There has not been a time in recent Lebanese history when the Sunni community has been as marginalized in state affairs as it is today. A growing sense of powerlessness has consumed its members since the assassination of late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and, more recently, Hezbollah's takeover of government. Today the Sunni community, largely supportive of the March 14 movement, finds no voice within the government or its traditional leadership. Instead, those who are speaking on behalf of those grievances are Lebanon's emerging Salafist groups.

After the assassination of late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005, sectarian tensions have steadily increased between Lebanon's Shia and Sunni communities. Seven years later, the Sunni community has not had its closure; the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) has failed to arrest the suspects in the crime to deliver justice to the aggrieved. What's worse, the suspects were affiliated with rival political group Hezbollah, whose arsenal has given it the power of the last word in the country. Instead of reaching out to the their Sunni compatriots, Hezbollah threatened it would "cut off the hand" of anyone who tries to arrest the suspects.

Military might has given Hezbollah commanding authority to make unilateral national decisions, often enraging other communities in Lebanon. The sharpest manifestation of Shia-Sunni hostility took place in May of 2008, when Hezbollah fighters, upset with a government decision to dismantle the Party's communication network, clashed with Sunni and Druze supporters in Beirut and the Chouf mountains. The army did little to stop the fighting then, and it was also slow to react to clashes in the northern city of Tripoli this week. Sectarian clashes between pro-Assad and anti-Assad groups escalated  to violence, which has not yet been adequately contained.

Despite winning a majority of seats in the 2009 parliamentary elections, the March 14 coalition was unable to translate its victory into executive power. In January of 2011, when then-Prime Minister Saad Hariri was on a visit to Washington, Hezbollah and its allies withdrew their ministers from cabinet, toppling Hariri's government. Hariri was sidelined and replaced by Najib Mikati, a Sunni leader from Tripoli closer politically to the pro-Hezbollah March 8 group. Escalating tensions and security concerns kept Hariri outside the country, creating a bigger void in Sunni leadership. As a result, and in in true Hezbollah fashion, the party stepped in to support small groups in Sunni neighborhoods both financially and militarily.

Where the traditional Sunni leaders have failed to lead, Salafists, now emerging with renewed power across the region, have stepped in to fill the gap. Ahmad al-Assir, a Lebanese Salafi preacher from Rafik Hariri's birthplace of Sidon, became a media sensation after he claimed he would be the guardian of "Sunni interests" in Lebanon. Assir is unabashedly hostile toward Hezbollah, accusing it of following the Iranian agenda of late Iranian Ayatollah Khomeini and supporting the Syrian government. Assir's words have gained him a strong base in Sidon where he continues to infuse politics in his sermons while speaking out against the government's treatment of citizens.

While Hariri continues to lead the March 14 movement, Hezbollah maintains control over arms and government. It continues to influence foreign policy, control external defense and internal security affairs. A prime example of this was the arrest of Sunni supporter, Shadi Al Mawlawi, in Tripoli this week, which unleashed the rage of the Sunni community. They rallied against the government, calling for the release of Islamists who have been detained for years without trial. It does not help the government's case that authorities are not able to arrest the four suspects in the Hariri crime.

There is a tacit agreement among communities in Lebanon that every group chooses its own leader - the Sunnis, however, have not been able to do this of late. In the absence of traditional Sunni leadership, Islamist groups, who by nature are more vocal and assertive, are vying for the voice of the community. Without a strong state that treats all citizens equally, regardless of sect or belief, the threat of a rising extremist wave will continue. They may appear to be the new power to reckon with come election time, thereby upsetting most moderate groups in Lebanon who are trying to build a free, representative civil state.