In April, May and June 2008 CFSOT conducted two extensive field research trips to Lebanon. The CFSOT team met with scores of political activists, militants, government officials, journalists and other key stakeholders all over Lebanon. Nearly two dozen interviews were conducted, some of which appear in this and subsequent issues.
Lebanon: The Triumph of Resistance
The lead article of this month’s issue presents the distilled findings of CFSOT’s two extensive field research trips to Lebanon. The CFSOT team focussed its research on three areas: community relations; foreign influence; and the state of Lebanon’s Islamic groups. The fighting in May (which prompted a second CFSOT field research trip) added a new dimension to the research objectives as the CFSOT team tried to understand the short-term and long-term consequences of the fighting. Based on its research trips (and a wealth of unique contacts on the ground) CFSOT argues that the Doha Agreement is unlikely to solve Lebanon’s myriad political problems. The opposing camps have fundamentally different visions for the country and are unlikely to secure a long-term accommodation. But thankfully for Lebanon both sides are committed to a long-term political struggle and are keen to avoid widespread armed confrontation and chaos. This long-term struggle favours Hezbollah and its allies, which are politically and militarily dominant. Moreover, the regional balance of power favours Hezbollah, evidenced by the decline of American influence in the Middle East and the insidious strategic retreat of Israel.
Terrorism from the Islamic Point of View: Sayyed Muhammed Hussein Fadlallah Explains
Sayyed Muhammed Hussein Fadlallah is Lebanon’s leading Shi’a cleric. He is widely regarded as the original spiritual leader of Hezbollah and the wider Islamic resistance movement in the country. Aside from being a leading scholar and a founder and patron of dozens of charitable institutions, Sayyed Fadlallah has been the chief architect of resistance to American and Israeli hegemony in Lebanon and the wider region. For this role he has paid a heavy price; indeed he was the target of a CIA assassination plot in 1985 which killed 80 innocent bystanders and wounded well over 200, an event which stands out as one of the ugliest examples of American terrorism in the Middle East. In this frank interview with Islamism Digest Sayyed Fadlallah sets out the Islamic position on terrorism and resistance. He identifies the United States as the lead sponsor of terrorism, while Hezbollah – according to Sayyed Fadlallah – symbolises the pinnacle of resistance to oppression and hegemony.
Lebanon After Doha: Interview with Dr. Ibrahim Mousavi
Ibrahim Mousavi is an academic and political analyst close to Hezbollah. He is also the chief editor of Al-Intiqad Weekly, a publication linked to Hezbollah. In this wide-ranging interview Dr. Mousavi sets out the Hezbollah-led opposition’s views on the political crisis in Lebanon, in particular the fighting that erupted in May. Moreover, Mousavi makes the bold prediction that the next war between Hezbollah and Israel will have even graver strategic consequences for the Israeli regime.
Inside Lebanon’s Muslim Brotherhood: Ibrahim Al-Masri Sheds Light
In this interview, the deputy secretary-general of Al-Jama’a Al-Islamiya (the Lebanese branch of the Muslim Brotherhood) explains his organisation’s independence in the current Lebanese political setting. According to Al-Masri Al-Jama’a Al-Islamiya is neither with the Hezbollah-led opposition nor with the March 14 ruling group and the government. Moreover, while he expresses qualified support for Hezbollah’s resistance against Israeli aggression he criticises some of the Islamic militant group’s recent political decisions.
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