Political activity in Lebanon also increases in…

Political activity in Lebanon also increases in the second half of the nineteenth century.

The harsh rule of Abdul Hamid II (1876-1909) prompts the Arab nationalists, both Christians and Muslims, in Beirut and Damascus to organize into clandestine political groups and parties.

The Lebanese, however, have difficulties in deciding the best political course to advocate.

Many Lebanese Christians are apprehensive of Turkish pan-Islamic policies, fearing a repetition of the 1860 massacres.

Some, especially the Maronites, begin to contemplate secession rather than the reform of the Ottoman Empire.

Others, particularly the Greek Orthodox, advocate an independent Syria with Lebanon as a separate province within it, so as to avoid Maronite rule.

A number of Lebanese Muslims, on the other hand, seek not to liberalize the Ottoman regime but to maintain it, as Sunni Muslims particularly like to be identified with the caliphate.

The Shias and Druzes, however, fearing minority status in a Turkish state, tend to favor an independent Lebanon or a continuation of the status quo.