Last weekend, the Lebanese capital Beirut witnessed two contradictory events. The first was the celebration of the first civil marriage in Lebanon, which was held at one of the largest hotels in Beirut. The second event was spearheaded by Salafist Sheik Ahmad al-Assir, who led about 1,000 of his supporters to downtown Beirut to demand the release of prisoners affiliated with the Jihadist Fatah al-Islam group.
These events occurred within a few hours of each other, and geographically, less than one kilometer apart. Culturally, however, they were many centuries and light years away from each other.