Lebanon wakes up in two time zones as clock change row deepens divisions By Reuters

By Timour Azhari and Maya Gebeily

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon woke up in two time zones on Sunday as a row escalated between political and religious authorities over the decision to delay the clock change for a month.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati decided on Thursday not to start daylight savings time during the last weekend of March – as it usually does in Lebanon, Europe and other regions – but instead to move the clocks forward an hour on April 20.

Although no reason was given for the decision, it was widely seen as a concession to Muslims, allowing those staying for the holy month of Ramadan to break their fast during daylight hours around 6pm instead of 7pm.

But the Lebanese Maronite Church, the largest Christian church in the country, announced that it would not abide by the decision, saying there had been no consultations or considerations of international standards.

Turning their clocks forward, other Christian organizations, parties, and schools have announced similar plans. Lebanon’s Education Minister Abbas al-Halabi said on Sunday that schools would operate in summer time, contrary to the government’s decision.

Meanwhile, Islamist institutions and parties appear poised to survive the winter, deepening divisions in a country rocked by a 1975-1990 civil war between Christian and Muslim factions and where seats in parliament are allocated by religious sects.

Media companies and organisations, including two of Lebanon’s main news channels – LBCI and MTV – have announced that they will also enter daylight savings time. “Lebanon is not an island,” LBCI said in a statement.

Others have tried to adapt.

Lebanon’s national carrier, Middle East Airlines, said its hours will remain in the winter season but it will adjust its flight times to align with international schedules.

The state-run telecom company has sent messages to customers advising them to set the time on their devices manually, in case the clocks advance automatically.

Many said the potential chaos was a symbol of decades of failed rule by leaders that led Lebanon into a financial crisis in 2019 that the World Bank said was orchestrated by the elite.

“They are creating problems to deepen the division between Muslims and Christians… Those in power are the beneficiaries of peoples’ conflicts,” said Mohammed al-Arab, standing in the street with his friends in Tarik al-Judaida. Muslim district in Beirut.

“Muslim or Christian time?”

Caretaker Prime Minister Mikati, who is a Sunni, announced the decision after a meeting with Shiite Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who has repeatedly insisted on the change, according to a video of the meeting published by the local Al-Jadeed TV.

Berri said in the clip: “Instead of it being seven o’clock, let it remain six o’clock from now until the end of Ramadan.”

During the meeting, Mikati was seen replying that the request was not possible because it would cause “problems”, including scheduling the flight.

Later that day, however, Mikati announced the decision to stay for the winter.

His office said Saturday night that the decision was a “purely administrative measure” that had been given an “obnoxious sectarian twist”.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office said it had no immediate comment on the reasoning behind the decision or the resulting reaction.

Caretaker Justice Minister Henry Khoury, a Christian, called on Mikati in a statement late on Saturday to retract the move, in the first objection from within the government.

Khoury said the decision “violated the principle of legitimacy” and caused divisions in Lebanese society along religious lines at a time when Lebanon is already facing multiple crises.

In a Beirut café on Saturday night, a Reuters journalist heard a customer ask, “Are you going to follow the Christian or Islamic clock starting tomorrow?”

Some Twitter users shared an old recording of the famous Lebanese composer and musician Ziad Rahbani talking about daylight savings time.

Addressing Lebanese politicians, he says, “Every year, you move the clock forward by an hour, and you set us back 10 years.”

“You should pay attention to the years as well, not just the hour.”