INTERVIEW Hezbollah 'more than resistance'
By Mahan Abedin
Sheikh Maher Hammoud is an influential Sunni Muslim cleric based in Sidon,
Lebanon. He is one of a handful of senior Sunni clerics who has defied the
prevailing political current and sided firmly with Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed
Islamist movement that draws most of its members and supporters from Lebanon's
Shi'ite community. [1]
This interview was conducted in Sidon on November 17 and 26.
Mahan Abedin: As a prominent Sunni leader, how do you justify
supporting Hezbollah's political position in Lebanon?
Maher Hammoud: We consider support for Hezbollah and its
resistance - with its instigation to the ummah [global Islamic
community] to rise and stand up against the arrogant schemes and its call for
the unification of Muslims - a religious duty. What
Hezbollah offers the Islamic nation as a whole is far greater than any
classification of Sunni and Shi'ite; especially in the light of the strategic
importance attached to Hezbollah by the United States and Israel.
Hezbollah's effect on Lebanese political life and more broadly on the morale of
the ummah can't be reduced to any sectarian classification. Although
Hezbollah has [mainly] Shi'ite members, and that is considered a weakness,
there are bigger considerations that make this issue insignificant and in any
case, Hezbollah is trying to overcome this weakness by building a more diverse
support base.
MA: Do you believe Hezbollah has an agenda that goes beyond
"resistance"?
MH: No, I don't believe that Hezbollah has a hidden agenda. I
think the notion of a so-called Shi'ite crescent is all a bunch of lies made up
by the weak and the agents. Everyone knows that the Shi'ites in Iraq are
different from those in Lebanon and both are different from those in Iran and
that they don't share the same culture, let alone the same scheme.
Without a doubt, some Iraqi Shi'ite [political forces] are part of the American
project, whereas the Islamic resistance in Lebanon is working hard against the
Israeli-American project; therefore the two fronts can't form a united scheme.
The only scheme I see is the promotion of the theme of the inevitability of the
demise of Israel, and the work that is done towards achieving that goal. That
goal is an absolutely pure Islamic one that can't be classified into
insignificant sectarian categories; and considering that this is a divine
premise which is inevitable, we are sure that it will be achieved only by those
approved of by God.
MA: How likely is another Lebanese-Israel war in the near future?
MH: I don't believe a war with Israel is imminent. The Israeli
enemy will not provoke skirmishes that might lead to a war until it discovers
the secret of the Cornet missiles that destroyed the Israeli tanks and it
ensures that Hezbollah doesn't have anti-aircraft missiles or a credible air
defense strategy. The fact that Hezbollah is making strategic breakthroughs in
the intelligence sphere as well as in the technical sphere and it is
discovering Israeli secrets much faster than Israel is uncovering Hezbollah's
secrets, delays the possibility of war.
MA: How would another Hezbollah-Israel war affect the political
situation in Lebanon?
MH: We should handle the ramifications of the crisis wisely,
because the devils of politics have partially succeeded in turning this crisis
into a sectarian one. We should mobilize our efforts in countering the
"sectarian" myth and presenting the Islamic resistance as a strategic asset for
the Muslim ummah as a whole. The ramifications of Hezbollah's strategic
military and political breakthroughs will affect Muslims the world over.
MA: What is your view on the events in the Nahr El-Bared
Palestinian refugee camp back in May-September 2007? Who was behind the
confrontation?
MH: We stress that the war on [the militant group] Fatah Al-Islam
did not require this level of destruction. Note that when [Hezbollah secretary
general] Sayed Hassan Nasrallah said the camp was a red line as a way of
protecting the Palestinian civilians, the Americans issued an order to destroy
the camp. This was mainly a response to the Sayed's speech as well as a way of
achieving other goals, chiefly the displacement of Palestinians. As for those
who came to the camp, they definitely wanted to wage jihad against Israel, but
their political simplicity and doctrinal intolerance on the one hand and the
might of the conspiracy on the other - along with many other factors - turned
them into a tool of the "sectarian" plan.
