Can Minorities Survive in the Levant? Or Is It Moving Toward a Single Sectarian Order? Fadi Abu Deeb and Sami al-Kayyal

Can minorities survive in the Levant? Or is it moving toward a single sectarian order? Sami al-Kayyal discusses with writer Fadi Abu Deeb the future of religious and cultural diversity in the region amid the rise of Islamic extremism. How did all experiences of coexistence among sectarian communities unravel? And why is the urban model in the Levant no longer capable of accommodating pluralism? Are we on a steady course toward emptying our countries of minorities? The two writers also explore possible solutions: should efforts be made to restore integration among different communities? Or are these attempts futile, making it necessary to consider other solutions, such as autonomy for the minorities that remain, or “exit” from the region altogether, in all the material and symbolic meanings of that “exit”? Watch episode four of season five of the program “Public Space”.