Bring Down the Walls; Lebanon's Postwar Challenge

New York: St. Martin's Press, 2000. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Good. The format is approximately 5.75 inches by 8.5 inches. xv, [1], 248, [8] pages. Autographed copy sticker on front of DJ. Signed by the author on the title page. DJ has some wear and soiling. Foreword By John Esposito. Notes. Selected Bibliography. Index. Carole H. Dagher has worked as a journalist and political analyst for media in Lebanon. In her 2000 book Bring Down the Walls: Lebanon's Postwar Challenge, Dagher discusses the aftermath of the sixteen-year-old Lebanese civil war and how it affected the area's Christian and Muslim communities. In addition to delineating the two groups' differences and commonalities, the author analyzes how the late Pope John Paul II helped the two groups reach some common ground and how the surrounding countries of Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq impacted the relationship and the Israeli-Arab peace process. Robert Brenton Betts, writing in Middle East Policy, commented: "The ‘post-war challenge' in her title refers to the necessity for the Maronites to come to terms with their new diminished role and for the majority Muslim population to learn how to use its new, stronger voice in government—both in the executive and in parliament—to maximum effect." Betts noted: "There is much to commend in this book, particularly its very perceptive analysis." Middle East contributor Fred Rhodes wrote that the author "presents an insightful account," adding that Dagher "draws crucial lessons from the recent history of Lebanon." In a review in the Middle East Journal, George Emile Irani commented that the book "is an attempt to restore to Lebanon its raison d'etre." Lebanon is more than a country, it is a message': these words of Pope John Paul II illustrate Lebanon's post-war endeavor to preserve its age-old Christian-Muslim coexistence and power-sharing formula and to invalidate Samuel Huntington's assumption of a 'Clash of Civilizations.' Lebanon's current challenge is also the challenge of a whole region, the Middle East, where the fate of minorities, including Eastern Christians, reveals the prospects of democracy, pluralism and political participation. Carole H. Dagher, a journalist for Lebanese media as well as an academic, presents an insightful account on how Christian and Muslim communities emerged from the sixteen year-old Lebanese war, what their points of friction and their common grounds are, and what the prospects of Lebanon's communal representation system and pluralistic society are. She describes the central role played by the Holy See and John Paul II in bridging the gap between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon, and analyzes the impact other countries such as Syria, Iran and Saudi Arabia have had on the power game and, conversely, the impact of Christian-Muslim interaction on the future of the Arab-Israeli peace process. Bring Down the Walls draws crucial lessons from the recent history of Christian-Muslim relations in Lebanon.