[Reader-list] Book Review: New Book on Hizbullah

[Yogi Sikand]

Book Review



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

Reviewed by: Yoginder Sikand



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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