Ethnic and Religious Groups in Lebanon 24 June 2026, 10 Tammuz 5786.
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Maronite Christians.
Maronite Christians are affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. They use a dialect of Aramaic (instead of Latin) in their liturgy. The Maronites are the largest Christian group in Lebanon. Communities of Maronites are now to be found in Brazil, the United States, Argentina, Australia, and Canada.
They number from 3 to 12 million. They are concentrated mainly in Mount Lebanon to the northwest and East Beirut.[4] About 1.4 million now live in Lebanon comprising ca. 22% of the Population. In the past their relative proportion was much higher. Many claim Phoenician ancestry while others claim association with the Mardaites who were a Christian group that once existed in Northern West Syria.
The Drize.
The Druze number about a million. They are considered "an esoteric offshoot of Ismaili Islam in 11th-century Egypt". Their faith blends Biblical-type traditions with Greek philosophy. They believe in re-incarnation, revere Jethro the father-in-law of Moses. They rarely accept newcomers to their faith. Today, they primarily reside in mountainous regions of Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and the Golan Heights, with others overseas. Usually the Druze were amicable towards the Jews though exceptions did take place. They also were otren sympathetic to the British and some of them considered themselves distant relatives of both the British and the Jews.
The Druze comprise ca. 5.2% of the population of Lebanon. About 45% to 50% of the Druid live in Syria, 35% to 40% in Lebanon, and less than 10% in Israel. On the whole the Druze have usually been pro-Jewish but ant-Semitc elements have existed among them.
NEVERTHELESS,
Here is an AI summary of Druze attacks agaisnt the city of Tsfat in the Galilee, Israel.
Historical attacks by Druze forces on the Jewish community in Tzfat (Safed) occurred during periods of regional power struggles and revolts, most notably in 1660 destruction of Safed, the 1834 looting of Safed, and an 1838 Druze attack. During these 19th-century events, local Druze, often allied with rebelling Arab peasants, attacked, looted, and desecrated the city's Jewish population during power vacuums.
The three major documented assaults are:
1660 Destruction: Following the death of Ottoman Sultan Ibrahim I, local Druze factions revolted, heavily destroying and looting Tzfat, forcing the Jewish population to flee.
1834 Looting: Occurring during the Peasants' Revolt in Palestine, Druze and Arab locals attacked the Jewish community, causing month-long widespread killing, raping, and looting.
1838 Druze Attack: During the Druze revolt against Egyptian rule, the town was once again attacked and looted over a three-day period.
In addition, A gang of Druze criminals, numbering about 300 members, now extorts "protection" money from Jewish businesses in the Galilee.
Palestinians.
Wikipedia.
Many Palestinians in Lebanon are refugees and their descendants, who have been barred from naturalisation, retaining stateless refugee status. Palestinians in Lebanon, including children of Lebanese mothers and Palestinian fathers, face systemic discrimination, with limited access to employment and social services.[4] While some Palestinian Christians, such as women who gained citizenship through marriage to Lebanese nationals, have been naturalized, the state continues to deny citizenship to others.[4]
Estimates of the number of Palestinians in Lebanon ranged from 260,000 to 400,000 in 2011. Most Palestininas are Sunni Muslims.
Sunni Muslims.
Sunni Muslims constitute an estimated 30.6% of Lebanon's population. The Lebanese Sunni Muslims are highly concentrated in Lebanon's capital city - Beirut (West Beirut /or Beirut II), as well as Tripoli, Sidon, Western Beqaa, and in the countryside of the Akkar, Arsal. They also have a notable presence in Zahle, Southern Lebanon, Marjaayoun and Chebaa
Shiite Muslims.
Calim that t Muhammad explicitly designated his cousin and son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib (r. 656-661) as his rightful political successor (caliph) and the divinely guided spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam).
Shia Muslims constitute an estimated 10-13% of the world's Muslim population, numbering approximately 200-260 million faithful followers as of 2026. The three principal Shia branches are Twelverism, Isma'ilism, and Zaydism. Shia Muslims form a majority in Iran, Iraq, and Azerbaijan while making up almost half of the Muslim population of Lebanon and Bahrain.
Shiites in Lebanon
Shiite Muslims in Lebanon are synonymous with Twelver Shi'ism and are distinguished from Alawites and Isma'ilis.
Shiite Muslims constitute around 31.2% of the Lebanese population The Shiites in Lebanon trace themselves to the ancient Nabataeans who once lived ito the south of Israel and to the originally Christians Ghassanides who emerged from southern Arabia.
The Shiites of Lebanon traditionally had close ties to Iran. Lebanese Shiite Muslims are concentrated in south Beirut and its southern suburbs, northern and western area of the Beqaa Valley, as well as Southern Lebanon.
The CIA World Factbook estimated that Shia Muslims constitute 31.2% of Lebanon's population in 2022.
Between 1921 and 1988, Shiites maintained the highest fertility rate of all communities, contributing to a rapid increase from 17% to 32%.[107]
Hezbollah
Hezbollah was founded in 1982 by Lebanese clerics in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.[26] Inspired by the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's model of Islamic governance, IUts aim primarily was to fight the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.
Hezbollah's 1985 manifesto outlined its key objectives, which include expelling Western influence from the region, destroying Israel, pledging allegiance to Iran's supreme leader, and establishing an Islamic government influenced by Iran's political ideology. However, the manifesto also emphasised Lebanese self-determination.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Hezbollah fought against Israeli forces and the South Lebanon Army (SLA), eventually leading to Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.
As of 2013 its armed wing is considered stronger than the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF),[36] making it one of the most powerful non-state actors in the world.
Hezbollah has been involved in several high-profile attacks; it is believed to be responsible for the bombing of the US embassy and the US and French barracks bombings in Beirut in 1983, the assassination of Rafic Hariri in 2005,[38][39] as well as later attacks, including bombings and hijackings.
Hezbollah was set up by local Shia committees, under the leadership of the iranian cleric, Ruhollah Khomeini.[52] Its forces were trained and organised by a contingent of 1,500 Iranian Revolutionary Guards that arrived from Iran with permission from the Syrian government, which occupied Lebanon's eastern highlands, permitted their transit to a base in the Beqaa Valley
That more or less sums it up. Everything that came after that is an expansion of the bbeginning. Hezbollah was created to fight Israel. Its leadership and funding came from Iran and its was supported by Asad in Syria.
On 16 February 1985, Sheik Ibrahim al-Amin issued Hezbollah's manifesto. The ideology presented in it was described as radical.[by whom?] Its first objective was to fight against what Hezbollah described as US and Israeli imperialism, including the Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon and other territories. The second objective was to gather all Muslims into an "ummah", under which Lebanon would further the aims of the 1979 Revolution of Iran. It also declared it would protect all Lebanese communities, excluding those that collaborated with Israel, and support all national movements, both Muslim and non-Muslim, throughout the world.[which?] The manifesto by Hezbollah rejects the existence of the state of Israel, calling for its destruction. Hezbollah actively engages in Holocaust denial and spreads antisemitic conspiracy theories.
Alawites in Lebanon.
There are approximately 100,000 to 120,000 Alawites in Lebanon on the whole however the Alawites pertain to nortyhwest Syria.