Kadmous (Lebanon)

Last modified: 2020-07-31 by ian macdonald
Keywords: lebanon | kadmous |
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• Description

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• Political Parties (Lebanon)
• Lebanon

This is a flag seen during the protests against the Syrian occupation in Lebanon in early 2005. I cannot identify what the writing means.

Esteban Rivera, 28 Jul 2005

The slogan is "la shaqafa bi-liban ila al-shaqafa al-libnaniya" (No ??? in Lebanon but the Lebanese ???)

Shaqafa usually translated to "observation" or "high point" but probably has another meaning here, like "leadership" or "control."

Dov Gutterman, 28 Jul 2005

But it doesn't say "shaqafa," it says "thaqafa," which Hans Wehr translates as "education" or "culture." So "no education in Lebanon but Lebanese education" or perhaps "Lebanon has no culture except Lebanese culture."

FWIW, the flag correctly gives "lubnan" rather than "liban" for the Arabic spelling of the country's name.

Joseph McMillan, 28 Jul 2005

Joseph, of course, is entirely correct. Next time I won't read Arabic without my glasses. "Thaqafa" is not mere culture or education. It is got a broader meaning which maybe could be translated also into "heritage" or "tradition" in the national sense.

Dov Gutterman, 28 Jul 2005