Page 42 - Shahrvand BC No. 1267
P. 42
English Section
When God kissed Satan humanity with their arms, sacred arms that will not 42
be surrendered easily. Both groups feel the same
The Iran-US deal should not ignore Iran’s role in the region way about their sacred goal to save Islam, however 42
they define it. They are really not that different.
Hanin Ghaddar
Like peas in a pod
1392 رذآ8 جمعه- 1267 شماره/ سال مکیوست یب
The two parties of God have been fighting each
It is much easier to live in a world of black and Hezbollah, the chosen Shiite party, blamed al- other in Syria and recently in Lebanon. They will In touch with Iranian diversity
white, where labels are easily assigned and truth Qaeda, the chosen Sunni party, for conspiring with not stop until probably God himself interferes. But
is simple. It is convenient to feel righteous when the West against the Resistance. But hey, the West as far as ideology goes, they are very similar. Vol. 21 / No. 1267 - Friday, Nov. 29, 2013
everyone else is to blame for what goes wrong in is now an ally (although Israel still isn’t). So now
the world, and it is always good to be the “chosen” al-Qaeda and Israel are the new axis of evil, the Both cherish death as a means to victory. Both con-
one. new Satan. That will work for now, so the holy war sider civilian casualties a necessity to defeat the en-
can still go on. emy. Both utilize collective history to indoctrinate
This is a region of black and white, good and evil. followers and turn them against the “other.” And
Nothing is in between, and grey is a very confusing So there is no confusion here: the “other,” the real both emphasize martyrdom as the highest form of
color. All you hear is people blaming the “other” enemy, is still the same and fighting the Resistance sacrifice, especially if it is the result of killing one-
for their self-inflicted misfortunes. Everyone is in Syria. self by a suicide bombing.
good; everyone is the most honored; and everyone
is the chosen one. Certainty is painless. While Hezbollah is shaping this new enemy, the The only difference is that al-Qaeda boasts about it
US seems to have acknowledged the Iranian power while Hezbollah is more discreet. During the early
For Hezbollah, the Party of God, the Resistance of negotiation. But have they acknowledged the years of Hezbollah, its rhetoric wasn’t as tactful as
and everyone who support it are the honored growing Iranian influence in the region? We don’t it is today. The Islamic state was not a hidden agen-
people, the ones chosen by God to fight evil. For know yet. And this is the main concern for many da and religion was at the core of everything. But
al-Qaeda and other Islamist groups, God has also in this region: if this deal is an opening for more Hezbollah had to adapt to a Lebanese context that
chosen them to fight the same evil. For a very long engagement with Iran that will give it a free hand rejected fundamentalism, so their rhetoric changed
time, evil was one and the same: Israel and the in the region, the result is going to be catastrophic as they had to sound more tolerant. Politics became
United States. and bloody. more significant than religion, and gradually scary
ideas were pushed under the rug.
Therefore, when Iran and the US agree on a nu- Iranian supremacy in the region will only result in
clear deal, it looks as if God kissed Satan. But why a growing and strengthened al-Qaeda in Syria and We Lebanese tend to forget. So many things hap-
doesn’t this feel as confusing to Hezbollah support- Lebanon. ISIS became a reality only when Hezbol- pen so fast that we barely have time to contemplate
ers as it should? lah entered Syria. And it would be very naïve to the beginnings. This video, for example, shows the
think that Iran will use this new role to ease sec- young Hassan Nasrallah explaining the meaning
The enemy of my enemy is… tarian tension or help bring stability: even if the and value of suicide bombing to his Western in-
moderates in Iran become more powerful this will terviewer.
For many Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon, the not result in a Hezbollah withdrawal from Syria.
deal, although temporary, is a victory. The US – Moderates or not, no Iranian politician has ever If you didn’t know what Nasrallah looked like and
the Great Satan – has acknowledged Iran’s nuclear condemned Hezbollah’s presence or policies. somebody asked you to guess, you might easily
program. Like always, bare survival is victory. The think it was Osama Bin Laden or any other al-Qae-
US is now friendly. It is celebrated as if Satan sur- In the next six months, if a final deal does not lead da leader who was speaking. The difference in their
rendered to God. to a major reconsideration of Hezbollah’s arms and perceptions of martyrdom is trivial. But Hezbollah
Iranian hegemony in the region, the US will lose today has a Christian ally and a secular base of sup-
Moreover, the enemy switched long ago. For a its allies, encourage more extremism and sectar- porters that they cannot lose. Have they changed?
couple of years now, mainly since Hezbollah be- ian conflict, and more significantly, leave a region Not at all. They just revised their rhetoric. Have
came involved in Syria, the party has adopted the where everyone blames the US for its abandon- they become religiously more tolerant? Not in the
media and propaganda games Assad played. Assad ment and failure. South or the Beqaa, where alcohol, music, and
and his allies succeeded in portraying the Syr- much else are still prohibited. Will they change
ian rebels as terrorists and fundamentalists. They Those who are chosen by God cannot change their with Iran’s new policy toward the US? Highly un-
helped strengthen al-Qaeda groups until it became ideology or rhetoric in a day. Decades of brain- likely. Hezbollah’s media is very telling; one can
a reality. This was translated into antagonism by washing cannot be erased by a couple of signa- detect shifts in rhetoric and policy in Al-Manar TV
Shiites against Sunni extremists, and vice-versa. tures. They believe that they were chosen to save or the Al-Akhbarnewspaper. So far, this is a victory
for Iran, the resistance, and Assad. If Iran is plan-
ning to change its role in the region, we would have
felt a change in the rhetoric.
