Banu Amela

The Banu Amela (Arabic: Banū 'Āmela) (Arabic: بنو عامله) a South Arabian tribe that migrated from the towns of Bardoun, Yarim, Mayrayama and Jibla in the central highlands and the Raimah region in Yemen (Jabalan Al Ardaba, Jabalan Al Raymah).

They trace their genealogy back to Amela bin Saba'a bin Yashjeb bin Ya'arib bin Qahtan who left Yemen after the 4th destruction of the Marib Dam around 200 B.C. They dwelled in Syria settling the southern highlands and eastern valley of modern Lebanon.

Medieval History

Banu Amela were subject to many attacks waged against them by the crusaders in 1095 A.D. Many coastal cities successively fell in the Crusaders' hands, after witnessing many atrocities. But the villages were not subject to such mishandling since their inhabitants remained in them, and the Crusaders needed the local population to make use of the land in order to provide them with food and procurements.

The Banu Amela helped liberate their land form the Crusaders during the Ayubids and the Mamlukes era, when the last city, Tyre, was regained on May 19, 1291 A.D. The Mamlukes seized power afterward and persecuted those who opposed them, or belonged to a different religious sect than theirs (Mamlukes were Sunni Muslims).

Many areas that had Banu Amelas residing in them lived through a number of upheaval and civil unrests, such as those surrounding Tripoli and the region of Kisrwan in Mount Lebanon. As a result, many of them fled to the south, into areas such as Jezzine, or the east, into the Bekaa Valley. One of their prominent clergymen during that time, Shamseddine was persecuted and eventually killed by the Mamluks in 1384 A.D., later to be named the 'First Martyr.'

They played an important role in the history of ancient and modern Lebanon. During the Ottoman rule (ca. 1517-1918), they established autonomy in their areas to the extent of having their own flag (tricoloured: red-symbol of Imam Hussein's martyrdom; black-symbol of their mourning of Hussein, and; green-the symbolic colour of Islam) and army, which fought against the Ottoman regional rulers in northern Palestine and Damascus.

Under the French Mandate

When the French took their mandate from the League of Nations after World War I, Lebanon became part of that mandate, which established modern day Republic of Lebanon in 1920 by including south Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and north Lebanon to form the country.

Banu Amel in the South Lebanon Governerate resented the French rule on their territory, especially the establishment of French government offices and military bases, considering it an encroachment on their historical autonomy. Guerrilla war ensued, leading many people and prominent resistance figures to ally themselves with the Druze of Lebanon and neighbouring Syria around the Houran region along the Golan Heights area.

Adham Khanjar, one of the most historical figures during this conflict found a close alliance with Sultan Basha Al-Atrash who offered help and sometimes refuge for Khanjar and his followers. The great revolt of 1925 - 1927 succeeded in driving French forces from the Jabal Druze and became a symbol of Syrian and Lebanese common objections to the mandate and all that it represented.^[1]

Also, many religious figures played an important role in deciding the fate of this revolt against the French. The Ulema-religious scholars-advocated and worked for unity between Lebanon and Syria, since they were opposed the Greater Lebanon idea, which was believed to be carved out of Bilad al-Sham, or Grand Syria. Some scholars, such as Sayyed Abdul Hussain Sharaffedine issued a Fatwa for Jihad against the French. The Ulema (in Arabic 3olama2) and the leaders in the South met in 'Wadi El Hujay' on the 24 of April 1920 to authorize Sayyed Sharafeddine, Sayyed Muhsen Al Amine and Sayyed Abdel Hussain Noureddien to discuss the future of Jabal Amel and its people with King Faisal in Damascus.

Many revolts broke out as a result beginning from the 1920s until the French departure, and a number of brigades were formed by Banu Amela to fight against the French. These were led by Adham Khanjar, Sadeq Hamzeh and Muhammad Ahamad Bazzi brigades. One of the most important events in the course of this revolt occurred in 1936 when the town of Bint-Jbeil carried a great fight against the French, which later was described as a unionist one for the sake of unity with Syria. People who were killed in that event were considered martyrs of the Syrian unity.

Following Lebanese Independence

^[1] After Lebanon gained its independence on November 22, 1943 and by the time French army withdrew its soldiers from Lebanon in 1946, the Lebanese National Pact, which is a notional and unofficial understanding, allocated the seat of Speaker of the Parliament to the Shia in recognition for their role demographically and politically, but they remained socially and financially marginalized.

This status had very much to do with the historical alliance the French compacted with the Maronites in Lebanon, and the fact that most of development projects took place in Beirut or the regions surrounding it, which somewhat had a positive outcome since many active young people travelled abroad looking for better opportunities. In the 1960s and 1970s West Africa received the bulk of emigrants from South Lebanon, especially the Senegal, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leon, Cameroon, and Zaire, therefore providing them with opportunities to build wealth and political connections that persists until today.

Later on, in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s new emigration destinations included the U.S, Canada, and many parts in South America such as Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.

Political Parties, Families, and Prominent Members

Some of the major political parties include: Amal Movement, Hizbullah, and the Social Democratic Movement (led by Kameyl Al-As'aad).

Traditional families: Farhat, Ibrahim, Al-As'aad, Al-Saghir, Mugniyeh, Berro, Khalil, Beidoon, Sweidan, Wehbe, Zalzali, Hariri.

Prominent figures: Adham Khanjar, Hassan Kamel Al-Sabbah (inventor, born in Lebanon, lived and died in the U.S), the Sadr family (branched out into Iraq, Lebanon, and Iran) with famous religious figures in Iraq such as Muhammad-Baqir Al-Sadr who is known for his philosophic and economic writings, and Imam Sayed Musa Al-Sadr, Sayed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, the founder of Amal and the Shia Supreme Council in Lebanon, Nabih Mustapha Berry speaker of the house and the head of Amal Movement. Latest very known person is Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah.

Notes

1. ^ William L. Cleveland, A History of the Modern Middle East, 3rd Ed. Westview Press 2004