King of The Kings
Lebanon, Essay, 9/11/1997

Beirut is known to be the city of variety--if not the city of contrasts--where all society levels and all possibilities can be found. The same streets witness the passing of the most varied kinds of cars, from the oldest dusty shivering car to the latest model of the most expensive limousine. Nevertheless, a phenomenon that draws attention is the sudden appearance of the same round stickers on many cars, whatever their model is, in the last few months, with an inscription different than the jokes one reads on common bumper stickers.

Actually, numerous cars carry the photograph of Jesus in a circle, around which the saying "King of The Kings - Jesus of Nazareth" is written. This started last autumn, while a more recent event is the appearance of new round stickers that have the same shape of these, but with another photograph, that of the Qa'ba in Mecca (where Moslems go for pilgrimage), with the inscription: "There is no god but God, Mohammed is his Prophet." Sure, it is not a question of competition, and one should consider this event as a sign of democracy and freedom of opinion and religion, rather than a symbol of persisting fanaticism. No further comment.

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