Hezbollah in Lebanon - Case Study Example

Hezbollah in Lebanon Hezbollah is a political cum militia organization in Lebanon that has been ified as a terror group by the United s along with some other countries like United Kingdom, Australia, and Israel etc. Hezbollah and its allies hold 18 of the 30 cabinet seats under the Prime Ministership of Najib Mikati, considered as a pawn of Hezbollah (Encyclopaedia Britannica). This sheds light on the importance of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hezbollah has its fair share of supporters in Lebanon and yet it has been considered as a terrorist outfit by many nations. According to Larry Siegel, nationalist terrorism is the form of terrorism in which a group promotes the interests of a minority or religious group that has been neglected by the majority rule and the group may intend to carve its own homeland (395-396). Hezbollah represents a form of nationalist terrorism. This paper further discusses the origins and the activities of the organization that has led to it being classified as a terror outfit. Origin of Hezbollah Hezbollah derives its name from the Arabic word Hizb Allah, which means “Party of God”. It is also spelled as Hezbullah or Hizbullah (Encyclopaedia Britannica). The origin of the group is not known but it is believed that the Israel invasion of Lebanon in 1982 was the prime factor for the formation of the group, and that the group was formed in the same year itself though it surfaced in the later years. Hezbollah is described as “a Lebanon based Shia terrorist group, advocates Shia empowerment globally” by the national counterterrorism centre of the United States. Lebanon after its freedom in 1943 saw the majority communities Maronites and Sunnis rise to higher positions while the other third major community of Shias did not receive their due share. Due to the rising resentment among the Shia population, during the 1960s and 70s, political players from Shia community came into the fore with objective of empowering the population and an armed wing Amal was also formed. It is generally believed that it was the formation of Amal which formed the base on which Hezbollah was established. The internal dissatisfaction in the Shia community and the export of Iran’s revolutionary ideology led to the formation of Hezbollah. Hezbollah is in fact often referred to as a product of Iranian revolutionary ideologies. Iran in the 1970s and 80s had sought to spread its ideology and revolution in other parts of the world, and having being close to the Shia community of Lebanon it was only a matter of time before an organization was formed under its wing. Even though Iran had wanted to bring Amal under its guidance but Amal under the leadership of Nabih Berri did not accept the ideologies of Iran (Ottolenghi 5-6). It was then that Iran thought to create a new organization. When Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, it was again the Shia community that suffered not because they were specifically targeted but just because they happened to reside in the regions that were attacked by Israel. This was the final blow that led to the formation of Hezbollah. Disgruntled Shias felt that Israel as a foreign nation had no right to uproot them from their places. Despite having lived in dismal conditions, they were never forced out of their houses but Israel invasion left them with no place to live. It was this need for home and for better lives that the oppressed Shia community decided to voice its grievances, the only problem was it decided to do so through force. Hezbolllah was thus formed not as a result of a single major cause or against a single oppressor but a multitude of factors shaped the organization. Ideology of the group The group’s ideology is along the same lines as of Iran’s revolution. It follows the principle of Velayat-e-Faqih, which means the rule of jurisprudent, presented by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of Islamic revolution in Iran (Ottolenghi 2). With the initial motive of spreading Islamic culture in Lebanon, the organization later became more accepting of other religions as mentioned in the BBC news “It also initially dreamed of transforming Lebanon’s multi-confessional state into an Iranian-style Islamic state, although this idea was later abandoned in favour of a more inclusive approach that has survived to this day.” However, the organization remains anti-Israel, anti-American to the core and this is explained by its actions against Israelis and Americans. Hezbollah could have been just as radical as other Islamic terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda or Taliban but due to their political inclination they have come to follow a more moderate path, even though their actions have eventually led them to being classified as terrorist group by many countries. Despite that since they are a recognized political party of Lebanon that gives ground to argument by many nations as to whether they should be called a terrorist organization. History of Violence Despite being a recognized political party of Lebanon every now and then Hezbollah has been associated with heinous acts of crime some that they have taken responsibility for and some that they are suspected to have committed. Following are the various acts of violence associated with Hezbollah (Ottolenghi 6-10): Bombings at Israel Defence Forces headquarters in Tyre, Lebanon on November 11, 1982 that killed 75 Israeli soldiers and 30 Lebanese prisoners. In 1983 bombings at U.S. Embassy in Beirut, at barracks of U.S. Marine peacekeepers in Beirut, and barracks of French peace-keeping paratroopers. In 1984 bombing of a restaurant in Spain, and the U.S. Embassy in Beirut was attacked again. Associated with torture and murder of William Buckley, CIA’s chief of station in Beirut n 1985. Hijacked TWA flight 847 and murdered U.S. Navy diver Robert Dean Stethem, then threw his body onto the tarmac of the Beirut airport. Tortured and murdered U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel William R. Higgins in 1988. 