A Land Held Hostage Quotes

“It is fair to say that nobody besides Iran looks with pleasure on the rise of Islamic militancy in Lebanon; neither Syria nor Israel nor the mass of Lebanese can take comfort from a force that knows no constraint and recognises the validity of no belief, law, or custom besides its own. At the same time, however, the expulsion of the Christian communities from the countryside, and the ruination of the Christian monastic culture of Lebanon, has removed the most powerful conciliatory force from Lebanese society. Through 'bearing witness' to Christ among those who deny him, the monastic orders – Maronite, Syriac, Melkite, Orthodox and Latin – have attempted to weld the communities together within a common charitable concern. This process of conciliation has been the most important victim of the civil war.”
― Roger Scruton, A Land Held Hostage

“Elsewhere in the Lebanon, the religious orders have been driven from their convents and monasteries, and the countryside 'purified' of its Christian people. Walid Jumblatt keeps a collection of church bells, as trophies of the Christian communities which his troops have destroyed.”
― Roger Scruton, A Land Held Hostage

“Figures recently published show that, during the first nine months of 1986, 77.38% of the taxes recovered by the Lebanese treasury came from the Christian sectors, and that, in the Beqaa, only the Christian town of Zahleh had made a contribution. This index of Muslim disloyalty is also proof of Christian patriotism. The Christians believe in the pluralistic state, and seek to restore it, so as to combine again with Druze, Shi'ite and Sunnite in a redesigned contract. For only in such a state will they be genuinely secure.”
― Roger Scruton, A Land Held Hostage

“It is thanks to the Christians that the vestiges of culture, law and democracy remain in Lebanon. And with them there remains – at least in the redoubt north of the capital –a free press, free trade, and open discussion.”
― Roger Scruton, A Land Held Hostage

“The Syrian tactics, in isolating and emasculating the Christians of East Beirut, have been astute and effective. Aided by the Western press, Asaad has advanced at minimum cost towards his goal. His troops now occupy most of Lebanon. The Christian communities have been driven from the countryside, and the work of their priesthood, in bearing witness to Christ among those who reject him, has been brought to an end.”
― Roger Scruton, A Land Held Hostage

“It is fair to say that nobody besides Iran looks with pleasure on the rise of Islamic militancy in Lebanon; neither Syria nor Israel nor the mass of Lebanese can take comfort from a force that knows no constraint and recognises the validity of no belief, law, or custom besides its own. At the same time, however, the expulsion of the Christian communities from the countryside, and the ruination of the Christian monastic culture of Lebanon, has removed the most powerful conciliatory force from Lebanese society. Through 'bearing witness' to Christ among those who deny him, the monastic orders – Maronite, Syrian, Melkite, Orthodox and Latin – have attempted to weld the communities together within a common charitable concern. This process of conciliation has been the most important victim of the civil war.”
― Roger Scruton, A Land Held Hostage

“...Syria has been far more important, in both creating and exploiting the conditions of the civil war. Syrian refuses to recognise Lebanese independence, refuses to exchange ambassadors, and has since 1919 persisted in the idea of of a Greater Syria, governed from Damascus, of which Lebanon would be a vassal. President Assad, like every dictator, is hungry for legitimacy, and knows that legitimacy comes most easily through conquest. By clever manipulation, he has been able to present himself as the 'solution' to the problem of which he is in fact the primary cause.”
― Roger Scruton, A Land Held Hostage

“The Christians continue to see themselves as guardians of the law and order, in a country sacrificed to its powerful neighbours. They are as eager to condemn Israeli incursions as are the Western correspondents; but they are also apt to point out that, unlike the Syrians, the Israelis have withdrawn from most occupied territory, and have never shown any permanent intention of conquest. Some argue that the Israelis look now with wry satisfaction on a country rendered impotent by sectarian conflict. But there is no doubt that, in their negotiations with the government of President Gemayel, the Israelis sincerely wished for a peace treaty that would guarantee their Northern border, and which would draw that border exactly where it is drawn by international law.”
― Roger Scruton, A Land Held Hostage

“The expulsion of the Christians from the countryside has hardly been mentioned in the Western press. Nevertheless, it is a catastrophe for the Lebanese people. The religious orders – the nuns in particular – are indeed the backbone of the Lebanese community, providing schools, hospitals, and charitable relief to Christian, Druze and Muslim, and maintaining, in the minds of the ordinary people, the image of a society founded on conciliation and trust between confessions. In the absence of the orders, no idea of religious sacrifice will be presented to the people of Lebanon, save that of the Islamic militants, for whom peace means only the extermination of every faith but one.”
― Roger Scruton, A Land Held Hostage

“The Christians of Lebanon therefore see the confessionalist state, not as a means to maintain their domination, but as the only foundation for a political order that would enjoy the loyalty of all the Lebanese.”
― Roger Scruton, A Land Held Hostage

“The Christians of Lebanon therefore see the confessionals state, not as a means to maintain their domination, but as the only foundation for political order that would enjoy the loyalty of all the Lebanese.
- A Land Held Hostage, Lebanon and the West”
― Roger Scruton, A Land Held Hostage