Information on the Eid family in Tripoli is scarce.

The following information was provided during a 18 July 1996 telephone interview with a sociologist at the Lebanese University in Beirut.

The source stated that the Eid family in Tripoli is Alawi. Although their power is not based on the traditional Zu'ama system (patronage), the Eid family has been growing in importance and power since 1975. One of the family members was elected to the Lebanese parliament in 1992.

The source stated that there are families in Tripoli more powerful than the Eid such as the Karame, the al-Jesr, the al-Hadad, the Kabarah, the Miskawi and the al-Haseth.

The following information was provided during a 19 July 1996 telephone interview with the Director of the Department of Political Studies and Public Administration at the American University of Beirut.

The Eid family is Alawi. The family is currently an economic and political power, affiliated to Syria. The Eid family are mainly merchants with economic interests in real estate. A member of the family, Ali, is a member of parliament. Ali Eid has been affiliated with an organization called the Arab Red Knights. Although the group still exists, it is no longer active. The Arab Red Knights were mainly active as an organization in the 1970s. The group is based in Tripoli, and does not exert significant influence today in the rest of Lebanon.

The Monde Arabe Maghreb-Machrek reports that Ali Eid, who run for the Arab Democratic Party, received 60, 078 votes in the 1992 elections (1993, 82). The same source indicates that Ali Eid is Alawi (ibid.).

In its October 1992 issue, The Lebanon Report provides the following information on Ali Eid:

Alawite from Tripoli, Ali Eid was appointed to the newly-established Alawite seat in 1991. He studied chemistry and political science at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and at the University of San Jose in the U.S. He founded the Alawite Youth Movement in 1972 and was appointed General Secretary of the Arab Democratic Party in 1985. He also headed the pro-Syrian Arab Knights militia (5).

For general information on the Arab Democratic Party and its militia, the Red Knights, please refer to Response to Information Request LBN4021 and the attached documents.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Director, Department of Political Studies and Public Administration, American University of Beirut (AUB). 19 July 1996. Telephone interview.

The Lebanon Report (Beirut). October 1992. Vol. 3 , No. 10. «Members of the 1992 Parliament.»

Monde Arabe Maghreb-Machrek. January-March 1993. Joseph Bahout. « Liban: les élections législatives de l'été 1992. » No. 139, p. 82.

Professor, Department of Sociology, Lebanese University, Beirut. 18 July 1996. Telephone interview.

Monde Arabe Maghreb-Machrek. January-March 1993. Joseph Bahout. « Liban: les élections législatives de l'été 1992. » No. 139.

Political Handbook of the World: 1994-1995. 1995. Edited by Arthur S. Banks. Binghamton, NY: CSA Publications.

Political Parties of the World. 1988. 3rd ed. Edited by Alan J. Day. Chicago: St. James Press.

Revolutionary and Dissident Movements: An International Guide. 1991. 3rd ed. London: Longman Group UK.