Submitted by Fadi Kiblawi, Aug 29, 2007 15:00

This is a thorougly under-researched piece. I checked out the Friends of Gibran website... it is worth noting that this group has just recently come together, with a number of its board members also on the board of the Stop the Madrassa Coalition. So, of course, the group's concerns are not genuine, and they reflect an attitude (Lebanese are not Arabs) that is extremely fringe and unrepresentative of the people of Lebanon. It's well-known that Gibran was a proud Arab, and identified strongly with his Arab identity (for example, joining and later founding Arab-American literary groups, promoting a unified Arab front against Ottoman rule, etc etc). If there is any exploitation of Gibran's legacy, it is by those who have a racist animosity towards everything Arab (to the extent that they attempt to deny that Lebanese are Arabs, a ridiculous assertion with no basis in reality).

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.