Re-confessionalising the Shi‘ites and the Druzes: The Failure of Secularism in Lebanon

This paper examines the history of the relations between the Shi'ite and Druze communities in independent Lebanon. Suggesting that these have turned on the issue of secularism, it argues that the attitude towards the state and its political structure has always taken front stage. Three stages in the relationship can be discerned: mobilization, cooperation, and political dissension. The defeat of the Left and the failure of the secular project constituted a historical watershed in the political behavior of both communities, leading to a regression to primordial loyalties and exclusivism. While this development reflects structural weakness and vulnerability amongst the Druze, amongst the Shi'ites it is indicative of increasing communal consciousness, growing empowerment, and the adoption of new strategies in the attempt to change Lebanese political reality. At the same time, the historical circumstances the two communities have experienced within independent Lebanon demonstrates that the confessional system continues to serve as an obstacle to the creation of a coherent and crystallized political community in Lebanon.     

The origins of sectarianism in Egypt and the Fertile Crescent

This paper differs from previous studies in arguing that sectarianism has overwhelmingly been created consensually by/or as a result of the elites’ behavioral patterns. Religious or communal pluralism does not categorically lead to political sectarianism; The development of pluralism into political sectarianism can thus be adduced as dependent upon other factors—first and foremost the behavioural patterns of the elite. While the imperial legacy, theological controversies, and socio-economic gaps feed political sectarianism, in and of themselves they are insufficient to cause it. A survey of the history of Egypt and the other countries in the Fertile Crescent reveals that the development of political sectarianism or sectarian violence has been organically linked to elites' political behaviors and interests. sectarianism takes the form of the instrumental exploitation of a religious or communal identity or framework in order to enable political organization, the gaining of political legitimacy, the promotion of political change, or the preservation of the control held by interest groups. While in the eyes of many critics, sectarianism forms a striking example of the elites' intrinsic weakness, sectarianism is first and foremost a product of the elites’ quest for power.     

How Elites Can Maintain their Power in the Middle East: The Junblat Family as a Case Study

Elites are more than the producers of wealth and power; elites reproduce themselves and control the masses by means of norms and values. For many years, the Junblat family of Lebanon has based its leading role on the idea of protecting the Druze community's interests and rejuvenating Druze glory. Despite the enormous political, economic and social transformations the area has witnessed, the Junblat family has succeeded in maintaining a continuous tradition of leadership and power from the early seventeenth century to the present. This article will argue that the explanation behind the durability of this political power lies in what might be called the ‘ideology of adjustment’ on one hand and preserving organic communication with the masses on the other. Many conclusions can be drawn from the case of the Lebanese Junblat family regarding behavioural patterns and structures of traditional elites in the Arab Middle East. The most important is that traditional elites have no commitment to ideology other than to the degree that it allows them to adjust, serves their self-preservation and helps them to gain as much power as they can.     

Isolation and identification of an isomeric sildenafil analogue as an adulterant in an instant coffee premix

The proliferation of adulterated health foods and beverages in the market demands a comprehensive analytical strategy to identify the adulterants, particularly those of isomeric phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitors. An instant coffee premix (ICP) purchased from an online retailer was flagged for suspected adulteration through PDE5 inhibition assay. The ICP was then analysed using suspected-target and non-targeted screenings of a liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Based on these findings, a PDE5 inhibitor initially assigned as compound X was isolated from the ICP by employing a liquid chromatography-diode array detection before its structural elucidation with liquid chromatography-ultraviolet (LC-UV) spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The suspected-target screening matched the protonated molecule ([M + H]⁺) precursor ion of compound X at m/z 499.2310 with two suspected analytes that are structural isomers of one another. The fragmentation patterns of compound X were comparable to those analogues in the dithiocarbodenafil group through the non-targeted screening. These findings, complemented by the LC-UV and NMR spectroscopy data, together with the chromatographic separation of related structural isomers, conclude the identity of compound X. To our best knowledge, this is the first study to report the presence of 3,5-dimethylpiperazinyl-dithiodesmethylcarbodenafil in an ICP sample.

Key points

• The herbal-based male sexual performance products’ lucrative market has instigated their rampant adulteration, particularly with PDE5 inhibitors.
• The adulterated products may also contain analogues of the approved PDE5 inhibitors, which usually passed into the market undetected as they are not included in the routine targeted screening procedure.
• The present study detected, isolated, and identified an isomeric sildenafil analogue from an instant coffee premix sample using rapid qualitative assay and comprehensive analytical analysis.
• This paper highlighted the applicability of the established strategies for routine casework, particularly in a forensic drug testing laboratory.