The group was officially chartered in 1985, following Ibrahim al-Amin's declaration of the party's manifesto. The manifesto changed the doctrine of Hezbollah from freedom fighting to establishing an Islamic state styled after Iran. The group follows the Shi'a doctrine of Islam which was established by the leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. This ideology is outlined in the Wilayat al-faqih which translates roughly into the Trusteeship of the Jurisprudent. The group has grown from their origin as an armed band of resistance fighters into a political entity that currently holds fourteen seats in the Lebanese government. The close ties with Syria and Iran and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) have given Hezbollah tremendous cultural influence in the Middle East. [1, 3]
Hezbollah's members originally were either Shi'ite Muslims or Iranian Revolutionary Guard. They formed a union that held three main goals. The first was the establishment of an Islamic republic because “only this type of regime can secure equality and justice for all of Lebanon's citizens.” This first point is ironic to a mind raised in the liberal West because there is no equality between men and women which means justice does not exist. The second goal outlined in the 1985 charter was to “fight against "Western imperialism" and eradicate it from Lebanon.” “The group strives for complete American and French withdrawal from Lebanon, including their institutions.” Another irony about this is that a large amount of the Lebanese GDP comes from foreign investment allowing Lebanon is have a moderate growth rate of 4.6% annually. [1, 5]
The third and most contentious principle of Hezbollah, and many other Arab nations and organizations, is the denial of the Zionist entity's right to exist, the entity being Israel. Hezbollah takes this one step further by claiming that victory will only be had once Jerusalem is under Islamic rule. The West has closely identified itself with this extremely illiberal democracy and has built ties and alliances with Israel since the inception of the Jewish homeland. [1, 2]
The question is: can you blame the Arabs for their anger? Essentially, the West came into a legitimate state, Palestine, appropriated 75% of their land, and moved in the Jews displaced from the Holocaust. Where did Britain (and consequently the rest of the West) derive the authority to do this? The last time the West had any interest in the Middle East was when we realized there was a vast amount of this fascinating substance buried under the shifting sands. Before the discovery of oil and the combustion engine, the only thing that old Europe wanted out of Jerusalem was treasure after spending two unsuccessful and bloody centuries trying to burn it down. The West has fueled the hatred of the Middle East by sharing nuclear technology with Israel while pursuing a policy of non-proliferation with the other Gulf States and the Arabic world in general. Today, the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, refers to the United States and Israel as the “Great Satan.” To him, there is no distinguishing one from the other. [1, 6]
The West made a major mistake when it started asking for democratically elected parties to represent the region and the people. By trying to discredit their unorthodox methods and the West actually granted the group a legitimacy that otherwise might never have come. Proving that the West never seems to learn the simplest lessons we saw this same process repeated with Hamas in Palestine. The people chose those who they felt represented their interests best and chose Hezbollah because of their social efforts and charitable work. It does not matter to the Lebanese people that this money comes from Iran and Syria. The choice was obvious for two reasons. First, this group has successfully defied the most powerful governments in the region and the world and therefore is the champion of the “little guy.” Hezbollah is also the only Arab entity that has achieved any success militarily against Israel. The second reason is Hezbollah's social effort. While Israel had been lining their northern border with an impenetrable wall of tanks, Hezbollah has been busy bringing in bulldozers and heavy industrial equipment to facilitate the reconstruction of southern Lebanon. This approach shows the people of Lebanon that Hezbollah is for the people and cares about their plights and trials. [1, 3, 7]
This is not to say that Hezbollah is a moral group. Their particular tactics of bombing, kidnapping, and murder are contemptible. Hezbollah even takes pride in being called a terrorist organization. Unfortunately, these are the few tactics that they are available to Hezbollah due to the size and power of their opposition but that is not a justification. As Gandhi put it so eloquently, “An eye for an eye leaves the world blind.” Hijacking planes, taking hostages, and planting bombs (or using a human to detonate a bomb) are not activities that the West, or anyone, will view as the operations of a directed and responsible resistance group. Guerilla movements are generally not recognized as legitimate because their ideologies usually include an intention to destroy the established social order.
