A convergence of so many things, starting with a conversation in a grad school class about religious conversion in the Middle East. The consensus in class was that this was considered apostasy, and not only illegal but dangerous in most of the region.

All constitutions are flawed, even (or especially) those that are treated as particularly sacrosanct—such as the US Constitution. The recent protest movement in Lebanon, which began on 17 October 2019, has generated renewed interest in the Lebanese constitution—with a lot of what might be called “constitution talk” by both protestors and the political class. In this article, I focus on two issues that have renewed and stimulated much interest in the constitution: calls for (1) the removal of sectarian representation in parliament; and (2) a unified personal status law. I also offer a short history and ideological reading of the Lebanese constitution, stressing its contradictions. I end with a series of questions that push our political imagination beyond the constitution in its current form and toward a new social contract, one that actively responds to many of the protestors’ demands.