Hassan Nasrallah

Hassan Nasrallah
حسن نصرالله
Secretary-General of Hezbollah
Shi'a Cleric
In office
1992 – present
Preceded by Abbas al-Musawi
Born August 30, 1960 (1960-08-30) (age 49)
Bourj Hammoud, Beirut, Lebanon
Nationality Lebanese
Political party Hezbollah
Religion Muslim - Shi'a (Twelver)

Hassan Nasrallah (Arabic: حسن نصرالله‎), b. August 31, 1960, Bourj Hammoud [1] (Arabic: برج حمّود), Beirut, Lebanon, [2] is the current and third Secretary General of the Lebanese Islamist party and paramilitary organization Hezbollah.

Contents

Personal life

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was born the ninth of ten children in East Beirut's Bourj Hammoud neighborhood on August 31, 1960. His father, Abdul Karim, was born in Bazouriyeh, a village in Jabal Amel (South Lebanon) located near Tyre. Although his family was not particularly religious, Sayyed Hassan was interested in theological studies. He attended an-Najah school and later a public school in Sin el-Fil, Beirut.

In 1975, the civil war in Lebanon forced the family to move to their ancestral home in Bassouriyeh,[2][3] where Hasan Nasrallah completed his secondary education at the public school of Sour (Tyre). Here he joined the Amal Movement, a Lebanese Shi'a political group.[2][3]

Sayyed Nasrallah studied at the Shi'a seminary in the Beqaa Valley town of Baalbek. The school followed the teachings of Iraqi-born Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr, who founded the Dawa movement in Najaf, Iraq during the early 1960s.[4] Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had Sadr executed in 1980. After a period of Islamic study in Najaf, Nasrallah returned to Lebanon in 1978 when Iraq expelled hundreds of Lebanese religious students. He studied and taught at the school of Amal’s leader Abbas al-Musawi, later being selected as Amal's political delegate in Beqaa, and making him a member of the central political office.

Sayyed Nasrallah joined Hezbollah after the Israeli invasion in 1982.[5] His fiery sermons drew the admiration of Shiite followers who joined Sayyed Nasrallah in organizing Hezbollah. In 1987, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah traveled to a seminary in Qom, Iran for religious studies. He returned to the war in Lebanon in 1989 and later that year, went back to Iran to represent Hezbollah.

In 1991, Musawi became secretary general of Hezbollah and Sayyed Nasrallah returned to Lebanon. Nasrallah replaced Musawi as Hezbollah's leader after the latter was killed with his wife and child by Israeli forces.[2][6] Nasrallah lived in South Beirut with his wife Fatimah Yasin (who comes from the Lebanese village of Al-Abbasiyah)[3] and five children: Muhammad Haadi (d. 1997), Muhammad Jawaad, Zainab, Muhammad Ali and Muhammad Mahdi. In September 1997, his eldest son Muhammad Haadi was killed by Israeli forces in Jabal al-Rafei in southern Lebanon.[3]

In the mid-1970s, Nasrallah moved to a Shiite Hawzah (Arabic for seminary) in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf, completing the first stage of his studies in 1978. He was then forced to leave by the Iraqi authorities.[2]

Despite his ongoing commitment to Hezbollah, in 1989 Nasrallah resumed his efforts to become a religious jurist by moving to the Iranian city of Qom to further his studies. Nasrallah believes that Islam holds the solution to the problems of any society, once saying, “With respect to us, briefly, Islam is not a simple religion including only praises and prayers, rather it is a divine message that was designed for humanity, and it can answer any question man might ask concerning his general and private life. Islam is a religion designed for a society that can revolt and build a state.”[7]

Leadership of Hezbollah

Nasrallah became the leader of Hezbollah after Israel assassinated the movement’s leader Abbas al-Musawi in 1992.[2][3] Hezbollah's military campaigns of the late 1990s were the main factors that led to the Israeli decision to withdraw from Southern Lebanon in 2000, thus ending 18 years of occupation. This move greatly increased Hezbollah's popularity in Lebanon and across the Islamic countries.[2]

Consequently, Nasrallah is widely credited in Lebanon and the Arab world for ending the Israeli occupation in Southern Lebanon, something which has greatly bolstered the party's political standing within Lebanon.[8]

Nasrallah also played a major role in a complex prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hezbollah in 2004, resulting in hundreds of Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners being freed and the dead body of his son with many more returning to Lebanon. The agreement was described across the Arab world as a great victory for Hezbollah with Nasrallah being personally praised for achieving these gains.[9]

A December article in the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat reported that command of the organization's military wing was transferred from Nasrallah to his deputy, Na'im Qasim in August 2007.[10] Hezbollah has refuted this claim, declaring it an attempt "weaken the popularity" of the movement. [11]

Official website

Hassan Nasrallah's official website used to be: www.nasrollah.net (This website is now defunct) [12] [13] [14] The official site contained a biography of Nasrollah, updated news, an archive of speeches and interviews, an photographic archive, and more.[14] Since 2006 his current website is: Wa3ad.org.

