Almost completely occupied by the Christian population of Beirut, East Beirut has recently become the center for new business developments. Realizing the difficulty of reconstruction in central Beirut, many of Beirut's businesses and companies re-established themselves in East Beirut. Located atop the Al-Ashrafiyah mountain, East Beirut became the home for the majority of Christians in Beirut due to increasing tensions between Christians and Muslims. When Beirut was established as the capital of a Christian-dominated Lebanon after the World War I, Muslim residents protested and pledged their allegiance "to a broader Pan-Arabism than most Christians would support." The rapid growth and immigration of Palestinian refugees beginning in 1948 increased tensions between the Christians and Muslims and eventually culminated into civil war. The result is a visibly divided city and culture.

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