This research explores the potential relational dialectics emerging in arranged marriages among Muslim families in Beirut, Lebanon. The study focuses on the tensions rising during the pre-wedding stages of the arranged relationship, during which candidates evolve from total strangers, to fiancés, and ultimately to spouses. Based on a thematic analysis of interviews with sixteen couples, the study revealed six major dialectical tensions emerging along partners’ socio-religious, emotionl, and gender differences, or due to parental interventions: Arranged vs. romantic script, interpersonal vs. social frames, commitment vs. autonomy, traditional vs. liberal gender roles, emotions vs. reason, and family inclusion vs. seclusion. The couples coped with tensions mostly by resorting to religion and to other family members for guidance, by reframing their conditions according to their ideal relational script.
• Pasted on public and private building walls, political posters commemorating martyrs were a familiar feature of Lebanon’s civil war. Twenty-five years later, they serve as a window into the culture of the era. Based on 86 political posters collected from the 1960s through the 1980s in Beirut, this research examines how people viewed martyrdom during that period. Using a semiotic analysis, it studies how different political players promoted and used martyrdom to revive deceased leaders and militiamen, and frame their memory as one of valiant heroism. The study finds that, although martyrdom was promoted as a secular notion at the beginning of the war, it was still venerated as an honor along the tradition of Abraham’s divine sacrifice. Mostly used for political, ideological and publicity purposes, martyrdom enabled the various militias to change their losses into victories, strengthen their bonds with their constituents and acquire credibility as people who have offered blood. •
Purpose: Social inclusion of children with physical disabilities is essential for their mental health. The long-standing conflict and political instability in
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