Lebanon war sparks Christian charity and animosity

BEIRUT, Aug 8 (Reuters) The school north of Beirut is decorated with Christian imagery, but for now it is sheltering hundreds of Shi'ite Muslims forced from their homes by Israel's war with Hizbollah.

Some have fled villages in southern Lebanon, where Hizbollah guerrillas have been battling Israeli forces. Others have fled air strikes on the mainly Shi'ite southern suburb of Beirut.

All are seeking refuge in a Christian suburb that was hostile to Muslims during the 1975-1990 civil war which pitted Lebanon's many religious communities against each other.

"They are treating us very well, providing us with everything," said Zeinab Farhat, who had never made the 15-minute drive from her home in the southern suburb to Zalka until the bombing forced her to flee two weeks ago.

It is Maronite Christian politician Michel Aoun who keeps supplies flowing to Shi'ite refugees in the Christian areas north of Beirut in what political analysts say is a rare example of cooperation between two groups traditionally at odds.

Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement, the best represented Christian party in parliament, has stood by a political understanding with the Shi'ite Hizbollah group, in spite of the fact that it sparked the war with its capture of two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12.

"This shows we are Lebanese before we are Christians or Muslims," Aoun activist Elie Hanna said.

Analysts say Aoun, through his aid work, hopes to further his chances of becoming president next year if Hizbollah emerges strong from the conflict with Israel.

FIRST OF A KIND Shi'ites are Lebanon's biggest religious community, but under Lebanon's delicate faith-based political system, the president is always a Maronite, the country's main Christian denomination.

"It's the first of a kind. There has never been any close attention paid by the Maronites to the Shi'ites," said Ousama Safa, head of the Lebanese Centre for Policy Studies.

However, Aoun's support for Hizbollah is not shared by many Christians for whom the war has deepened ill feeling towards the Shi'ite guerrilla group and the sect it represents.

"That's one of them," said Vic Boyadjian, a Lebanese Armenian Christian, gesturing to a Shi'ite as he went into a shop in a Christian area of Beirut. "He works with me. But I don't like him and I don't talk to him," he said.

While Israel's bombardment of Lebanon has mainly targeted Shi'ite-dominated areas, its aircraft have also hit roads in Christian areas and the conflict has brought the economy to a standstill, affecting all Lebanese.

"The problem is that Hizbollah is a state within a state.

Hizbollah is fighting Israel, but Israel is waging war on the whole of Lebanon," said Nimar Ibrahim. "Christians have no say.

They do not want war, they want investment." Many Christians hoped Aoun would be the strong leader they believed their community needed. However, his backing for Hizbollah risks undermining his support.

REUTERS MS PC0946