Recent incidents in Mount Hermon have renewed controversy within the Druze community regarding Walid Jumblatt’s decision to remain neutral toward the Syrian conflict. Below, we examine three opinions in the ongoing heated debate.
Sheikh Ghassan Halabi, adviser to Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Naim Hasan, believes that Lebanon today suffers from a crisis of power and governmental paralysis, in addition to long-standing sectarian tensions that escalated following the breakdown of security during the May 2008 events in Beirut. This exacerbated Sunni–Shiite tensions into a “game of nations.” Jumblatt, head of the Democratic Gathering bloc, has repeatedly warned about this, fearing the exacerbation of sectarian tensions across Lebanon, not only in the Mount Lebanon area.
In this context, Halabi told An-Nahar that Jumblatt’s perspective on the latest developments in the Mount Hermon villages is part of a comprehensive vision. According to Jumblatt, this vision may not be separated from the region’s geopolitical affiliations, the Iranian nuclear negotiations, and the crisis of the Syrian regime, which is fighting a battle of survival as the death toll of Syrians of every sect and religion continues to grow.
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2014/11/druze-are-torn-between-two-evils-is-jomblatts-call-for-neutralit.htm