Lebanon: Maronite-Muslim conflict on use of Marian shrine
July 27, 2011
Catholics and Shi’ite Muslims have clashed over the use of a Marian shrine in Lebanon.
The Maronite Catholic Church holds legal title to the shrine in the Jbeil Mount Lebanon district. But Shi’ites, who claim that the site was previously a Muslim place of worship, have staked their own claim.
The Maronite patriarchate is seeking to resolve the conflict through negotiations—which, perhaps significantly, involve Shi’ite leaders and the Hezbollah movement, not the Lebanese government.
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