SUMMARY

The Sunni religious group in Lebanon is one of the country’s three dominant sects (the other two being Christians and Shiites). The group makes up approximately 25% of the population, with 20% being Shiite and some 40% Christian. The Sunni group is predominant in the northern and eastern parts of Lebanon, as well as in Beirut and its surroundings.

Historically, the Sunni group was the second most powerful group in Lebanon; a country in which religious identity is a strong determinant of political affiliation. At independence, and up until after the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990) the country’s economic and political elite was dominated by the Christian Maronites, and the Shiite community was found at the bottom of the ladder.

This changed somewhat with the closing of the civil war, which (admittedly simplified) pitted Christian groups against an alliance of Palestinians, Sunnis and Shiites (with considerable interference from Syria and Israel, on various sides during the war). After the war the Sunni group asserted more political force, and its political parties were key in expelling Syria from the country in 2005.

The Sunni political groups, perhaps most notably the Future Movement under the Hariri family, have mainly been anti-Syrian in its political leanings since the end of the civil war, which has sometimes brought it into conflict not only with the Alawite community, but also with the dominant Shia party Hezbollah.

The Sunni group in Lebanon has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organized violence.