ABSTRACT
One mark of the defiance that developed among Muslims during the latter years of the Chamoun administration was the attention they paid to the exciting figure of Gamal Abdul Nasser who was, in his own way, a defiant person. His picture, displayed prominently in homes and shops, communicated the strong feelings people had for Arab independence and national revival. For many of these people to remain loyal, Lebanon and its President had to pass the litmus test; they had to give no encouragement to those who opposed the Arab cause. Remaining neutral in deed might have satisfied this requirement, but in the emotions let loose by the events between 1956 (Suez) and 1958 (UAR), a neutral attitude would hardly have sufficed. Yet many Lebanese, even some Muslims, were afraid of the Arab cause, at least as personified by Nasser. The state apparatus was developed and maintained to protect the one Christian country of the Middle East. Several militias had been organized to help keep the country Christian and separate, and they were available to help a beleaguered President whose own army, drawn from Greater Lebanon, might not remain loyal to him. Unfortunately, events on the outside along with grievances on the inside combined to pull the Lebanese apart. Only a strong Muslim component of a government willing to share power could have kept the population together and loyal to the state.
