Hizbullah’s Documents: From the 1985 Open Letter to the 2009 Manifesto by Joseph Alagha (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Hizbullah’s Documents: From the 1985 Open Letter to the 2009 Manifesto by Joseph Alagha Katrin Jomaa Hizbullah’s Documents: From the 1985 Open Letter to the 2009 Manifesto by Joseph Alagha, 2011. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 222 pp., $24.95. isbn: 978-9-08555-037-2. In Hizbullah’s Documents: From the 1985 Open Letter to the 2009 Manifesto, Joseph Alagha not only presents an English translation of Hizbullah’s primary documents, but also analyses the content and the context of these documents in order to illustrate how the party developed its strategies and adjusted its identity accordingly over time. In doing so, Alagha shows how Hizbullah started as a socio-political Islamic protest movement (1978-1985), which later (1985-1991) developed into an experienced social movement, to ultimately join the Lebanese political system through parliamentary political representation (1992-present). That is to say, the main thrust of the book is Alagha’s presentation of the party’s identity as dynamic and adapting rather than being fixed. Through his analysis, Alagha shows how Hizbullah managed to keep its internal dynamics independent of its regional Syrian and Iranian alliances and more attuned to the specifics of Lebanese politics. The first chapter starts with a discussion of the main ideas presented in Hizbullah’s first open letter, which clarifies the party’s nascent political ideology and its local, regional, and international stance. One of its major tenets is the party’s perception of itself as an Islamic movement struggling to address the injustices suffered by the oppressed people of the world (whom Hizbullah regards as their ‘noble friends’), regardless of their colour, race, or religion. Their definition of ‘oppressed’ is based on the Qur’anic term mustad‘af, which defines oppression at an existential level and prescribes means to fend off oppressors. The party also advocates the establishment of an Islamic state in Lebanon, based on Iran’s Islamic Republic, but only when the Lebanese majority asks for it. Hizbullah accommodates the Qur’anic injunction ‘no compulsion in religion’ (Quran 2:256) in the political sphere, adapting it to the Lebanese multi-religious society: the party declares that it will not impose its views [End Page 369] on others, and instead emphasizes the need for the Lebanese to choose their system through mutual agreement between Muslims and Christians. Hence the party generally exercises tolerance towards Christians living in areas under its control; nonetheless, Hizbullah has avoided contact with political Maronism because of its alliance with Israel and colonial powers. Concerning Jews, Alagha explains that Hizbullah differentiates between Jews living under Muslim rule and Jews living in Israel. The party exercises general tolerance towards the former, similar to the Christians as they are considered ‘people of the book’, whereas it equates the latter with Zionism. Hizbullah describes Israel as ‘an aggressive, racist, expansionist, anti-humanist, cancerous gland instated by Western colonial powers in the Muslim heartland’ (19). The party’s anti-Zionist political ideology rejects any peace negotiations with Israel and advocates the complete liberation of Palestine. Hizbullah urges all Muslims of the world to support its cause by fighting colonization and oppression. Moreover, the party promotes pan-Islamism and regards political divisions between Sunnis and Shi’as to be part of a Western conspiracy aimed at colonizing Muslim lands. Hence, the party regards itself as an anti-imperialist resistance movement defending the rights of the Muslim ummah against its enemies epitomized by the United States, France, Israel, and the Phalangists. Hizbullah clarifies, however, that its enemy is not the West, represented by its people, rather its political administration. The documents included in the book also explain that, as a jihadi movement, Hizbullah distinguishes between the lesser military jihad and greater jihad. The latter represents an internal spiritual struggle against one’s destructive desires and is a prerequisite to practising the lesser, external jihad performed in the battlefield against the enemies of Islam. Hizbullah resorts to martyrdom operations as a form of defensive jihad performed against an oppressive and invading power when military jihad cannot be used to ward off oppressors. As a Shi‘i movement, its martyrdom model is embodied by the historical martyrdom of Imam Husayn in Karbala...