Chouf (also spelled Shouf, Shuf or Chuf; ) is a historic region of

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, as well as an administrative

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

in the

governorate A governorate or governate is an administrative division headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is typically used to calque divisions ...

( muhafazat) of

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round. Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...

Geography

Located south-east of

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, the region comprises a narrow coastal strip notable for the Christian town of Damour, and the valleys and mountains of the western slopes of Jabal Barouk, the name of the local Mount Lebanon massif, on which the largest

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

of Cedars of Lebanon is found. The mountains are high enough to receive

snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

History

Christian Church and Druze khalwa in Maaser el Chouf

The Emirs of

resided in Chouf, most notably

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

Emir Fakhr al-Din II, who attained considerable power and autonomy from the Ottoman Empire in the 17th century. He is often referred to as the founder of modern Lebanon although his area of influence and control included parts of Palestine and Syria. Another emir is Bachir Chehab II, who built the palace of Beiteddine during the first half of the 19th century. Deir al Qamar (the monastery of the Moon) is also in the Chouf region. The relationship between the

and

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

in Chouf was characterized by peaceful coexistence. In the early eighteenth century, the communities lived side by side in relative harmony. However, in 1848, 1860, and again in 1983-1984, during the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

( Mountain War,

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: ''Harb el-Jabal''), fighting broke out between the Christian and

communities in the Chouf. At the end of January 1989,

leader Walid Jumblatt, who lived at the Jumblatt palace in the town of Moukhtara, came up with a plan to help Christians return to their homes after an estimated 300,000 had fled during the fighting. The initiative was supported by Dany Chamoun. In March the plan was shelved following General Michel Aoun’s blockade of the Druze port at Jieh, his shelling of Souq El Gharb and the assassination of one of Jumblatt’s top aides. Reconciliation between the Druze and Christian communities was achieved on August 8, 2001, when the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch, Cardinal Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir made a historic visit to the Chouf and met with Jumblatt. In 1989, Israel carried out air-strikes on the Chouf a few yards from a school. Two militants were killed and several schoolchildren were wounded in the attack.jets hit Beirut schoolyard
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Demographics

According to voter registration in 2014:

References

{{Chouf District Districts of Lebanon Druze in Lebanon

Geography

History

Demographics

See also

References