The Pervasiveness of the “Sacred” in Beirut’s Public Spaces. “A Preliminary Geographical Analysis”

Abstract

This paper aims to very briefly analyse, through geographer’s eyes, the various religious and secular actors’ strategies in their process of production of sacred spaces in Beirut, Lebanon. The eighteen Lebanese religious communities present in the country each mark Beirut’s urban landscape with religious symbols and signs that are also very often politically charged. Our assumption is that “sacred” space cannot be limited just to religious buildings; in Beirut, it is expressed by taking over public spaces, transforming easily accessible secular loci into areas that impose rules and specific codes of behaviour. In the city, religious events are expressed through spiritual, cultural, social and architectural venues. Beirut is marked by symbols merging politics and religion, with a regular use of religion by the media working for political parties; thus, each quarter of the city is marked by a particular political ideology that reflects the religious identity of its inhabitants through specific codes and signs.