Insult Tragedy

In America, The Insult has been nominated for an Academy Award for best foreign language film. It is the first time Lebanon has had a horse in the Oscar race, a rare moment of artistic recognition for a country better known for a savage civil war that pitted Christians against Muslims and their Palestinian allies.

But don’t expect parades in Lebanon. Theaters in predominantly Muslim West Beirut are boycotting The Insult, as are Palestinians on the West Bank. And left-wing critics are campaigning to get the film banned throughout the rest of Lebanon.

Ziad Doueiri has come to expect this mixture of acclaim from abroad and opprobrium at home. Last September, after winning international praise for his film , the Lebanese director flew back to Beirut, where authorities stopped him at the airport and ordered him to appear before