LONDON: Lebanese daily An-Nahar has launched a new project titled “The Untaught History” to mark Independence Day, aiming to highlight the country’s overlooked and controversial modern history absent from official school curricula.
The special campaign, unveiled on Saturday, will run as a dedicated edition presenting a chronological account of key historical events since Lebanon’s independence — many of which have never been formally taught in schools because of longstanding political disputes and sensitivities.
“It may seem strange, but Lebanese students have never been taught a unified history of the period following independence,” the newspaper said in a statement.
“Therefore, on the occasion of Independence Day, An-Nahar launched ‘The Untaught History,’ a documented presentation of pivotal events in modern Lebanese history, chapters that never made it into school textbooks.”
Pages of the special edition recount major conflicts, political upheavals, and turning points stretching back to 1943, drawing from the newspaper’s 93-year archive, with additional efforts made to verify each event with Lebanon’s various political factions.
For decades, Lebanon’s history textbooks have excluded coverage of the modern era amid disputes between the country’s religious and political groups, leaving generations of students without a shared narrative of the nation’s past.
Editor-in-Chief Nayla Tueni and An-Nahar reporters presented the publication at meetings with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, several Cabinet ministers, MPs, mayors, and other public figures.
The prime minister welcomed the initiative, calling it a significant national step, while ministers voiced support for the idea of a unified history book.
The campaign also targets schools, with An-Nahar staff visiting educational institutions in Beirut to discuss history and independence with students.
“We have always said that Lebanon cannot move forward without confronting its past. Today, we are putting that past in print for all to see. If history books fail to teach our children, An-Nahar will do so,” Tueni said.
An-Nahar, often described in the 1980s as Lebanon’s “newspaper of record,” has a history of launching bold initiatives to spotlight the country’s challenges.
In 2019, it published a half-blank front page as part of the #donateink campaign, calling for public support to sustain independent journalism during the country’s deep economic crisis.
To further safeguard this historical record, An-Nahar announced plans to archive the project on the blockchain, “ensuring that the truth remains beyond political influence and that every Lebanese child inherits a complete, unabridged past.
“Political divisions may silence curricula, but they cannot silence the truth of events preserved in the pages of the free press,” the newspaper said.