1992- Murdered Ehud Sadan, security chief of Israel’s embassy in Ankara. 1994- Destroyed the AMIA Jewish cultural centre in Argentina. Hezbollah subsequently launched a series of attacks against Americans in Saudi Arabia. In 1995, U.S. military complex in Riyadh was attacked and in 1996, Khobar Towers U.S. Air Force barracks in Dhahran were destroyed. Hezbollah is said to have been involved in the murder of Rafiq Hariri, prime minister of Lebanon, in April 2005. It was also likely to be behind the assassination of Lebanese journalist Gibran Tueni, in December 2005, of Lebanese Christian MP Pierre Amine Gemayel, in November 2006, of Lebanese MP Walid Eido, in June 2007 and his colleague Antoine Ghanem, in September 2007. Hezbollah was also likely behind the assassination, in 2008, of Wissam Eid, a Lebanese police investigator in charge of the Hariri murder case. The above activities are an indication about the hostile and violent nature of Hezbollah. Had it not been under the pressure of coming out as a major political party it would have become completely radical in nature. Even then its actions cannot be completely ignored and hence the reason for it being called a terrorist outfit. Emanuele Ottolenghi has aptly called the outfit as the “party of terror”. Anti-Western nature of the group It has been a matter of concern for the Western nations that they are continually targeted by the organization in areas like Bulgaria, Iran, Israel and Lebanon. Hezbollah has come out as a group that has shown anti-western sentiments. It has been said that the attacks are a means “to exact revenge for actions threatening its or Iran’s interests, or to press foreign governments to release captured operatives” (Levitt, 356). It has been seen that Islamic fundamentalist groups have always been anti-western because of interference in their operations by western nations and because of the various restrictions that are laid by these nations. This further motivates them to take even more drastic measures. Tactics used by the group It is said that violence is central to the group’s aim “-it is integral to the ideology of resistance against Western forces and a reflection of the Shi’a doctrine of martyrdom as reinterpreted by Iran’s revolutionary thinkers” (Ottolenghi 6). This violence is perpetrated through various tactics the prominent being suicide bombings. Hezbollah is said to have been the first to use the tactic of suicide bombing, mastered it and even taught the technique to other Islamic fundamentalist groups. “The most innovative of these was human bombs, men trained to use explosives—first in a truck or a car, then later, strapped onto themselves—to carry out suicide terror attacks” (Ottolenghi 6). Sacrificing self is central to the idea of Islamic revolution and hence is seen as a commonly used tactic by many Islamic fundamentalist groups. Besides the technique of suicide bombing, Hezbollah has targeted Israelis and Westerners specifically by making them hostages and releasing videos of torture. Several Westerners have been targeted and killed brutally. It is a way to inform the Western world to stay away from the matters of Islamic world. Funding of the group The group receives funds from many criminal organizations and criminal activities like drug trafficking. However, these are the secondary sources; the primary source that funds the group is Iran. It has been said that Hezbollah has remained dependent on Iran for funds and funds from Iran vary from $100 to $200 million a year (Levitt 357). Social and political obligations Despite having been classified as a terrorist outfit, the group has a wide support base among Shia population because of the various social services it renders towards the Shia community. There are many social development programs run by Hezbollah for empowerment of Shia community like education facilities, hospitals, food for poor. Jihad Al Binna’s Reconstruction campaign by Hezbollah aims to improve economic condition as well as living condition of the people of Lebanon. Similar other programs have improved the standard of living of many Lebanese. Even though the critics argue that this is done for the survival of the group but this has certainly not deterred their supporters who believe that Hezbollah has done what the government was unable to do for a decade. The group is not just a militia outfit as has been discussed above. The group has always been interested in political matters of the country. Hassan Nasrallah, is the public face of the organization, who is extremely popular in the East. It is an identified political party of Lebanon with cabinet seats in the parliament and has even been given a veto power after its fierce campaign for gaining the veto power. Conclusion Hezbollah’s formation happened as an Islamic radical group aiming to help the Shia community and that is one objective it has succeeded in. However, violence is not the only way through which the group could have achieved that objective. Being a pawn of Iran has not helped it and has only damaged its image. Its popularity in Lebanon has also been on a decline as the pro-western Lebanese have also been dissatisfied with the dictatorial ways of the group. Hezbollah as a revolutionary group working for the benefit of its nation can exist only if it changes with time. References “Hezbollah.” Encyclopaedica Brittanica Online. Enclopedia Brittanica, 2013. Web. 8 April 2014. Levitt, Matthew. Hezbollah: the global footprint of Lebanon’s Party of God. Georgetown University Press, 2013. Print. NCTC. “Hizballah.” NCTC,2014. Web. 9 April, 2014 http://www.nctc.gov/site/groups/hizballah.html. Siegel, Larry. Criminology: theories, patterns and typologies. Cengage Learning, 2008. Print. “Who are Hezbollah?” BBC News 4 July, 2010. Web. 7 April 2014 . Ottolenghi, Emanuele. “Hezbollah, the Party of terror: why it should be included in the EU terror list.” Friends of Israel initiative (2012): 8. Read More