Searching for Truth and Justice between Sectarian Walls: How Sectarianism has Revealed itself in the Case of the Beirut Blast

Law in America is often thought of as standing above the political sphere, engaged in neutral discussions of legal interpretation and judicial procedure.[1] The Lebanese legal system, despite its claims to neutrality, has often been described as driven by political ideology, and highly influenced by the trademark religious sectarianism Lebanon’s government is known for.[2] Like all things in Lebanese society, the legal system was built from the unique system of governance known as Confessionalism.[3] Confessionalism is a structure rooted in sectarianism and defined by the sharing of political power between the religious sects of Lebanon’s population.[4] This system developed due the influence of colonial powers on the organization of the independent post-colonial Lebanese state.[5] The ways in which this system has influenced the Lebanese legal system in turn is demonstrated clearly by the ongoing investigation of the recent Port of Beirut explosion, [6] which claimed the lives of over one hundred people and injured over one thousand people and displaced thousands in August of 2020.[7]

On the day of this tragedy, videos posted to WhatsApp and Twitter were seen by witnesses across Lebanon and the world.[8] A  nation already ravaged by economic collapse and on the constant verge of religious civil war, now featured a debate over the explosion which quickly became centered on the ever-present topic of sectarianism.[9] It became an accepted fact that the explosion was caused by negligence and mismanagement: large amounts of ammonium nitrate had been improperly stored, and had spent too long in one of the port’s warehouses.[10]  And much of the extant evidence points to higher ups in the Lebanese state being informed of the danger before the explosion.[11] However, Lynn Maalouf of Amnesty International reported that “every stage of this investigation has been hampered by the Lebanese authorities’ efforts to shield politicians and officials from scrutiny.”[12] None of the sectarian political parties are willing to risk either weakening themselves or improving the position of one of their rivals by accepting any part of the blame.[13] Instead, groups such as those led by former Prime Minister Hasan Diab have tried to shift the blame towards their rivals.[14]

The question of who ought to lead the investigation has also been a subject of heated debate. Questions of jurisdiction or competency were quickly supplanted by questions of religion.[15] Arguments were made that the investigator ought to be a Maronite Christian, as it was their neighborhoods that were the most damaged by the explosion.[16] Currently, the judge in charge of the investigation is Maronite official, Tarek Bitar.[17] Bitar’s position has not been free from criticism. His connections with Maronite political elites have brought the ire of Lebanon’s Shia political organizations, Amal and Hezbollah, both of which have claimed that Bitar’s investigation is overly politicised.[18] As such, Amal and Hezbollah both wish to have Bitar removed. His defenders have responded in kind, blaming the Shia organizations, and claiming that they are merely trying to derail the investigation to protect themselves.[19]

This conflict over Bitar’s role as chief investigator broke out into a bloody conflict in October 2021, with Shiite militias and armed Christian groups firing on each other in Beirut, leaving six dead and many wounded.[20] Such explosions of sectarian violence are common in Lebanon, however, the endless sectarian bickering and shifting of blame have stifled the possibility of any proper investigation in the matter.  This case study is a perfect example of how the Lebanese legal system plays a key role in inflecting the pursuit of justice with sectarian undertones and influences, often leading to the mismanagement of investigations.

There is a saying in Lebanon that goes, “لا غالب ول مغلوب”, translated as “there are no winners, just shared losers.” This case, and the drama around its investigation, exemplify the way that all Lebanese structures, and in-particular the law, are all influenced by the religious divisions present within their society. In Lebanon, before all other considerations, the law is balanced on the grounds of sectarianism.

Abrahim Assaily is a staff member of Fordham International Law Journal Volume XLV.

This is a student blog post and in no way represents the views of the Fordham International Law Journal.
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[1] Of course, this is also debatable, as many scholars have pointed out that the US legal system is inundated with racist structures and ideology.

[2] See Jean P. Zouain, The Lebanese Judiciary, Victim of Corruption, An Nahar (Mar. 3, 2021),  https://www.annahar.com/arabic/section/237-%D8%AD%D8%B1%D8%B1-%D9%81%D9%83%D8%B1%D9%83/03032021125958210.

