What is the worth of religion? In Lebanon, it is everything and nothing at all. The country has 18 constitutionally recognized sects, and those sects dictate marriage, divorce, inheritance, political position and votes. Yet sect is mutable. It doesn't necessarily reflect spiritual belief, or any belief at all. And the right to change sect is enshrined in the constitution. Catholic and want a divorce? Convert to Islam. Don't like Sunni Islam's inheritance laws? Become a Shi'ite. Just don't choose "none of the above." That threatens a political system so deeply intertwined with religion that agnosticism becomes an existential threat. Like an injection of steroids that initially revived Lebanon after a debilitating civil war, continued use of religion in politics has rendered the country's government bloated, impotent and subject to unexpected eruptions of rage. Nowhere is that more apparent than over the current debacle that has deprived Lebanon of a government just two months shy of parliamentary elections. After two tension-filled weeks, Lebanon's fractious political parties have agreed upon a new Prime Minister to replace Najib Mikati, who abruptly resigned in protest on March 22 over parliament's inability to agree on a new law to govern the upcoming elections. Incoming Prime Minister Tammam Salam, a former minister from a prominent Sunni Muslim political dynasty, has to form a Cabinet, implement — if one can be agreed upon — the new election law and open parliamentary polling by June 9. At which point he will be out of office. (MORE: Lebanon's Bad Habit: Staring Into the Abyss Too Often) Unless the current law is amended, the next parliament is likely to look like this one — leading to a carefully calibrated balance of opposing parties that maintains political stability at the risk of getting absolutely nothing done. But if the electoral law changes to reflect another political consensus, it could have knock-on effects not only for the balance of power in parliament, but on whom parliament elects as President next year. If, for example, the Hizballah-aligned bloc loses its standing in parliament and in the Cabinet,(http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&blog=19871253&post=80115&subd=timeglobalspin&ref=&feed=1)
Via: TIME GlobalSpin