People are asking two critical questions: Where is the leadership of the movement? And how does the transition occur?

What is the basis of these two questions? They arise from the concern for both the movement and for its results, from the worries and concerns of the whole society, from those who participate in the movement and those who stand on the sidelines and criticize it, and from the history of our society’s bitter experiences. Such concerns are inherent to the sects, for the very concern regarding external powers constitute the process of sects’ formation. As such sects produce obsessions between and about each other: whether those sects that feel stronger with respect to others under particular circumstances or anxiety from them, with associated threats or temptations from abroad; or whether some others feel weak and seek to borrow power or protection domestically or from abroad. None of this is accidental or specific to any particular sects. Rather, it is a translation of the relations of power in society, in Lebanon, and throughout the region (Syria and Iraq), and it is on the basis of such relations that the imperial project, from colonialism to Zionist, are built.