Love of the Land: Analysis: New manifesto reveals a more sophisticated, confident Hizbullah

Analysis: New manifesto reveals a more sophisticated, confident Hizbullah

Jonathan Spyer
Mideast/JPost
02 December 09

Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah this week announced the publication of a new political manifesto, outlining the goals of his movement. The document is the successor to Hizbullah's first manifesto, published in 1985, and many regional analysts have hailed it as reflecting the group's "Lebanonization."

This term is intended to mean that the new manifesto represents the abandonment of the movement's core Shi'a Islamist outlook, and its acceptance of a new role as an influential player in Lebanese domestic politics. However, this view is excessively optimistic. The new manifesto reveals that Hizbullah's strategic goals are unchanged.

Observe: The November 2009 manifesto does not differ substantively from its predecessor in terms of its view of the region and the clashing elements within it. Its first part, entitled "Domination and Hegemony" in the English version, consists of a long denunciation of the United States and its role in the Middle East and the world post-1945.

The US is depicted as the "root of all terror," and a "danger that threatens the whole world." Washington is seen as in the process of implementing a "New Middle East project" intended to dominate "the nations politically, culturally, economically and through all aspects." The creation of the "Zionist entity" is described as the most "dangerous step" in the American drive for hegemony. The English-language document reiterates Hizbullah's support for "armed struggle and military resistance" as the best way of "ending the occupation." The longer Arabic version is less ambiguous, committing Hizbullah to "liberation of all the usurped land" and restoring the "usurped rights of all no matter how long and how great the sacrifices."

So no change in the core strategic view. But proponents of the idea that the document reflects a more pragmatic Hizbullah have pointed to the lack of "religious rhetoric" in the new manifesto, compared to the 1985 document.

(Full article)

Love of the Land: Analysis: New manifesto reveals a more sophisticated, confident Hizbullah