Hizballah: A Primer
Hizballah, the Shi’i Islamist movement whose militia is fighting the
Israeli army in south Lebanon, has been cast misleadingly in much
media coverage of the ongoing war. Much more than a militia, the
movement is also a political party and a provider of social services.
Not a creature of Iran and Syria, Hizballah arose to battle Israel’s
occupation of south Lebanon from 1982-2000 and, more broadly, to
advocate for Lebanon’s historically disenfranchised Shi’i Muslim
community. While it has many political opponents in Lebanon,
Hizballah is very much of Lebanon.
“Hizballah: A Primer,” by Lara Deeb, is now available in Middle East
Report Online:
http://www.merip.org/mero/mero073106.html