It appears that Lebanese Christians, not Muslims, were responsible for the firebombing of the Jewish school in Montreal. I am in extensive daily contact with Lebanese Christians, and they are a deeply divided community. Many manifest the dhimmi mentality, subscribing completely to the jihadist agenda, with all its anti-Semitism and fanaticism.
This is a consequence in part of the Arab Nationalist movement, which was ostensibly secular and fostered by many Arab Christians as a result; they thought it would ensure them a place in the Middle East. But from its beginnings, secular Arab Nationalism suffered from severe contradictions because of the close identification of Islam with the Arab nation. Consider the case of the founder of the Ba’ath Party, Michel Aflaq. Aflaq was an Orthodox Christian, but he converted to Islam and urged other Christians to do so, saying, “Islam is Arab Nationalism” (quoted in Sylvia Haim, Arab Nationalism, 1962, p. 64, with thanks to Bat Ye’or).
Aware of this, and also aware that the Islamic Sharia called for by Islamic radical groups would subjugate them as second-class dhimmis no less than it would the Jews of Israel, many other Lebanese Christians reject any common cause with Islam. But it seems as if these young men are in the former camp.
From the Globe and Mail, with thanks to Mentat:
MONTREAL — Two 18-year-olds charged with firebombing a Jewish elementary school in Montreal will appear in court today for a bail hearing, where more details of the allegations against them are expected to be made public.
On the weekend, Simon Zogheib and Sleiman Elmerhebi were arraigned on charges of arson and conspiracy related to the Passover attack on United Talmud Torah school. They pleaded not guilty.
Rouba Elmerhebi Fahd, 36, and the mother of one of the suspects, was charged with being an accessory after the fact. She also pleaded not guilty. …
The arrests were greeted with a sense of relief, particularly in Montreal’s Jewish community. But they also left observers perplexed for a number of reasons.
First, while the suspects face serious charges, they have not been charged with hate crimes. The April 5 firebombing, which destroyed the school’s library and was the worst of a series of attacks on Jewish institutions across Canada, drew wide condemnation as a hate crime, from the Prime Minister on down.
The attack on the school was not the work of a loner, but of an organized group. However, the young men implicated do not seem to have links to any established terrorist group and do not have criminal records.
Notes taped to the front of the school linked the arson to Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin. “Here is the consequence of your crimes and your occupation,” the message read. This led many to believe the firebombing was the work of Palestinian or Muslim extremists.
The people charged all live in the middle class Montreal suburb of St. Laurent, not far from the Talmud Torah elementary school. The suspects are of Lebanese origin but, according to neighbours, they are Christian, not Muslim.
Mr. Zogheib lives near Saint-Hippolyte Church, which he is said to attend regularly.