Hezbollah: The Historic Phenomenon

by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem

Critics and detractors of Hezbollah abound on the Arab scene these days because of its position on the ongoing conflict in Syria, and it is clear that its popularity at the Arab level has declined. But this kind of criticism and vilification does not change reality, does not shift the balance of power in the region, and does not overturn a single table or unseat anyone from a chair. Hezbollah’s standing, its capabilities, and its vision of affairs are not subject to popular evaluation; they depend only on its impact on reality and its ability to control, or contribute to controlling, regional conditions and to steer them in a manner consistent with its vision of the region as a whole and its ordering of the elements of power within it. Popular support or rejection matters in shaping general policy, but the party is not a candidate for election, and positions toward it remain varied depending on sectarian, religious, political, and moral stances.

Regardless of positions for or against it, praising or reviling it, Hezbollah stands out in Arab-Islamic history as a unique and distinctive organizational, political, and jihadist phenomenon. It presents an exceptional model in the Arab-Islamic region, a distinctive example deserving of study and serious, attentive pause, because it contains what enriches human knowledge in the precision of organization, soundness of judgment, foresight, seriousness of work, truthfulness of speech, and diligence in implementation — things that strengthen confidence in Arab and Islamic history, present, and future. We have read in history of supreme models of justice, strength, and loftiness, such as the biography of Umar ibn al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him, and the biography of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi, may God forgive him. But now we are not merely reading; we are watching a unique story unfold that differs from the stories of the Arab rulers we have known today, and their organizations and parties.

Hezbollah is a unique and distinctive historic phenomenon for the following reasons:

First: the party possesses a clear vision regarding the present and the future, accompanied by a precise reading of contemporary Arab-Islamic history. This vision holds that Arabs and Muslims have suffered humiliation and abasement because of what their own hands did or failed to do, thereby opening the gaps through which the greedy, the invaders, and the malicious pushed their way in. Whoever believed himself weak and worthless was disappointed, and was outdone by whoever saw in himself the capacity to exploit. The Arabs and Muslims held themselves cheap, so the nations held them cheap; they belittled themselves, so the nations belittled them. The nations rebelled and acquired strength and severity of resolve, except for most of the Arabs, who found it agreeable to remain under the weight of colonialism.

This is a nation that will not raise its head except through strength — not the strength that aggresses, but the strength that protects the water’s edge, gives victory to the wronged, and wrests back rights. And if the nation is to rise, it must return to its roots, to the principles of the great religion of Islam, which is built on justice, persists through justice, and fights in defense of justice. Here the vision is clear, even though the party adopts a sectarian school of jurisprudence: that Islam is Islam, that sectarianism is nothing more than a ritual, ceremonial, quasi-jurisprudential practice, and that the principles of Islam — which insist on justice, bearing trust, shouldering responsibility, preparation, scientific development, building civilization, tireless work, and perseverance that never flags — are not monopolized by Sunni, Shia, Qadari, Jabari, or Ismaili, but belong to Islam alone.

Strength, according to Hezbollah’s vision, is not the tank, the airplane, or the cannon, but the human being first. A tank driven by a defeated man has no value, while all the effect belongs to a rifle carried by a believer who trusts in God, in himself, and in his own capacity to achieve the goal. Strength is, first, a human construction — an elevated upbringing that raises a person to be balanced and measured in thought, word, and deed: courageous without recklessness, generous without extravagance, deliberate without slowness, possessed of chivalry without excess, hardworking without exhaustion, humble without self-abasement, firm without injustice, gentle without breaking. This human being is the strong one who will surely find the means and tools needed to overcome difficulties and achieve aspirations.

Second: the party has a defined political vision for the Arab-Islamic region, which is that Israel is an artificial entity that does not belong to the region, a criminal embodiment of colonial and Zionist ambitions there, and it must disappear if the region is ever to enjoy peace and quiet. The party does not accept Israel’s existence, and it never will; it holds that ridding the region of it requires preparation, readiness, and mobilization, and it does not carry arms merely to liberate the Shebaa Farms, but to liberate Palestine and all occupied Arab land. If it cannot accomplish this now, that is because Israel’s friends among the Arabs refuse to allow it. As for the region as a whole, the party rejects regionalism [qutriyya — the fragmentation of the Arab world into separate states], and rejects everything issued by Western states and international organizations in the way of decisions concerning the partition of the Arab-Islamic world, the demarcation of borders, and the establishment of the nation-state. It considers the borders to be artificial ones imposed by Western colonialism through force in order to achieve its own interests, and holds that all these obstacles must be removed if Arabs and Muslims are to emerge as a great nation with standing among the nations.

