Lebanon: Treatment of a Shi'a woman from a Hezbollah operation zone who wishes to convert to Christianity; Shi'a conversion to Christianity

Sources indicated that it was difficult to assess the impact of a person's wish to convert from Islam to Christianity (Professor at the Centre des hautes études sur l'Afrique et l'Asie moderne in Paris  19 Jan. 2000; Lecturer in Christian Studies in the Middle East 16 Feb. 2000; Director of the Centre for Lebanese Studies15 Feb. 2000; Consultant for the Centre for Lebanese Studies16 Feb. 2000).

These sources stated that there are two types of religious conversion in Lebanon: legal and theological. While a theological conversion is motivated by faith, a rare occurrence in Lebanon, a legal conversion is not. Lebanese have long used legal conversion to bypass religious laws regarding marriages, inheritance and divorce. This is a commonly used procedure to gain certain material or honorific gains that is accepted in Lebanon and does not attract retribution. The state does not systematically search for people who might or have converted to another religion. According to the Director of the Centre for Lebanese Studies and the Lecturer in Christian Studies in the Middle East, Lebanon's prime minister, Salim El-Hoss, a Sunni by birth has legally converted to Shiism because he wanted to bypass Sunni inheritance laws that prohibits his daughter from inheriting.

Sources stated that if a person resides in an area where members of the Hezbollah are present and operate, and that if it becomes public knowledge that the woman might convert to another religion based on faith, or that she has converted to another religion based on faith, the woman would be exposed to difficulties in the community (Professor at the Centre des hautes études sur l'Afrique et l'Asie moderne in Paris 19 Jan. 2000; Lecturer in Christian Studies in the Middle East 16 Feb. 2000; Director of the Centre for Lebanese Studies15 Feb. 2000; Consultant for the Centre for Lebanese Studies  16 Feb. 2000). However, these same sources also indicated that it is unlikely that a woman residing in an Hezbollah-controlled area would put herself in such a dangerous situation. In addition, the Christian churches would be extremely careful before engaging a Moslem into a conversion process because in Lebanon theological conversion is a sensitive issue for the religious establishments involved in the process (Ibid.).

These sources also indicated that it is unlikely that the state or the police would intervene in conversion cases (Ibid.; Specialist in Islamic Law and Lebanese lawyer

In a 19 January 2000 telephone interview, a professor who is a specialist on Lebanon at the Centre des hautes études sur l'Afrique et l'Asie moderne in Paris, and the former editor of Arabies and Jeune Afrique magazine, stated that a woman from a well-to-do Shi'a family is less likely to be victimized than a woman from a poor rural Shi'a area as she would likely be shielded by her family, although her wish to convert or her actual conversion would probably be presented as mental confusion or fatigue. It would remain a private matter.

A Lecturer on Christian Studies in the Middle East at the Orient Institute in Oxford, England, and who has conducted conversions and baptisms of Moslems in Lebanon and in Europe, stated, in a 16 February 2000 telephone interview, that a person wishing to convert to Christianity must follow a certain number of rules. In general, it involves at least one year, usually two, of studies of Christian literature and practice. Throughout the learning process, the person's faith is tested. The priest indicated that a high number of beginners never complete the process due to their own or the Church's decision. The Lecturer added that many Moslems that attempt to convert to Christianity based on potential material benefits are rejected by the church.

The Lecturer on Christian Studies in Oxford also suggested that the Church did not want to convert the women because churches converting Moslems in Lebanon provide protection to the new converts by keeping the procedure secret and by moving the person to a safe area for Christians such as the Kesrouan region. Churches are prepared for these situations because a number of their Moslem employees converted to Christianity (Ibid.; Professor at the Centre des hautes études sur l'Afrique et l'Asie moderne in Paris  19 Jan. 2000). The Lecturer added that Christian churches would not reject a sincere new recruit.

The Lecturer on Christian Studies in Oxford, the professor at the Centre des hautes études sur l'Afrique et l'Asie moderne in Paris and the Director of the Centre For Lebanese Studies stated that the Christian church would only proceed with the conversion of a Shi'a woman after conducting a thorough and extensive investigation, even more so if she lives in a Hezbollah-controlled area. Christian Churches would never put the life of persons at risk by converting them.

The Lecturer on Christian Studies in Oxford also indicated that as long as the other members of the woman's family remain Shi'a, they would not face difficulties living in an Hezbollah-controlled area. 

Although unaware of any case where a Shi'a woman converted to Christianity, a specialist on Islamic Law and a Lebanese lawyer in London, England, indicated that a Moslem who converts to another religion based on faith is considered an apostate (19 Jan. 2000). This person would have to disclose this information to the civil registry administration. Because of her conversion, the woman would not be entitled to her family's inheritance. If the woman has children, the husband would be entitled to divorce her and have custody of the children, who would remain Shi'a.

  This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Professor at the Centre des hautes études sur l'Afrique et l'Asie moderne in Paris, and the former editor of Arabies and Jeune Afrique magazine and specialist of Lebanon. 19 January 2000. Telephone interview. The professor recently published an article on Lebanon in Les Cahiers de l'Orient on Islamic movements in Lebanon. He is currently finishing a book on Islamic movements.

Centre for Lebanese Studies, Oxford, England. 15 Feb. 2000. Telephone interview with the Director.

_____. 16 February 2000. Telephone interview with a consultant who has been interviewed on Lebanon by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and CNN, and who has published in Middle East International, The Journal of Refugee Studies and Mediterranean Politics. She also wrote a chapter in The Politics of Multi-National States (1999).

Lecturer in Christian Studies, Orient Institute, Oxford, England. 16 February 2000. Telephone interview with a Maronite priest.

Specialist in Islamic Law and Lebanese lawyer, London, England. 19 January 2000. Telephone interview.