Introduction: Political Cults, Identities and Martyrdomin Lebanon

Abstract

Although the Lebanese civil war had ended 25 years ago, referring to the value and significance of “martyrs” (shuhadāʾ, pl. of shahīd) is still a common and established practice in Lebanese politics. In the honouring and remembrance of martyrs, the martyr is constructed as a symbol of a certain cause. Today’s political martyr cults, understood as the politically motivated and ritualized veneration of the dead, are organized by almost all major Lebanese political parties and supported by their followers.