Where to start on this matter and what to say about a country that suffered a 15-year war based on who worships who. But, apparently, we can't sit still and have to say something; so here it goes:
A Lebanese town called Hadat took a decision nine years ago to ban Muslims from renting or buying houses in it. Its residents, the minority Christian, can only sell or rent to fellow Christians.
According to the Associated Press (AP), those of the Christian faith in Lebanon feel "under siege" since Muslims - "who tend to have higher birth rates" - are leaving Muslim areas in favor of the former's.
In 2010, when Hadat Mayor George Aoun was elected, he seized the chance to rid the town of its current 60-65 percent Muslim locals - who had migrated from the neighboring Shiite-populated area Dahieh in the 90s - or at least stop that number from increasing.
Even though the sectarian policy isn't new, it captured international attention this month when a young journalist and his fiancée were refused a house in Hadat.
Mohammed Awwad found an apartment in the town on OLX, an online global marketplace, and was interested since "the price was low and the apartment was big and beautiful."
He phoned the owner to take a visit appointment, but was slammed with the million dollar question: "Are you Christian or Muslim?"
Awwad asked his fiancée to call the municipality to request more information, and was told the same thing.
"Every village should preserve itself. Every Shiite village should preserve its Shiite nature, every Christian village should preserve its Christian nature and every Sunni village should preserve its Sunni nature. We want to preserve our village or what remains of it," Mayor George Aoun, who's been criticized for perpetuating sectarian divide, explained in an interview with Al Jadeed TV.
Interior Minister Raya El Hassan was appalled by the news and asked the governor of Mount Lebanon to investigate the matter. She described the ban as "unconstitutional" and of promoting "sectarian discourse [that] contradicts coexistence."
According to The Daily Star, signs that read, "To keep Hadath a town for its residents, do not sell your house. Do not sell your land ... the municipality will not sign [the paperwork] for you" were hung around Hadat in 2011, and are still there today.
"I) Lebanese territory is one for all Lebanese. Every Lebanese shall have the right to live in any part thereof and to enjoy the rule of law wherever he resides. There shall be no segregation of the people on the basis of any type of belonging, and no fragmentation, partition, or settlement of non-Lebanese in Lebanon," the 1926 Lebanese Constitution clearly states.
Still, political leaders pass agreements under the table that only benefit them, leaving the people battling each other in the name of religion.
Alain Aoun, a Baabda MP affiliated with the Christian party the Free Patriotic Movement, explained how the FMP and Hezbollah had already agreed on what is now being called a "racist and discriminatory" law. According to him, this will help maintain the "'original residents' of the area and avoid demographic change."
Was a hero born?
Mohammad Awwad is now hailed as a hero. A hero who feared no politician, no racist law, and especially no hypocrites who pretend they're patriotic while deep down they're only "loyal" to their own "kind."