[3][3] See Max Weiss, In the Shadow of Sectarianism: Law, Shi’ism, and the Making of Modern Lebanon 11-12, 98-99 (2010) (although speaking primarily about Shia communities, the take-away that law is more than “a value-neutral space” holds true across all Lebanese sects).

[4] See Fawwaz Trabousli, A History of Modern Lebanon 109-11, 240-43 (2007).

[5] See Ussama Makdisi, The Culture of Sectarianism: Community, History, and Violence in Nineteenth-Century Ottoman Lebanon 7-10 (2000).

[6] The investigation began soon after the explosion and no conclusions have been reached despite over a year of investigation. See Sarah Dadouch and Nader Durgham, Six months after massive Beirut explosion, official investigation has been upended, Wash. Post (Feb. 21, 2021), https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/beirut-explosion-blast-investigation/2021/02/20/632f75a6-72ba-11eb-8651-6d3091eac63f_story.html.

[7] See Austin Ramzy & Elian Pelteir, What We Know and Don’t Know about the Beirut Explosion, N.Y. Times(Aug. 5, 2020), https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/world/middleeast/beirut-explosion-what-happened.html.

[8] See Marianna Spring, Beirut explosion: How conspiracy theories spread on social media, BBC News (Aug. 5, 2020), https://www.bbc.com/news/53669029.

[9] See Martin Chulov, Fraught Claim Follows Beirut’s Worst Day Of Sectarian Violence in Decade, The Guardian (Oct. 15, 2021), https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/15/fraught-calm-follows-beiruts-worst-day-of-sectarian-violence-in-decade.

[10] See “They Killed Us From the Inside”: An Investigation into the August 4 Beirut Blast, Hum.  Rts. Watch (Aug. 3, 2021),  https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/08/03/they-killed-us-inside/investigation-august-4-beirut-blast.

[11] See id.

[12] Lebanon: Suspension of investigation into Beirut blast points to authorities’ brazen attempts to obstruct justice, Amnesty Int’l (Sept. 27, 2021),  https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/09/lebanon-suspension-of-investigation-into-beirut-blast-points-to-authorities-brazen-attempts-to-obstruct-justice/.

[13] See id.

[14] See Lebanon: Beirut blast judge suspends questioning of former PM, Middle E. Monitor Online (Oct. 28, 2021), https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20211028-lebanon-beirut-blast-judge-suspends-questioning-of-former-pm/.

[15] See Ali Musawi, كباش حمل اسم المحقق العدلي لانفجار مرفأ بيروت والنتيجه تعيين فادي صوان, Mahkama (Aug. 18, 2020) https://www.mahkama.net/%D9%83%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B4-%D8%AD%D9%88%D9%84-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%82%D9%91%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%AF%D9%84%D9%8A-%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%81%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%85/.

[16] See id.

[17] See Mahmut Geldi, Who is Tarek Bitar? Judge heading probe into deadly Beirut Port blast, Anadolu Agency (Oct.16, 2021), https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/who-is-tarek-bitar-judge-heading-probe-into-deadly-beirut-port-blast/2393718; see also Court allows Judge Bitar to resume Beirut blast investigation, Al Jazeera (Oct.4, 2021), https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/4/beirut-blast-investigation-resumes-following-one-week-suspension.

[18] See Hezbollah, media affiliates demand complete closure of Beirut blast inquiry, Middle East Monitor Online (Oct. 17, 2021), https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20211017-hezbollah-media-affiliates-demand-complete-closure-of-beirut-blast-inquiry/.

[19] See id. However, other groups have also called for the resignation of Bitar, including the head of the victim’s association. Contra William Christou, Head of Beirut port blast victims group calls for removal of Judge Bitar, The New. Arab (Oct. 16, 2021), https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/head-beirut-port-blast-victims-calls-removal-judge.

[20] See Beirut port blast: The tensions around the investigation, BBC News (Oct. 14, 2021),  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-58913864.