The Mountain War in Lebanon: 40 years of lessons

Nonetheless, at dawn, in the early days of September, a war between the two communities erupted only minutes after the Israeli army withdrew from Mount Lebanon to the Awali River line.

Underestimated opponents

The Progressive Socialist Party, led by Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, and the Lebanese Forces, who had recently lost their young Maronite leader and galvaniser, Bashir Gemayel, fought a bloody battle.

More than ten thousand people died. Other casualties included Christian villages that were destroyed, as well as the entire Christian population in the south of Mount Lebanon, who were displaced.

The Druze had military dominance, in large part due to Israel's frustration with then-Lebanese President Amin Gemayel, who had continued to delay finalising a peace deal between Lebanon and Israel known as the "May 17 Agreement."

Meanwhile, the Lebanese Forces were at a disadvantage. They had failed to understand the global political changes that were underway. They believed that the withdrawal of their Israeli allies from the mountain was simply a manoeuvre to exert pressure on President Gemayel.

The Lebanese Forces also underestimated the military strength of their Druze opponents. The Druze had been building up their forces with a new generation of fighters, who had gone through intensive drills and courses in the Soviet Union.

Conflicting recollections

It's difficult to fully grasp the nature of conflict between these two founding communities. The political significance of the Mountain War, as well as the many factors that led to it, are not enough for us to paint a clear image.

The reason for this is, like many other sectarian and political clashes, this particular battle continues to be fought with one of humanity's deadliest weapons – collective memory.

According to the late Kamal Salibi, considered the greatest Lebanese historian, the conflict over Lebanon, and the civil wars that followed, represent a desire by each clan or tribe to raise their historical banners and impose their version of history onto the rest, while ignoring all other versions.

It can be understood, through this lens, that the Druze and Maronites were invested in asserting their reading of history onto the masses, imprinting them onto the collective memory of their society.

The Druze were seen as the descendants of Saladin, and the Maronites were the descendants of the Phoenicians and the Crusader knights, which made it impossible to envision a peaceful meeting of their historical narratives.

Societal coexistence seemed unlikely, at best.

The gap between real and fabricated

The interesting thing here is that these fabricated recollections inadvertently highlighted the difference between what the Druze and Maronite considered to be "history", and what was actually happening on the ground.

Ottoman historian and professor Abdul-Rahim Abu-Husayn (my mentor) further elucidates this in his notable work "Rebellion, Myth Making, and Nation Building."

As the sun rose on 3 September, 1983, and the final Israeli military vehicle withdrew from Bhamdoun (a strategic location along the Beirut-Damascus Highway), the Druze and Maronites made a pivotal choice.

They opted to settle centuries of historical grievances in a confrontation that ended with a Druze "victory" and the displacement of the Maronites of Mount Lebanon.

This was a stark reversal of the historical migration of the Maronite community to Mount Lebanon, which had initially taken place in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries at the invitation of Prince Fakhr El-Din.

But the Druze soon comprehended that their "triumph" came with unforeseen consequences. Their control over a predominantly Druze Mount Lebanon meant dominion over an entity that lacked political and economic viability.

By displacing the Maronites, they inadvertently eradicated a key dynamic that had united them. One that resembles, to some extent, the relationship between adversarial cartoon characters Tom and Jerry.

Tom, the cat, derives satisfaction and a sense of purpose from pursuing his enemy, Jerry, the mouse, who in turn relishes evading Tom's grasp, beginning each day with this same goal.

Moving towards democracy

The bloody memory of the Mountain War overlaps with the commemoration of the Greater Lebanon State, which was established on 1 September, 1920. As voices advocating for federalism resurface, the Lebanese people must heed the lessons learned from the former.

Most importantly, they must avoid weaponising collective memory, which can take diversity and reduce it to a mere gateway to conflict.

As we assess the current state of Greater Lebanon – and contemplate the possibility of a federal state – we realise that both hinge on the dismantlement of deep-rooted historical allegiances and of the collective memories of each community.

A modern democratic system must take precedence – one that would uphold the rights of every citizen independently of sectarian leadership or political affiliations.

As we commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Mountain War, we hold onto one pivotal lesson: Only by disconnecting from the past can we, as a collective, move on toward a more promising future for all.