Hizbullah—Party
Of God - Book Review
By Yoginder Sikand
27 June, 2007
Countercurrents.org
Name of the Book: Hizbullah—Party of God: An Islamic Movement
Perspective
Edited by: Abdar Rahman
Koya
Publisher: The Other
Press, Kuala Lumpur (www.ibtbooks.com)
Year: 2006
Pages: 142
Much has been written about Hizbullah,
'The Party of God', the Lebanon-based resistance movement. Yet, as the
editor of this book, Abdar Rahman Koya, points out, most of this has
been by Western writers, who represent a distinctly Western and, therefore,
biased, perspective. This book, a collection of essays that originally
appeared in the columns of the Toronto-based monthly 'Crescent International',
provides an alternative perspective on the movement.
In his editorial note, Koya
focuses on Hizbullah's consistent opposition to Zionist aggression and
Western imperialist designs in the Middle East. Despite this, he remarks,
pro-Western Arab regimes have either remained studiously silent on the
movement or else have sought to actively oppose it, buying into the
baseless Zionist/Western argument of it being a 'terrorist' movement.
This shows, he argues, that their 'piety is selective'. He berates Saudi
mullahs for issuing fatwas, at the behest of the Saudi rulers, denouncing
Hizbullah as 'wrongdoers'and 'Satans'. Panic-stricken by Hizbullah's
growing popularity as a resistance movement and the threat that it poses
to pro-American Arab regimes, Koya says in this regard that 'the Wahhabi
fatwa-factory seems to be working overtime, much to the delight of the
Zionists and of their Western backers'.
In his paper, Iqbal Siddiqui,
editor of 'Crescent International', describes the unique features of
Hizbullah that sets it apart from most other Islamic movements. He sees
it as, in a sense, a model for these movements to emulate. In this regard,
he critiques the way in which the Western media has sought to present
Islamic movements, making unwarranted generalizations on the basis of
a few instances. 'Thus', he writes, 'marginal and extremist movements
such as al-Qaida, and misleaders such as Usama bin Laden and Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi are promoted as the real face of the political Islamic movement,
while Islamic movements and leaders that have far stronger roots in
Muslim societies and Islamic political culture, and have far greater
credibility and potential as forces for the liberation and transformation
of Muslim societies, are disparaged and demonised'.
Allegations against the Hizbullah
of being 'Shia' and 'sectarian' abound in the Arab and Western media,
Siddiqui notes. He argues that this charge is baseless and is geared
to marginalize the movement. While Hizbullah did emerge from among the
Shia of southern Lebanon, and while most of its leaders are Shia ulema,
it nonetheless has, Siddiqui states, considerably credibility and popularity
among Lebanon's Christians and Sunnis, too. In fact, this is a distinction
that few other political movements in Lebanon, which is wracked by sectarianism,
have achieved. Hizbullah, says Siddiqui, is one of the few Islamic movements
that have 'genuinely managed to rise about petty local concerns' to
address issues such as Western imperialism and Zionism, clearly steering
away from narrow sectarianism.
Another aspect that distinguishes
Hizbullah from many other Islamic movements, Siddiqui argues, is that
it has a 'sophisticated and nuanced political vision of how Muslim societies
should be governed in the modern world'. It is actively engaged in the
social, cultural, educational and welfare fields. It runs scores of
schools, clinics and hospitals, has built numerous power stations, and
offers aid to farmers, the poor and war victims. Its welfare services
are available not jus to Shias, but to Christians and Sunnis, too. Siddiqui
contrasts this model of working with that of the Taliban, who, he says,
caused immense misery to the Afghans with what he calls their 'limited
and rigid understanding of Islam'. Like Koya, Siddiqui also lauds Hizbullah
for superseding pro-American client regimes in the Arab world and for
consistently opposing American and Israeli hegemony.
Three articles by Khalil
Osman discuss the origins of Hizbullah in 1982 as a resistance movement
struggling against the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon and its
modus operandi, examining both its military engagements as well as its
social involvement in a diverse rage of fields. Osman remarks how Hizbullah
has consistently sought to promote a Lebanese national consensus, uniting
the different confessional communities in the country against the Israelis.
He thus dismisses charges of it being a sectarian Shia movement, as
is generally alleged by the Western press and by certain Arab governments,
most notably Wahhabi Saudi Arabia. He notes how the Americans have unsuccessfully
tried to tame Hizbullah and reduce it to a mere political party by offering
millions of dollars in the guise of rebuilding south Lebanon, but how
Hizbullah has consistently rebuffed such overtures. Stressing Hizbullah's
record in opposing Zionist aggression, he writes that in the face of
Arab regimes' slavishly following American diktats, Hizbullah has brought
back 'the logic of resistance in the Arab world', exposed the bankruptcy
of the American-sponsored 'peace prcoess' and shattered the myth of
the invincibility of Israeli arms.
In their articles Zafar Bangash,
Shameema Ismail and Mansour Ansari cover much the same grounds as the
previous contributors, focusing on different aspects of Hizbullah's
resistance to Israeli aggression and the various social services that
it is engaged in. The book ends with three speeches by the head of Hizbullah,
Shaikh Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, where he outlines the ideology of the
movement, focusing particularly on its anti-imperialist agenda and its
advocacy for a united opposition to American and Israeli aggression,
warning against consistent American efforts to pit Shias and Sunnis,
and Arab Christians and Muslims, against each other.
This slim and immensely readable
book is a good introduction to a unique Islamic movement and a welcome
counter to much Western writing on the subject.
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