National compact with Free Patriotic Movement of Michel Aoun

Nasrallah negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding with the Free Patriotic Movement of Michel Aoun, the former premier and a Maronite Christian. Aoun described the ten-point compact in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal published July 31, 2006. A key point is that Hezbollah agreed to disarm upon the return of its prisoners and the occupied Shebaa Farms. It also agreed to the pardon and return of fugitive South Lebanon Army (SLA) members now declared traitors. The Free Patriotic Movement in turn agreed to work for reform of the confessional electoral system of the Parliament of Lebanon and move it in the direction of one man, one vote. Aoun made the point that the political process was in effect disarming Hezbollah without any loss in lives from unnecessary wars.[15] Critics of this agreement say that is not very clear concerning the disarmament, and that it strengthened Hezbollah internally, giving it a non-Shiite cover.

2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

Main article: 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

On August 3, 2006,Hassan Nasrallah vowed to strike Tel Aviv in retaliation for Israel's bombardment of Lebanon's capital, Beirut. "If you hit Beirut, the Islamic resistance will hit Tel Aviv and is able to do that with God's help," Nasrallah said in a televised address. He said in his television address Hezbollah forces were inflicting maximum casualties on Israeli ground troops.[16]

Even before the conflict ended, Nasrallah came under intense criticism from pro-Western Arab regimes, including Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned on July 14th of the risk of "the region being dragged into adventurism that does not serve Arab interests," while Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal called the Hezbollah attacks "unexpected, inappropriate and irresponsible acts." He went further, saying, "These acts will pull the whole region back to years ago, and we cannot simply accept them."[17]

Nasrallah also came under intense criticism from some in Lebanon. Walid Jumblatt, leader of the Progressive Socialist Party of Lebanon and the most prominent leader of the Druze community, spoke out quite forcefully: "Great, so he's a hero. But I'd like to challenge this heroism of his. I have the right to challenge it, because my country is in flames. Besides, we did not agree..."[18] Jumblatt is also quoted as saying: "He is willing to let the Lebanese capital burn while he haggles over terms of surrender."

Following the cease-fire, which Nasrallah and Hezbollah declared a great victory, came what is known as the "Green Flood" (Al-sayl al-akhdhar), according to Iranian-born journalist Amir Taheri. "This refers to the massive amounts of U.S. dollar notes that Hezbollah is distributing among Shiites in Beirut and the south. The dollars from Iran are ferried to Beirut via Syria and distributed through networks of militants. Anyone who can prove that his home was damaged in the war receives $12,000, a tidy sum in wartorn Lebanon."[19]

In a TV interview aired on Lebanon's New TV station, Sunday, 27 August, Nasrallah said that he would not have ordered the capture of two Israeli soldiers if he had known it would lead to such a war: "We do not think, even 1 percent, that the capture led to a war at this time and of this magnitude. I'm convinced and sure that this war was planned and that the capture of this hostages was just their excuse to start this war, but if I had known on July 11 ... that the operation would lead to such a war, would I do it? I say no, absolutely not."[20][21]

Views on international politics

On Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict

Hezbollah
Flag of Hezbollah

Articles

  • Flag of Hezbollah
  • Ideology
  • History
  • Political activities
    • 2008 conflict in Lebanon
    • 2006–2008 Lebanese political protests
    • Doha Agreement
  • Military activities
    • South Lebanon conflict (1982–2000)
    • Operation Accountability
    • Operation Grapes of Wrath
    • 2000-2006 Shebaa Farms conflict
    • 2006 Lebanon War
  • Military capabilities
    • Imam al-Mahdi Scouts
    • Armed strength
  • Foreign relations
  • Funding of Hezbollah
  • Hezbollah's organizations:
    • Bayt al-Mal
    • Jihad Al Binna
    • IRSO
  • Media:
    • Al-Manar
    • Al-Nour
  • Secretary General:
    • Subhi al-Tufayli
    • Abbas al-Musawi
    • Hassan Nasrallah

