“Is Federalism the Solution for Lebanese Society After the Sidon Beach Incident?”

Reneh Abi Nader wrote on the mtv website:

What happened on Sidon beach did not go unnoticed. Between “allowing swimsuits or not,” two completely different cultures emerged in one country, or even in one region, and cries arose, especially on social media, calling for the implementation of federalism in Lebanon. Is the demand for it only a reaction to what happened in Sidon? Is it the most appropriate solution?

In this context, university professor and member of the Central Committee in Federal Lebanon, Hisham Bou Nassif, asserts that the demand for federalism is not just a reaction.

In an interview with MTV, he said, “We are a pluralistic society in which different cultures live, and the affairs of a pluralistic society cannot be regulated through a central government that is suitable for homogeneous societies only, regardless of what happened in Sidon.”

Bou Nassif considers that “it is wrong to apply central administration in any society consisting of different sects, as each sect has its own reading of history and its own identity, therefore, it must be administered federally.”

He points out that “what happened in Sidon regarding the “bathing dress” confirms all of the above,” and believes that “there must be local laws through local parliaments that decide whether it is possible to go to the beach in bathing suits or in modest clothing, whether to marry civilly or marry religiously. .. Therefore, this matter is resolved through federalism,” he said.

Bou Nassif added, “We did not wait for what happened in Sidon to demand the implementation of federalism, but events, such as those that took place on the Sidon beach, demonstrate the importance and necessity of adopting it in Lebanon.”

There is no doubt that a large segment of the Lebanese support the proposal of federalism, but a large number of them also oppose it, which prevents its implementation. Lebanon is a country of “consensus” in all political matters, in the hope that we will not witness events similar to those that took place in Sidon.