MA: To what extent are the Palestinian camps vulnerable to
penetration by so-called "extremist" forces?
MH: We see progress on this issue. Those groups are becoming less
effective and fewer in numbers by the day and we are working with the faithful
to change those people's opinions and make them see the vastness of Islam and
set a list of priorities where fighting the Israeli enemy and its agents is
number one along with confronting any other occupation force. As for those with
whom we differ in political opinion or in religious beliefs, we open the door
of discussion and we don't disagree on false fronts that would lead to great
evil.
MA: What is your precise role in the Ein Al-Hilweh Palestinian
refugee camp? Are you a mediator between the radical groups and the government?
MH: Yes, many events forced me to assume the role of mediator.
But with God's guidance, the people we intervene for are not extremists in the
way the media project. As a matter of fact, the media fabricated a lot of this
to attract the public's attention, with a view of turning public opinion
against impoverished Palestinian refugees.
MA: What are your views towards the Lebanese branch of the Muslim
Brotherhood, Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiyah?
MH: Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiyah are our friends and family and despite
the fact that I left the community over 30 years ago, I still share the same
culture and the same ideology and I still recommend the same books we studied
in the Jamaa and I still feel close to them despite their dreadful mistakes.
We always advised them through letters and through meetings, but their latest
stances and positions can't be ignored. They have become extremely sectarian
and prejudice has blinded them to the extent that they have deviated sharply
from their original goals. The problem is that they have convinced the public
that their stands are Islamic, but the truth is they are based upon sectarian
issues and closed-mindedness which narrowly define Islamic principles and
values based upon false interests and the benefit of [Jamaa] leaders.
But this doesn't mean that I don't think that the Jamaa can't mend its ways,
especially after the victory of the [Islamic resistance movement] Hamas and in
light of [Hamas'] cooperation with Hezbollah and Iran, which will in due course
lead to critical strategic developments that would lead to them [ie, Al-Jamaa
Al-Islamiyah] backing down whether they are willing or not.
MA: What are the long-term prospects of inter-sectarian Islamist
cooperation in Lebanon?
MH: We are very optimistic things will be clarified in the future
and everyone will head towards a productive cooperation on a clear and stable
basis God willing.
MA: How do you see the long-term strategic orientation of
Lebanon; will it be pro- or anti-Western?
MH: Of course, the whole region, alongside Lebanon, is diverging
from American policy. There are seven major global and regional signs that
point towards the decline of American power in this region: 1) [US President
Barack] Obama has backed down on all of [George W] Bush's major foreign policy
slogans; 2) Renewing American hegemony on the false premise of "democracy" and
"freedom" promotion has been completely blown off course; 3) Both the Europeans
and Americans are eager to engage Syria; 4) The Saudi clique led by Prince
Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud has departed the scene and made way
for a new and more enlightened foreign policy elite; 5) Convergence of Saudi
and Syrian views on Lebanon; 6) The growing strength of the "resistance" in
Iraq and Afghanistan; 7) Iran's success in advancing its peaceful civilian
nuclear program.
As for the internal situation, there are at least five hopeful signs: 1) [Druze
leader] Walid Jumblatt's rapprochement with the "patriotic" forces in Lebanese
politics [ie, the opposition]; 2) Exposure of the lies told by witnesses to the
United Nations special tribunal investigating the murder of former Lebanese
prime minister Rafik Harriri; 3) The estrangement of 14 March parties; 4) The
decision by [Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Harriri] to pursue a more compliant
and flexible policy toward Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement and the wider
opposition; 5) The political success of the Islamic resistance and Hezbollah's
decision to refrain from seeking further political office in the wider national
interest.
Note
1. To learn more about Maher Hammoud visit his
website.
Mahan Abedin is a senior researcher in terrorism studies and a consultant
to independent media in Iran. He is currently based in northern Iraq, where he
is helping to develop local media capacity.
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