On Killing Israeli civilians

On Jews and Judaism

According to Shaul Shai, Hassan Nasrallah has often made sharp anti-Semitic(not very accurate because he is a semtic person) statements. "Islamic Terror Abductions in the Middle East" By Shaul Shay, Published by Sussex Academic Press, 2007, ISBN 1845191676, 9781845191672, 197 pages, P 78 </ref> Two of the examples he quotes:

On the September 11, 2001 attacks and the United States

On Salman Rushdie and the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy

Holocaust denial

The Palestinian refugees in Lebanon

Pre-2000 Israeli occupation of Lebanon

2008 Assassination Attempt

Almalaf, an Iraqi news source on 15, October 2008, quoted sources in Lebanon saying Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was poisoned last week and that he was saved by Iranian doctors who went to Lebanon to treat him. The sources told the paper that a particularly poisonous chemical substance was used against the Shi'a militia's leader. His medical condition was apparently critical for a several of days, until the Iranian doctors came and managed to save his life. Almalaf claimed that the sources believed it was highly likely that the poisoning was an Israeli assassination attempt. [1]

Hezbollah has denied that Nasrallah was poisoned. Lebanese parliament member Al-Hajj Hassan, a member of Hezbollah, said: "This is a lie and a fabrication. It' true that I haven't seen Nasrallah this past week, but he's okay." The Iranian doctors arrived on Sunday at approximately 11:00 P.M., apparently on a special military flight. Officials considered flying Nasrallah to Iran for further treatment, according to Almalaf.

In September 1997, a Mossad team tried to assassinate Hamas political chief, Khaled Meshal, by drizzling poison in his ear. The attempt failed, and two of the agents were captured while others found refuge in the Israeli embassy in Amman. Nasrallah's second-in-command Imad Mughniyah was assassinated in February in a Damascus bomb blast. Hezbollah accused Israel of responsibility for the explosion, although Israel has denied responsibility for the act.[2] His predecessor Abbas al Musawi was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon in 1992.[3]

Nasrallah's refutation of the attempt

On October 25, 2008 and in an interview with the Hezbollah owned Al-Manar channel, Nasrallah refuted the assassination attempt accusing the Israelis and Americans in fabricating the story and considering it as part of the ongoing psychological war against Hezbollah that aimed to imply that the party is suffering from internal disputes and assassination plots.[59]

He also explained that "if research was done on the internet websites posting such unfounded information, it would reveal that they are all being run from that same dark room, and that their aim is to serve American-Israeli interests."

He added that at first the organization had considered denying the false information with a written message, "but when the news agencies began to publish it we decided to hold a televised interview, and here I am before you telling you I was not poisoned."[60]

Nasrallah in popular songs

Two popular songs were written about Nasrallah during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, with vastly different views of the Hezbollah leader: The Hawk of Lebanon in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and Yalla Ya Nasrallah in Israel. More recently in 2007, Lebanese singer Alaa Zalzali composed a tribute song entitled Ya Nasrallah. Another popular song composed in tribute to him was by Lebanese Christian singer Julia Boutros, called "Ahebba'i" meaning "my loved ones", which was inspired by Nasrallah's words in a televised message he sent to Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon during the 2006 War.

