Sunday was a gorgeous day in sun and spirit. So, we also wanted to commemorate it with a roundup links to some of the stories about #leblaique and highlighted some of the most poignant observations. We’d love it if you’d post links to the Arabic stories about the march in the comments section (there’s also an embedded Twitter search for #leblaique at the bottom of the post):
@abzzy created the iconic banner for the geek sect, uh, set.
The best round-up of photos, from LebaneseVoices
and more via Flickr from @mozzoom , enjoy the photos, (i surely have! ) More Images via Fady Nammour of LebLaique (cc) and the event page photos on facebook & the Best Banners from today’s March Image roundup from twitter via leb laique – March for Secularism in Lebanon attendees. See all the photos…
Secular Lebanon? oh, is it another dream?, from Independence ’05
What grabbed my attention the most is the presence of foreigners in the Lebanese Laique Pride march that took place today April 25. The crowd gathered at first near Ain El Mreisseh and then marched towards the Parliament in Downtown. Read more and see the great close-ups…
Thousands march for secularism in Lebanon, from Nadine Moawad
…Things I liked most: We didn’t have any sectarian infiltrators, though that probably means nobody was taking us seriously =) A woman led the march. There were lots of baby strollers and dogs! Everybody seemed really happy. I got to carry my “3omro ma yirja3 al-tawezon il ta2ifi” (To Hell with sectarian balance) for the second time. Things I didn’t like: singing the friggin national anthem when we got close to Parliament. #Boo. I can’t stand national anthems. There was no mention of Palestinians and a lot of mention of “Lebanese” “Lebanesedom” “Lebanese-ness” which also makes me feel nauseous… Read more…
Demonstrators call for secular state in Lebanon, from VOA News
More than 2,000 people have marched through the streets of downtown Beirut calling for a secular state.
It started on the social-networking site Facebook, a call to arms by people who believe church and state should not be one. After the online movement grew, Laique Pride organizers decided to take that spirit off-line, staging a rally through downtown Beirut to the Lebanese Parliament. Read more…
Taking Pride, from Raafat Hamze
…Then there were our friends from our generation, that we found randomly as we marched, that we hugged, stalked, joked with or flirted with en route from Ain el Mraysseh to the Nejmeh Square. Those friends who shrugged to the authorities prohibiting them from reaching the main parliament square, and headed straight to enjoy the rest of the day in cafes by the sea. And who would really wish to spoil the pleasure of that day with banal details? The sheer confidence, determination and complacency that was in the air was the perfect antithesis of everything the authorities’ prohibition represented. Who needs to head to that chic, but damned and toxic building that houses all the country’s turmoil, when you know you’re there to signal the end of an era, and the beginning of a new one?… Read more…
Lebanese Laïque Pride, from Maya’s Amalgam
Read more…
Lebanese Laïque Pride, from Cagil Kasapoglu
Thousands of Lebanese marched for Secularism in Lebanon, a country that is governed by a confessional system based on sectarianism. When it comes to words like “secularism” and “laïcité” it is hard not to be attracted as a Turkish. Read more…