Hassan Nasrallah

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Hassan Nasrallah
حسن نصر الله

Picture of Hassan Nasrallah, carried in a demonstration
Incumbent
Assumed office 
1992
Preceded by Abbas al-Musawi
Born August 31, 1960 (1960-08-31) (age 49)
Bourj Hammoud, Matn District, Republic of Lebanon
Nationality Lebanese
Political party Hezbollah
Religion Shi'a Islam

Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah (born August 31, 1960; Arabic: حسن نصرالله‎ Hassan Nasrallah)[1] is the current and third Secretary General of the Lebanese political and paramilitary organization Hezbollah. Nasrallah became the leader of Hezbollah after Israel assassinated the movement's leader Abbas al-Musawi in 1992.[2]

Contents

[edit] Personal life

Hassan Nasrallah was born the ninth of ten children in Bourj Hammoud, Matn District (an eastern suburb of Beirut) on August 31, 1960.[2] His father, Abdul Karim, was born in Bazouriyeh, a village in Jabal Amel (South Republic of Lebanon) located near Tyre. Although his family was not particularly religious, Hassan was interested in theological studies. He attended an-Najah school and later a public school in Sin el Fil (Christian area) Beirut.

In 1975, the civil war in Republic of 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]

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, Iraq, Nasrallah returned to Republic of Lebanon in 1978 when Iraq expelled hundreds of Lebanese religious pupils. 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.

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

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 prayers and praises, rather it is a divine message that was designed for humanity, and it can answer any question man might ask concerning his general and personal life. Islam is a religion designed for a society that can revolt and build a state.”[6]

In 1991, Musawi became secretary general of Hezbollah and Nasrallah returned to Republic of Lebanon. Nasrallah replaced Musawi as Hezbollah's leader after the latter was killed with his wife and young child by Israeli forces.[2][7] Nasrallah lived in South Beirut with his wife Fatimah Yasin (who comes from the Lebanese village of Al-Abbasiyah)[3] and five children: Muhammad Hadi (d. 1997), Muhammad Jawaad, Zainab, Muhammad Ali and Muhammad Mahdi. In September 1997, his eldest son Muhammad Hadi, was killed in battle with Israeli soldiers, after a Navy commando unit operation in which 13 Israeli soldiers were killed[8] in Jabal al-Rafei in the southern Republic of Lebanon.[3]

[edit] 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 Republic of Lebanon in 2000, thereby ending 18 years of occupation. This move greatly increased Hezbollah's popularity in Republic of Lebanon and across the Islamic countries.[2]

Consequently, Nasrallah is widely credited in Republic of Lebanon and the Arab world for ending the Israeli occupation in Southern Republic of Lebanon, something which has greatly bolstered the party's political standing within Republic of Lebanon.[9]

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 Republic of Lebanon. The agreement was described across the Arab world as a magnificent victory for Hezbollah and Nasrallah was personally praised for achieving these gains.[10]

A December article in the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat stated that command of the organization's military wing was transferred from Nasrallah to his deputy, Na'im Qasim in August 2007.[11] Hezbollah has refuted this suggestion, declaring it an attempt to "weaken the popularity" of the movement.[12]

[edit] National compact with Free Patriotic Movement of Michel Aoun

Nasrallah negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding with the Free Patriotic Movement headed by 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 on 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 Republic of 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 Republic 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.[13] Critics of this agreement say that is not very clear concerning the disarmament, and that it served to strengthen Hezbollah internally, giving it a non-Shiite cover inside.

[edit] 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

Main article: 2006 Lebanon conflict
A sign in Nabatieh reads "The Divine Victory"

On August 3, 2006,Hassan Nasrallah vowed to strike Tel Aviv in retaliation for Israel's bombardment of Republic 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.[14]

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 14 of the risk of "the region being dragged into adventurism that does not serve Arab interests," while the 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."[15]

Nasrallah also came under intense criticism from some in Republic of Lebanon. Walid Jumblatt, leader of the Progressive Socialist Party of Republic 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..."[16] 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."[17]

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."[18][19]

[edit] Views on international politics

[edit] On Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict

Hezbollah
Flag of Hezbollah

Articles

[edit] On Jews and Judaism

[edit] On the September 11, 2001 attacks and the United States

[edit] On Salman Rushdie and the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy

[edit] Holocaust exaggerated numbers

[edit] The Palestinian refugees in Lebanon

[edit] Pre-2000 Israeli occupation of Lebanon

[edit] Alleged 2008 Assassination Attempt

Almalaf, an Iraqi news source on 15, October 2008, quoted sources in Lebanon saying Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had been poisoned the previous 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 resistance leader. His medical condition was apparently critical for several days until 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.[52]

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's 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 Mashal, by drizzling poison in his ear.[53] 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.[54] His predecessor Abbas al Musawi was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon in 1992.[55]

[edit] Nasrallah's refutation of the attempt

On October 25, 2008 in an interview with the Hezbollah owned Al-Manar channel, Nasrallah denied the assassination attempt, accusing the Israelis and Americans of 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.[56]

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."[57]

[edit] Nasrallah in popular culture

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.