References

  1. ↑ TKB profile of Hassan Nasrallah
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 "Profile: Sayid Hasan Nasrallah", Aljazeera.com (2000-07-17). Retrieved on 2006-07-30. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Biographical sketch of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah: “The Nasrallah Enigma”" (PDF). Al-Bawaba (2003-11-10). Retrieved on 2006-07-30.
  4. ↑ O'Dwyer, Thomas. "Hizbullah's ruthless realist". Violence and Terrorism 2000, p. 70. Dushkin/McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0-07-031072. - "He has lived up to our initial assessment," said an Israeli intelligence source. "He is tough, but more intellectual in a broader sense than Musawi. But he has steered close to Musawi's line and kept good relations with Amal, the Syrians, and [Iran]" The source said Nasrallah has kept an eye on making Hizbullah a legitimate political force as well as a military one.
  5. ↑ Profile: Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah
  6. ↑ Profile: Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
  7. ↑ Profile: Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
  8. ↑ The Brooking Institution - Hezbollah's Popularity Exposes al-Qaeda's Failure to Win the Hearts
  9. ↑ "Hizbullah, Vanguard and liberator" (2004-03-04). Retrieved on 2006-08-09. 
  10. ↑ Report: Nasrallah replaced as head of Hizbullah military wing
  11. ↑ Resistance dismisses 'rumors' of high-level shakeup
  12. ↑ "Profiles in Terror: The Guide to Middle East Terrorist Organizations" By Aaron Mannes, Published by Rowman & Littlefield, 2004, ISBN 0742535258, 9780742535251, 372 pages, p178
  13. ↑ "Shaping the Current Islamic Reformation" By Barbara Allen Roberson, Contributor Barbara Allen Roberson, Published by Routledge, 2003, ISBN 0714653411, 9780714653419, 262 pages, p 245
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "The Internet and Politics: Citizens, Voters and Activists" By Sarah Oates, Diana Marie Owen, Rachel Kay Gibson, Diana Owen, Published by Routledge, 2006, ISBN 041534784X, 9780415347846, 228 pages, p 109-110
  15. ↑ See History Will Judge Us All On Our Actions
  16. ↑ "Hezbollah threatens to strike Tel Aviv" (2006-08-03). Retrieved on 2006-08-03. 
  17. ↑ "Correct the damage" (2006-07-16). Retrieved on 2006-08-28. 
  18. ↑ "Lebanese Druze Leader Walid Jumblatt Accuses Hizbullah, Iran, and Syria for Lebanon Crisis" (2006-07-20). Retrieved on 2006-08-28. 
  19. ↑ "Hezbollah Didn't Win" (2006-07-25). Retrieved on 2006-08-28. 
  20. ↑ "Hezbollah leader says he never thought capture would lead to war" (2006-08-28). Retrieved on 2006-08-28. 
  21. ↑ ""Hassan Nasrallah: Leader of Shiite terrorist organization, Hizbullah"" (in English), Haaretz (2006-07-31). 
  22. ↑ Markus, Andrew (July 15, 2006). "Little choice for a defiant Israel", The Age. Retrieved on 2006-07-30. 
  23. ↑ "Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah Q&A: What Hezbollah Will Do", The Washington Post (February 20, 2000). Retrieved on 2006-08-08. 
  24. ↑ Hersh, Seymour M. (July 18, 2003). "The Syrian Bet", The New Yorker. Retrieved on 2006-08-07. 
  25. ↑ Shatz, Adam (April 29, 2004). "In Search of Hezbollah", The New York Review of Books. Retrieved on 2006-08-07. 
  26. ↑ "The Best American Magazine Writing 2003" By American Society of Magazine Editors, Contributor David Remnick, Published by HarperCollins, 2003, ISBN 0060567759, 9780060567750, 464 pages, Page 88
  27. ↑ ""Hassan Nasrallah: In His Own Words"" (in English). CAMERA (2006-07-26).
  28. ↑ "Israel's National Security: Issues and Challenges Since the Yom Kippur War" By Efraim Inbar, Published by Routledge, 2008, ISBN 0415449553, 9780415449557, 281 pages, Page 229
  29. ↑ ""Fact file: Hassan Nasrallah - Leader of Shiite terrorist organization, Hizbullah"" (in English). YNET (2006-07-31).
  30. ↑ Bruce Hoffman in "Homeland Security and Terrorism: Readings and Interpretations" By Russell D. Howard, James J. F. Forest, Joanne C. Moore, Published by McGraw-Hill Professional, 2006, ISBN 0071452826, 9780071452823, 400 pages, Page 64 (Chapter 5 "The logic of suicide terrorism")
  31. ↑ Arie W. Kruglanski in "Tangled Roots: Social and Psychological Factors in the Genesis of Terrorism" By Jeffrey Ivan Victoroff, NATO Public Diplomacy Division, Contributor Jeffrey Ivan Victoroff, Published by IOS Press, 2006, ISBN 158603670X, 9781586036706, 477 pages, Pages 68-69 (Chapter 4, "The psychology of terrorism: "Syndrome" versus "Tool" perspectives")
