Abstract
On 20 December 2005, 8 days after five Shiite ministers resigned from Fouad Siniora's cabinet, Sheikh Afif Naboulsi issued a fatwa forbidding the Shiite community from being represented by anyone other than Amal or Hezbollah members, the only two political parties that represent Shiites in both the Lebanese Chamber of Deputies and in the Cabinet. As a direct consequence, a national-civil lawsuit against Naboulsi was filed by eight Lebanese individuals, of which the majority were Shiite. This study, based on the author's personal communications with the main actors involved in the case, aims to shed light on the almost publicly neglected community sphere. On the other hand, it shows how Lebanese individuals must divide their identity into a sectarian and national one in order to extend the general Lebanese public sphere. By playing such a form of extended citizenship, the lawsuit filed by these Lebanese ‘communal individuals’ represents a step, a means of contrasting authorities that arise in a sphere that is difficult to hold accountable.
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