07.07.2009 - Badih Karhani / Roy Samaha - ARTE GEIE / Median - France 2008

Lebanon has been living under constant pressure, since the assassination of prime minister Rafic Hariri.

This period of crises promotes the emergence of apocalyptic ideologies. Several jihadist groups, ideologically affiliated to Al Qaeda, sprung up in the Land of the Cedars.. They are armed and operate in the shadow. Their recruits: young men marginized socially, politically and economically, who live on the outskirts of major cities or confined in refugee camps. These groups give them a place in  a “new society” with its own codes and its own worldview.

These young men find an answer to their despair in these radical ideologies, in a brotherhood that claims to defend their cause. They view themselves as preachers of Islam, and many of them do not hesitate to be suicide bombers in Iraq, Afghanistan or elsewhere.

In Lebanon, these groups are numerous, Osbat Al Ansar is best known.