  32. ↑ "The Shifts in Hizbullah's Ideology: Religious Ideology, Political Ideology, and Political Program" By Joseph Elie Alagha, Published by Amsterdam University Press, 2006, ISBN 9053569103, 9789053569108, 380 pages, Page 188
  33. ↑ "Islamic Terror Abductions in the Middle East" By Shaul Shay, Published by Sussex Academic Press, 2007, ISBN 1845191676, 9781845191672, 197 pages, P 78
  34. ↑ "Profiles in Terror: The Guide to Middle East Terrorist Organizations" By Aaron Mannes, Published by Rowman & Littlefield, 2004, ISBN 0742535258, 9780742535251, 372 pages, p178
  35. ↑ "Shaping the Current Islamic Reformation" By Barbara Allen Roberson, Contributor Barbara Allen Roberson, Published by Routledge, 2003, ISBN 0714653411, 9780714653419, 262 pages, p 245
  36. ↑ "The Internet and Politics: Citizens, Voters and Activists" By Sarah Oates, Diana Marie Owen, Rachel Kay Gibson, Diana Owen, Published by Routledge, 2006, ISBN 041534784X, 9780415347846, 228 pages, p 109
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 "" Based on Koranic Verses, Interpretations, and Traditions, Muslim Clerics State: The Jews Are the Descendants of Apes, Pigs, And Other Animals "" (in English). MEMRI (2002-11-01).
  38. ↑ "Terror on the Internet: The New Arena, the New Challenges" By Gabriel Weimann, Contributor Bruce Hoffman, Published by United States Institute of Peace Press, 2006, ISBN 1929223714, 9781929223718, 309 pages, Page 90
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 "The Axis of Evil: Iran, Hizballah, And The Palestinian Terror" By Shaul Shai, Published by Transaction Publishers, 2005, ISBN 0765802554, 9780765802552, 262 pages, Page 131
  40. ↑ ""Hassan Nasrallah: In His Own Words"" (in English). CAMERA (2006-07-26).
  41. ↑ "The Enemy Within". New York Times (2004-05-23).
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 LRB · letters page from Vol. 28 No. 19
  43. ↑ "IN THE PARTY OF GOD Are terrorists in Lebanon preparing for a larger war? by Jeffrey Goldberg", The New Yorker (October 14, 2002). Retrieved on 2007-03-03. 
  44. ↑ Muhammad Fnaysh, 15 August 1997. qtd. in Saad-Ghorayeb, 2002, p. 170.
  45. ↑ London Review of Books. "Letters - Vol. 29, No. 1".
  46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 Wright, Robin. "Inside the Mind of Hezbollah." washingtonpost.com. 16 July 2006. 18 November 2006.
  47. ↑ ""In Their Own Words: What the Terrorists Believe, What They Hope to Accomplish, and How They Intend to Accomplish It"" (in English). The White House (2006-09-01).
  48. ↑ ""Terrorists-In Their Own Words"" (in English). The Claremont Institute (2006-09-05).
  49. ↑ ""President Bush Delivers Remarks on the War on Terror"" (in English), The Washington Post (2006-09-05). 
  50. ↑ BBC Monitoring: Al-Manar, Sep. 27, 2002 cited in: ""Hassan Nasrallah: In His Own Words"" (in English). CAMERA (2006-07-26).
  51. ↑ "Hezbollah: Rushdie death would stop Prophet insults", AFP (February 2, 2006). 
  52. ↑ ""Hizbullah Leader Nasrallah: Implementing Khomeini's Fatwa against Salman Rushdie Would Have Prevented Current Insults to Prophet Muhammad; Great French Philosopher Garaudy Proved Holocaust a Myth"" (in English). MEMRI. Retrieved on 2006-02-07.
  53. ↑ ""Excerpts from Speech by Hizbullah Secretary-General Nasrallah"" (in English). Israel Ministry of Foreigm Affairs (2000-04-09).
  54. ↑ ""Hidden History of the Arabs"" (in English), Newsweek (2006-11-20). 
  55. ↑ ""LOST HISTORY DEPT: The Holocaust's Arab Heroes"" (in English), Washington post (2006-10-08). 
  56. ↑ ""The Holocaust's Arab Heroes"" (in English). Raoul Wallenberg foundation (2006-10-08).
  57. ↑ ""Hizbullah Leader Nasrallah: Implementing Khomeini's Fatwa against Salman Rushdie Would Have Prevented Current Insults to Prophet Muhammad; Great French Philosopher Garaudy Proved Holocaust a Myth"" (in English). MEMRI. Retrieved on 2006-02-07.
  58. ↑ Passner, Deborah. "Hassan Nasrallah: In His Own Words." CAMERA: Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America. 26 July 2006. 18 November 2006. This article was reprinted in CAMERA's On Campus magazine in the Fall 2006 issue.
  59. ↑ AlBawaba: Nasrallah denies poison attack
  60. ↑ ynetnews.com: Nasrallah denies poisoning reports

Websites

External links

Speeches and interviews

Preceded by
Sayyed Abbas al-Musawi		 Secretary-General of Hezbollah
1992-present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Persondata
NAME Nasrallah, Hassan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES حسن نصرالله (Arabic)
SHORT DESCRIPTION Secretary General of Hezbollah
DATE OF BIRTH August 31, 1960
PLACE OF BIRTH Burj Hammud, Beirut, Lebanon
DATE OF DEATH living
PLACE OF DEATH