PHOENICIANS -- Descendants of the ancient "PHOENICIANS" in Lebanon

[bullchristianity]

Maronites (Arabic: ال&#16 05;وا& #1585;نة ‎, transliteration: Mawārinah, Syriac: ܡܪ&#18 16;ܢܝ& #1808;, Latin: Ecclesia Maronitarum) are members of one of the Syriac Eastern Catholic Churches, with a heritage reaching back to Maron in the early 5th century. The first Maronite patriarch, John Maron, was appointed in the late 7th century. Although reduced in numbers and estimated to have lost their status as a majority in Lebanon itself, today, Maronites remain one of the principal religious groups in the country.

[bullchristianity]

This also affects Islam as well, since Islam's roots are in Judaism and Christianity. This might be too much to ask, but could you include that as well? I am a Lebanese Muslim, but we always remember our Phoenician roots in my family. It is a little hurtful to see so little mention of muslim Phoenicians, and I'm not even remotely religious, so I wonder what others must feel!(I know this is mostly due to that fact that most Muslims reject their Phoenician origin, but since we are all of the same people, it seems only right to try and pass this information on no matter what).

Also, on one of your pages you said that many people think being Phoenician means Maronite, but, while I know that's not true, I feel that you should mention the fact that there are many Maronites who claim that they are the only non-arabs in Lebanon, and that Lebanese Muslims are Arab. It's the same claim, this time in reverse. I think claiming your ethnicity through religion isn't right, and that we as Lebanese people should stand together and embrace our Phoenician heritage no matter what our religion. I remember editing a wikipedia article* on Lebanese people to say that "The people of Lebanon consider themselves Phoenician" and it was changed over and over again by someone else to "Lebanese Maronites are Phoenician." I gave up on changing the article, but I still wish people didn't do things like this.

[bullchristianity]

The genetic marker which identifies descendants of the ancient Levantines is found among members of all of Lebanon's religious communities, he said. "It's a story that can actually unite Lebanon much more than anything else."

The marker, known as the J2 haplogroup, was found in an unusually high proportion among Lebanese, Palestinians and Syrians tested by Zalloua during more than five years of research. He tested 1,000 people in the region.

September 10, 2007 at 08:06 AM in Science | Permalink