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European Intervention
The French and the British at this time were seeking to increase their influence in the Muslim world, while still competing with each other. As a result, the French tended to support the Maronites (their Catholic brethren in any case) and the British supported the Druze. With international backing, the two groups escalated their violence. In the summer of 1860, over 10,000 Maronite Christians were massacred by the Druze in Damascus. Muslims in Syria generally stayed neutral and aided many of the Christians who were seeking to escape massacred. Abd al-Qadir, a Muslim Algerian scholar living in exile in Damascus was particularly noteworthy with his support of the Christians in Damascus. His efforts to save them from Druze paramilitaries was met with recognition by the French and American governments. In any case, the Ottoman authorities were able to suppress the violence between the two sides within a few months of the outbreak of the war. The Ottomans then reestablished direct control over the area to prevent further violence from happening. Regardless of the success of the Ottomans in stopping the violence, the French took the opportunity to intervene. The major European powers of the day (Austria, Great Britain, Prussia, and Russia) all granted France the authority to send troops to Lebanon to protect the Maronite Christians, despite the ceasing of violence there. The French soon imposed a treaty on the Ottoman sultan Abdlmecid I in 1861. This treaty forced the Ottomans to appoint a non-Lebanese Christian governor for the region that would be approved by the great powers of Europe.
disunited states. Much emphasis was placed on nationalism as a unifying force instead of religious or cultural similarities. As a result, the people of Lebanon began to see themselves as inherently different and separate from the people throughout the rest of Syria a mentality that continues today throughout the Arab world. This European policy of promoting nationalism to decrease Islamic or Arab unity has been greatly successful for them.
French troops arriv ing in Beirut in 1860
Today, the Muslim world remains completely disunited with arbitrary lines in the sand drawn by European powers to keep people separated and thus increase European and Western influence in the region. Without the unity shown in earlier Muslim eras, the great successes and power of the Muslim world cannot be regained.
Bibliography: Hourani, Albert Habib. A History Of The Arab Peoples. New York: Mjf Books, 1997. Print. Ochsenwald, William, and Sydney Fisher. The Middle East: A History. 6th. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. Print.