinians in 1948, crimes now routinely equated with the Holocaust

And the logical conclusion for fools like him is that the Palestinian refugees like those in Lebanon have no business returning to their homeland.

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3154 Words To Argue That The Israeli Occupation Is Not The Root Of All Problems In The Middle East

Many paragraphs later, James Kirchick concludes:

The authoritarian regimes that rule over so many of the world’s Muslims need something to distract attention away from their corruption, lavish lifestyles, and utter inability at providing a hopeful future for their citizens. Directing the collective awareness of not just Arab and Muslim populations but also the elite class of Western policymakers to the Palestinian question has proven to be an amazingly useful propaganda tool.

But I don’t get his argument. Is he saying that peace in the Middle East is not what it’s made up to be? But why doesn’t he humor us? Arabs are hotheads, but they’re not stupid. Once the Palestinians and Israelis (and Syrians and Egyptians and Jordanians and Lebanese) are living in peace side by side, leaders won’t be able to use Israel as an excuse to trample over their people’s right.

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British Resident: Living In Lebanon Is Like Dating A Schizophrenic Girl

Brit In Beirut pours his heart out

Ah … Lebanon. As much as I love you, your schizophrenic nature makes living here akin to dating Glen Close. Sure, was probably good in the sack, but then she was also partial to boiling your family pet. [..] One minute we’re looking forward to summer, the World Cup, England’s premature exit, drinks on the beach and leaving the office at 4.00. … The next minute the annual, “It’s summer, therefore there must be a war” theories start emerging