**Civil society activists in Lebanon are hoping that thousands will turn up for an unprecedented rally in Beirut.**The march for secularism will call on all Lebanese to unite and work towards the abolition of the country’s deeply divisive sectarian system.
The organisers say it is time to redefine what it means to be Lebanese.
They say this is because at the moment it comes second to being a Muslim or a Christian, Shia or Sunni, Catholic or Orthodox.
Eighteen groups make up Lebanon’s multi-denominational system, and the civic rights of the members of these groups are determined by their religious leaders rather than the government.
Only religious authorities can register marriages, births or death or rule on matters of inheritance - so all Lebanese end up having different rights.
Muslims, for example, cannot adopt children; Maronite Christians cannot get divorced, and it is impossible for members of different sects to marry each other, while civil marriage is not an option here.
The government, too, is divided. Since independence in 1943, Lebanon’s president has always been a Maronite Christian, its prime minister a Sunni Muslim and speaker of parliament a Shia.
Supporters of this unique system say it gives all the religious communities a voice.
But more and more young people, many of whom will take part in this march, point to its failures - chronic instability, weak central government and sectarian tension which has resulted in civil wars in the past.This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/bbcnewsworldfullfeed?d=yIl2AUoC8zA http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/bbcnewsworldfullfeed?d=dnMXMwOfBR0 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/bbcnewsworldfullfeed?i=0ZHSM3f3Sfc:nlgGh4QpSsQ:V_sGLiPBpWU
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/bbcnewsworldfullfeed/~4/0ZHSM3f3Sfc