Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Cheryl Benard, “Central Asia: ‘Apoca-

lypse Soon’ or ‘Eccentric Survival?’ ” In The Muslim 

World after 9/11, edited by Angel M. Babasa, et al, 

321–366 (Santa Monica, Calif.: Rand Corporation, 

2004); Shereen Khairallah, “The Islamic Liberation 

Party: Search for a Lost Ideal.” In Vision and Revision in 

Arab Society, Center for the Study of the Modern Arab 

World, 87–95, CEMAM Reports. Vol. 2 (Beirut: Dar 

al-Mashreq, 1975); Ahmed Rashid, Jihad: The Rise of 

Militant Islam in Central Asia (New Haven, Conn.: Yale 

University Press, 2002).

Hizbullah

 

(Hezbollah)

Hizbullah is a Lebanese Shii Islamist party led 

by Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah (b. 1960). Its name 

means Party of God in English, a phrase from the 

q

Uran

 describing those who will triumph over 

disbelievers and enter 

paradise

 because of their 

faith (Q 5:56; 58:22). The modern Lebanese Hiz-

bullah grew out of religiously based Shii militant 

movements in the late 1970s and early 1980s 

aimed at fighting Israeli incursions into l

ebanon

.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, it led the armed 

resistance to Israel’s invasion and occupation of 

a significant portion of southern Lebanon and is 

widely credited with forcing Israel’s withdrawal in 

May 2000. The party is committed to the eventual 

establishment of an Islamic state in Lebanon based 

on the theory of Wilayat al-Faqih, or guardianship 

of the religious jurist, developed and executed by 

Ayatollah  r

Uhollah

  k

homeini

 in i

ran

. However, 

despite the theory’s theological implications that 

all Muslims belong first and foremost to a transna-

tional 

umma

 (community of Muslims), Hizbullah 

has in recent years taken great efforts to empha-

size its Lebanese and nationalist identity.

K  304  

Hizbullah

---

Since the end of the country’s civil war in 1989, 

Hizbullah has participated in elections, assuming 

a prominent position in Lebanese politics while 

maintaining an armed presence in the south near 

Lebanon’s border with i

srael

. While the move-

ment claims its roots in the period prior to the 

i

ranian

 r

evolUtion

 

oF

 1978–1979, it is generally 

acknowledged that Hizbullah coalesced as a fight-

ing force only with organizational and military 

aid from Iran’s postrevolutionary government. 

Other factors leading to its emergence include the 

historical underrepresentation of Shii Muslims in 

Lebanese politics as well as their economic and 

social marginalization, both of which contributed 

to a general mobilization of Shia throughout the 

1950s and 1960s. In 1974, the Shii cleric imam 

Musa al-Sadr founded the populist Shii Move-

ment of the Deprived and a year later its military 

wing, Amal. In the wake of al-Sadr’s mysterious 

disappearance in 1978 and the increasingly dis-

credited secular Arab nationalist ideologies with 

which Amal and its new leader, Nabih Berri, were 

associated, Hizbullah’s religious message gained 

salience. In the early 1980s, ex-members of Amal 

such as Nasrallah and Hizbullah’s first secretary 

general, Shaykh Subhi al-Tufayli, joined forces 

with clerics and other supporters of the Iranian 

Revolution to create an umbrella organization 

to defend Shii interests. On February 16, 1985, 

Hizbullah published an open letter announcing 

its ideological and social visions and marking its 

transition from a secret resistance movement to an 

open political one.

Today, Hizbullah maintains close ties with Iran 

and  s

yria

, holds roughly 10 percent of the seats 

in the Lebanese national parliament, and con-

trols many municipalities in southern Lebanon 

and the Bekaa Valley. Additionally, it provides a 

wide variety of social services for its constituent 

communities, including job training, education, 

and medical care. It also owns a satellite channel 

called al-Manar (the Beacon), over which it broad-

casts a variety of religious, political, and entertain-

ment programs.

Since May 2000, disputes over prisoners, land 

mines, and the Shebaa Farms have continued to fuel 

low-grade conflict and frequent incursions by both 

Israel and Hizbullah along the Israeli-Lebanese bor-

der, or “blue line.” In July 2006, the conflict inten-

sified once again against a backdrop of increasing 

tensions between the U

nited

  s

tates

, Syria, and 

Iran over implementation of UN Resolution 1559 

and Iranian nuclear activities. Much of Lebanon’s 

infrastructure was destroyed by Israeli air attacks, 

and heavy casualties were incurred on both sides. 

Ensuing diplomatic efforts focused on integrating 

Hizbullah’s military wing into Lebanon’s national 

forces and promoting a sustainable long-term peace 

agreement. Despite that conflict and efforts by the 

U.S. government to marginalize Hizbullah, notably 

through its designation as a terrorist organization, 

the party is likely to figure prominently in Lebanese 

politics for many years to come.

See also  a

rab

-i

sraeli

 

conFlicts

;  s

hiism

; 

terrorism

.

Michelle Zimney