[edit] References

  1. ^ TKB profile of Hassan Nasrallah
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Profile: Sayid Hasan Nasrallah". Aljazeera.com. 2000-07-17. http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/review/people_full_story.asp?service_id=6849. Retrieved 2006-07-30. 
  3. ^ a b c d e "Biographical sketch of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah: “The Nasrallah Enigma”" (PDF). Al-Bawaba. 2003-11-10. http://indybay.org/uploads/biographical_sketch_of_sayid_hasan_nasrallah.pdf. Retrieved 2006-07-30. 
  4. ^ O'Dwyer, Thomas. "Hizbullah's ruthless realist". Violence and Terrorism 2000, p. 70. Dushkin/McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0-07-031072. http://www.dushkin.com.  - "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. ^ Ynetnews.com
  9. ^ The Brooking Institution - Hezbollah's Popularity Exposes al-Qaeda's Failure to Win the Hearts
  10. ^ "Hizbullah, Vanguard and liberator". 2004-03-04. http://www.islamonline.net/English/Views/2004/03/article01.shtml. Retrieved 2006-08-09. 
  11. ^ Report: Nasrallah replaced as head of Hizbullah military wing
  12. ^ Resistance dismisses 'rumors' of high-level shakeup
  13. ^ See History Will Judge Us All On Our Actions
  14. ^ "Hezbollah threatens to strike Tel Aviv". CNN. 2006-08-03. http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/08/03/mideast.main/index.html. Retrieved 2006-08-03. 
  15. ^ "Correct the damage". 2006-07-16. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1150886011436&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull. Retrieved 2006-08-28. 
  16. ^ "Lebanese Druze Leader Walid Jumblatt Accuses Hizbullah, Iran, and Syria for Republic of Lebanon Crisis". 2006-07-20. http://www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=1201. Retrieved 2006-08-28. 
  17. ^ "Hezbollah Didn't Win". 2006-07-25. http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110008847. Retrieved 2006-08-28. 
  18. ^ "Hezbollah leader says he never thought capture would lead to war". 2006-08-28. http://www.khaleejtimes.ae/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2006/August/middleeast_August736.xml&section=middleeast. Retrieved 2006-08-28. 
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  20. ^ Markus, Andrew (July 15, 2006). "Little choice for a defiant Israel". The Age. http://www.theage.com.au/text/articles/2006/07/14/1152637865649.html. Retrieved 2006-07-30. 
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  22. ^ Hersh, Seymour M. (July 18, 2003). "The Syrian Bet". The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/030728fa_fact. Retrieved 2006-08-07. 
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  26. ^ "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
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  28. ^ 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")
  29. ^ 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")
  30. ^ "Reuters: Hezbollah cuts Islamist rhetoric in new manifesto"
  31. ^ a b "Islamic Terror Abductions in the Middle East" By Shaul Shay, Published by Sussex Academic Press, 2007, ISBN 1845191676, 9781845191672, 197 pages, P 78
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  39. ^ a b LRB · letters page from Vol. 28 No. 19
  40. ^ Kabobfest.com
  41. ^ London Review of Books. "Letters - Vol. 29, No. 1".
  42. ^ Muhammad Fnaysh, 15 August 1997. qtd. in Saad-Ghorayeb, 2002, p. 170.
  43. ^ a b Wright, Robin. "Inside the Mind of Hezbollah." washingtonpost.com. 16 July 2006. 18 November 2006.
  44. ^ "Hezbollah: Rushdie death would stop Prophet insults". AFP. February 2, 2006. http://www.natashatynes.com/newswire/2006/02/hezbollah_killi.html. 
  45. ^ a b "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". MEMRI. http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP108806. Retrieved 2006-02-07. 
  46. ^ "Excerpts from Speech by Hizbullah Secretary-General Nasrallah". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2000-04-09. http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2000/4/Excerpts%20from%20Speech%20by%20Hizbullah%20Secretary-Genera. 
  47. ^ "Hidden History of the Arabs". Newsweek. 2006-11-20. http://www.newsweek.com/id/129272?tid=relatedcl. 
  48. ^ Satloff, Robert (2006-10-08). "Lost History Dept: The Holocaust's Arab Heroes". Washington post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/06/AR2006100601417.html. Retrieved 2010-05-04. 
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  50. ^ Journal of Refugee Studies Vol. 10, No. 3 1997. Permanent Settlement of Palestinians in Lebanon: A Recipe for Conflict by Farid el Khazen.
  51. ^ U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. With Palestine, against the Palestinians: The Warehousing of Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon by Lisa Raffonelli.
  52. ^ "Nasrallah survives poisoning attempt". The Jerusalem Post. Oct 22, 2008. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017595194&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull. Retrieved 2008-12-21. 
  53. ^ "Fury at Israeli assassination threat". BBC News. 16 March, 1998. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/65888.stm. Retrieved 2008-12-21. 
  54. ^ Yoav Stern (2008-10-22). "Hezbollah chief poisoned, Iranian doctors saved his life". Haaretz. http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1030482.html. Retrieved 2008-12-21. 
  55. ^ Dominic Waghorn (October 23, 2008). "title". Sky News. http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Hizbollah-Leader-Hassan-Nasrallah-Poisoned-By-Israel-Says-Iraqi-Website-Almalaf-Yon/Article/200810415127021?lpos=World_News_First_Home_Article_Teaser_Region_1&lid=ARTICLE_15127021_Hizbollah_Leader_Hassan_Nasrallah_Poisoned_By_Israel%2C_Says_Iraqi_Website_Almalaf_Yon. Retrieved 2008-12-21. "His predecessor Abbas al Musawi was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon in 1992." 
  56. ^ AlBawaba: Nasrallah denies poison attack
  57. ^ Ynetnews.com: Nasrallah denies poisoning reports

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Hassan Nasrallah

[edit] Speeches and interviews

Party political offices
Preceded by
Sayyed Abbas al-Musawi		 Secretary-General of Hezbollah
1992-present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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