Third: for the party, vision remains merely theoretical unless it is sealed by implementation, and implementation requires firm will, precise planning, long vigilance, and efforts that never tire or grow weary. For this reason the party was keen to develop the following matters:

— also in bringing down the humiliating 17 May Agreement, similar to the Wadi Araba agreement and the Camp David accords. In bringing down the May agreement, along with the two bombings, lay what established a real state for Lebanon. Since its founding, Lebanon had remained a haven for spies and intelligence services, and an arena for intellectual and cultural conflicts within the Arab region, and it did not become a state to be reckoned with until the emergence of Hezbollah.

The unwavering focus on a firm doctrine that finds an echo in reality on the ground. From the outset, the party held that action is the true mirror of the firmness of doctrine, and that there is no doctrine for one whose work is poor, who sleeps through his day, and whose prayers grow long at the expense of his achievement. For this reason it worked to instill a firm, non-fanatical religious and doctrinal education, resting on faith and headed by piety in its various ranks — ritual, social, and constructive. The party rejected clericalism, holding that turning religion into a priesthood is nothing but an assault on Islamic principles, and it saw in knowledge, work, and jihad a true translation of doctrine and the sincerity of faith. This is certainly what founded a new Arab Muslim human being capable of achievement without bluster, cunning, buffoonery, or hollow boasting.

Building a cohesive, solidary, non-fanatical party family that looks after its children without belittling the rights of others. The party established a distinguished family system deserving of admiration and appreciation, in that it strengthened family structure under a single roof, then established the family of the village, then the family of the group of villages, then the family of the party’s sons across every part of Lebanon. It brought hearts together, mobilized energies, and attended to people’s affairs both great and small, forming the largest loving, cohesive family across history. Hezbollah’s family organization is solid and strong, and constitutes a case that deserves attention and study; it ought to be studied, documented, and disseminated as a pioneering human experience.

The continual emphasis on the moral reservoir from which everyone must drink — the party developed for its members and their families a refined Islamic moral reservoir that balances the individual and the collective, private good and public good, and keeps the human conscience alert and present in every step a person takes. The party built an ethics of justice, of bearing trust, of shouldering responsibility, of sacrifice and self-giving, of collective work and mutual cooperation, and an ethics of achievement and of bearing arms. In every matter of its construction, the party was keen to set moral standards for every task, and to instill moral awareness in the minds and souls of those enrolled within its ranks. This is what dazzled the party’s Western enemies, and undermined many of their plans and their conspiracies to destroy it. What dazzled them was the elevated moral level and the firm moral cohesion that preserves the strength of the individual and the strength of society.

The insistence on the universal virtues without which no nation can be sound: truthfulness, fulfilling covenants and promises, keeping trust, defending one’s own rights and the rights of others, guarding honor, and respecting others. This is what always drives the enemy to listen to the party’s leaders, especially Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and to take his words seriously.

The party’s mouth speaks only in proportion to its capabilities and its powers. The party does not boast, and does not overfill its mouth with words. It says what it can do, and its sword is never longer than its stature. This is something Arabs have not been accustomed to across the centuries; they have always had to listen to promises and fiery speeches that collapse at the first steps. The party does not lie and does not deceive, and its leaders have always been careful to be truthful, surpassing all their enemies through their honesty.

Skill in planning and execution, especially in matters of battlefield combat. The party’s capabilities were demonstrated in the wars with the Zionists. The party’s feet rose above the Zionists, who were forced to flee southern Lebanon like rats under cover of darkness in 2000, and whose war machine failed in 2006.

Attentiveness to people’s interests, the tranquility of their lives, their daily bread, their dignity, their self-respect, and justice among them. The party attends to people’s daily needs and looks after the affairs of their sick and their wounded and the affairs of the families of their martyrs, and does not overlook a material shortfall that might befall any of them. After the 2006 war, the party compensated Christians before Muslims, and Sunnis before Shia.

The World and the Arabs

Two remarks remain for me to write:

It is difficult to find, at the global level today, a state or a party that matches Hezbollah’s level of organization, training, and ethics. America and the Western states as a whole are aware of this, and the Zionists know that the party is more advanced in its social, military, civil, and political practices than their own entity. They understand fully that whoever excels morally excels on the battlefield, and that had most of the Arab regimes not allied with them, they would not have been able to survive.

The rulers of the Arabs and their leaders are hostile to Hezbollah and work to destroy it, because the trustworthy man exposes the traitor’s shame. Israel is the beloved of most Arab rulers, and if it were to fail or suffer a defeat, many Arab thrones would shake and perhaps collapse. So how do they fight Hezbollah? Simply by manufacturing sectarian strife, led by corrupt men who exploit the simple, ordinary people of the nation, Sunni and Shia alike.

And a Piece of Advice

If there is anyone who dislikes Hezbollah, then it is good work that competes with the party’s work; as for abuse and insults, they express nothing but incapacity and weakness. Achievement is answered only by another achievement, similar and better, while abuse chokes and cuts off the air from the throat of the one who utters it. Fear God, and hold fast to the rope of God. And let no one delude himself into thinking that the party is on its way to falling.

Source: Translated from the original Arabic, “حزب الله: الظاهرة التاريخية” by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem.