Unlike Al Qaeda, many in the Muslim world sympathize with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and consider it a legitimate political party. Hezbollah successfully liberated a sizeable swath of Lebanese territory from Israeli occupation in June 2000 and has since risen to become a strong political movement within the Lebanese government. While the powerful Israeli lobby in the United States has been successful in convincing Congress to place Hezbollah on the list of terrorist organizations, Israel is finding unlikely allies among many undemocratic Arab governments and some ultra conservative Sunni groups.

A picture of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah tied to a red balloon as part of a ceremony to mark first anniversary of the 2006 war with Israel.  Image by AP.

In August 2006 and for the first time, the world witnessed a televised war between Israel's mighty army - considered the world's fifth most powerful - and Hezbollah's guerillas. Given the asymmetrical military hardware, resources and size of the two fighting forces, most people - including Hezbollah sympathizers - predicted that the war would only last hours or a few days at the most. The average person on the Arab street felt a deep sense of shame that his government was going to stand by and watch the war unfold without coming to the help of the Lebanese people.  He watched helplessly as Israel's air force dropped U.S.-made cluster bombs on civilian targets and destroyed most of Lebanon's infrastructure.

Only years earlier, Hezbollah was lauded for driving Israel's forces from southern Lebanon and scoring a decisive victory against an 18-year old occupation.

Within days of the Second Lebanon War, Hezbollah guerillas were able to fight Israel's mighty army to a virtual standstill. All of a sudden, everyone started rooting for the outnumbered, outmatched underdog, thus giving Hezbollah much needed moral and political support.

This resulted in a popular awakening in the Arab street that adversely affected Arab governments that were seen as lackeys of both Israel and the United States. Within this context, it was not long before Arab leaders deflected attention by adding their voices to the chorus that painted Iran as a "threat" and a destabilizing force in the region.

The challenge for these Arab leaders was how to get the Arab masses to buy into this idea of Iran being the major threat in the region. There are three parts to it:

Part One:  A strong Iran counters the strength of Israel equals possible threat to Israeli dominance in the Middle East.  This is reasonably logical and could withstand scrutiny.

Part Two: Any Threat to Israeli dominance in the Middle East equals a direct threat to America.  While one can understand why the Israeli Lobby may want to sell this self-serving concept to us, it is very hard to understand why we have to buy into it.

Part Three: Unfortunately, not only do we buy into it, but we also dictate it to Arab potentates as well.  The concept is that a strong Iran equals Arab dictatorships loosing their power grip in the region, people gaining sway to rebel against their oppressive governments, and this spells out instability.

But how can failed Arab Governments remain in power, yet gain support from the people? The answer may lie in the manipulation and use of religion as a powerful tool to divide and conquer.

While the majority of Muslims in the Middle East are Sunni, the difference between Sunni and Shiaa beliefs has rarely been a topic of discussion up until the occupation of Iraq and the success of Hezbollah during the Second Lebanon War two years ago.   The basic difference between the two is that the Shiaa school of thought believes in the necessity for a spiritual leader from the family of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), thus casting it as a hierarchy-based religious group.  The Sunni school of thought on the other hand is free from this stricture. Both religious groups consider the Qur'an as their holy book, and proclaim the same declaration of faith, which is "There is no deity worthy of worship but God, and Mohammed is His messenger."

If one were to visit the Middle East today, one would see a visible change in Sunni attitudes towards Shiaa that did not exist before.  State-controlled newspapers and television stations often support the government's stance with regards to such a sensitive issue.  Books that highlight differences between Sunni Islam and the most radical brands of Shiaa are published and widely presented as if the comparison were with mainstream shiism. 

In conclusion, some pressing questions need answers.  Will the Muslim masses see through these rehashed attempts to divide and concur which turn Sunni and Shiaa brothers against each other for the benefit of the occupier and corrupt Arab leaders?  Will Muslim interfaith groups who actively work with Christians and Jews to build bridges speak out loudly against fabricated and false conflict between Shiaa and Sunni and confront the real sources of the conflict, the occupation?  Will we, the American public, allow Israel to continue to dictate our foreign policy and drag us in unjust wars?  And, do we have the backbone and moral fiber to at least respect and admire Hezbollah, our enemy?

By: MuslimBridges Staff Writers

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  This article is posted in the Features - Weekly Bridge Publication: Features, Reflections, Stories should not be told, Film in a spoon, Book in a Spoon, Letters to Editor, YouTube Basket

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