Marhaba.

I live in Lebanon, Aley district. Israeli airstrike targets are at proximity of my location. Beirut, and particularly Dahieh, is completely visible from my balcony. There are also refugees sheltered in my town.

Other things to know about me: I am a leftist, and a legal and political writer.

P.S. I will answer anything (as it is with AMA posts), not only issues pertaining to the recent events.

  • Utter_Karate [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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    2 months ago

    To give you one of those not pertaining to current events:

    How did Lebanese cooking conquer so much of the world? I feel like every other country with a cuisine that is as widely spread and popular is more than ten times the size. I actually just did a search for Stockholm where I live and found 54 different lebanese restaurants. The food is great, but why did Lebanon in particular beat all of its bigger neighbours and become such a giant in food culture?

    • godsvictory [any]@hexbear.netOP
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      2 months ago

      Lebanese cuisine conquering the world is the only imperialist endeavour I approve 😎

      It’s very interesting because many of our dishes we share with the neighbouring countries due to cultural and historical ties. One factor could be that the Lebanese among the arab nations were the first to immigrate (circa 1840’s) to the west. They were mostly christian minorities who fled and were very successful in establishing themselves abroad. This could also be a case of xenophobia and islamophobia. But I am no expert.

      Also, the food tastes even better if you visit the country.

      • Utter_Karate [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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        2 months ago

        Being the first to emigrate to a large degree is a great explanation. I don’t think this one can be blamed on islamophobia because I think the islamophobes just consider Lebanon to be an entirely muslim country already because it’s in that part of the world.

        It is no surprise that there are more good Lebanese chefs in Lebanon than anywhere else, and I hope I’ll be able to visit someday. Stay safe and thank you for answering our questions!

        • FunkyStuff [he/him]@hexbear.net
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          2 months ago

          think the islamophobes just consider Lebanon to be an entirely muslim country already because it’s in that part of the world.

          Christian immigrants from Lebanon would’ve had an easier time integrating into islamophobic societies though, and would act as the bridge between cultures.

            • Hexboare [they/them]@hexbear.net
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              2 months ago

              Yeah, two thirds of the ~250,000 Lebanese Australians are Christian of some denomination but you’d never know that from the media or coverage of racism

            • Caruna [he/him]@hexbear.net
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              2 months ago

              So true. And also why it personally bothers me when south Asian’s are Islam phobic. Like , when they say “Muslim” they mean you and me and you won’t get any points for also being racist.