Because Beirut was never just a city. It was an idea-an idea that meant something not only to the Lebanese but to the entire Arab world. While today just the word "Beirut" evokes images of hell on earth, for years Beirut represented-maybe dishonestly-something quite different, something almost gentle: the idea of coexistence and the spirit of tolerance, the idea that diverse religious communities-Shiites, Sunnis, Christians, and Druse-could live together, and even thrive, in one city and one country without having to abandon altogether their individual identities. The
( Thomas L. Friedman )
[ From Beirut to Jerusalem ]
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