The next six months will tell more. Meanwhile, He-
zbollah and al-Qaeda will not stop fighting in Syria
and Lebanon, and the bloodshed will continue. If
Iran’s nuclear program and its role in the Middle
East are not contained simultaneously, fear, loath-
ing, and blood will continue to mark this region.
Hanin Ghaddar is managing editor at NOW. Se
tweets @haningdr
When God kissed Satan humanity with their arms, sacred arms that will not 42
be surrendered easily. Both groups feel the same
The Iran-US deal should not ignore Iran’s role in the region way about their sacred goal to save Islam, however 42
they define it. They are really not that different.
Hanin Ghaddar
Like peas in a pod
1392 رذآ8 جمعه- 1267 شماره/ سال مکیوست یب
The two parties of God have been fighting each
It is much easier to live in a world of black and Hezbollah, the chosen Shiite party, blamed al- other in Syria and recently in Lebanon. They will In touch with Iranian diversity
white, where labels are easily assigned and truth Qaeda, the chosen Sunni party, for conspiring with not stop until probably God himself interferes. But
is simple. It is convenient to feel righteous when the West against the Resistance. But hey, the West as far as ideology goes, they are very similar. Vol. 21 / No. 1267 - Friday, Nov. 29, 2013
everyone else is to blame for what goes wrong in is now an ally (although Israel still isn’t). So now
the world, and it is always good to be the “chosen” al-Qaeda and Israel are the new axis of evil, the Both cherish death as a means to victory. Both con-
one. new Satan. That will work for now, so the holy war sider civilian casualties a necessity to defeat the en-
can still go on. emy. Both utilize collective history to indoctrinate
This is a region of black and white, good and evil. followers and turn them against the “other.” And
Nothing is in between, and grey is a very confusing So there is no confusion here: the “other,” the real both emphasize martyrdom as the highest form of
color. All you hear is people blaming the “other” enemy, is still the same and fighting the Resistance sacrifice, especially if it is the result of killing one-
for their self-inflicted misfortunes. Everyone is in Syria. self by a suicide bombing.
good; everyone is the most honored; and everyone
is the chosen one. Certainty is painless. While Hezbollah is shaping this new enemy, the The only difference is that al-Qaeda boasts about it
US seems to have acknowledged the Iranian power while Hezbollah is more discreet. During the early
For Hezbollah, the Party of God, the Resistance of negotiation. But have they acknowledged the years of Hezbollah, its rhetoric wasn’t as tactful as
and everyone who support it are the honored growing Iranian influence in the region? We don’t it is today. The Islamic state was not a hidden agen-
people, the ones chosen by God to fight evil. For know yet. And this is the main concern for many da and religion was at the core of everything. But
al-Qaeda and other Islamist groups, God has also in this region: if this deal is an opening for more Hezbollah had to adapt to a Lebanese context that
chosen them to fight the same evil. For a very long engagement with Iran that will give it a free hand rejected fundamentalism, so their rhetoric changed
time, evil was one and the same: Israel and the in the region, the result is going to be catastrophic as they had to sound more tolerant. Politics became
United States. and bloody. more significant than religion, and gradually scary
ideas were pushed under the rug.
Therefore, when Iran and the US agree on a nu- Iranian supremacy in the region will only result in
clear deal, it looks as if God kissed Satan. But why a growing and strengthened al-Qaeda in Syria and We Lebanese tend to forget. So many things hap-
doesn’t this feel as confusing to Hezbollah support- Lebanon. ISIS became a reality only when Hezbol- pen so fast that we barely have time to contemplate
ers as it should? lah entered Syria. And it would be very naïve to the beginnings. This video, for example, shows the
think that Iran will use this new role to ease sec- young Hassan Nasrallah explaining the meaning
The enemy of my enemy is… tarian tension or help bring stability: even if the and value of suicide bombing to his Western in-
moderates in Iran become more powerful this will terviewer.
For many Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon, the not result in a Hezbollah withdrawal from Syria.
deal, although temporary, is a victory. The US – Moderates or not, no Iranian politician has ever If you didn’t know what Nasrallah looked like and
the Great Satan – has acknowledged Iran’s nuclear condemned Hezbollah’s presence or policies. somebody asked you to guess, you might easily
program. Like always, bare survival is victory. The think it was Osama Bin Laden or any other al-Qae-
US is now friendly. It is celebrated as if Satan sur- In the next six months, if a final deal does not lead da leader who was speaking. The difference in their
rendered to God. to a major reconsideration of Hezbollah’s arms and perceptions of martyrdom is trivial. But Hezbollah
Iranian hegemony in the region, the US will lose today has a Christian ally and a secular base of sup-
Moreover, the enemy switched long ago. For a its allies, encourage more extremism and sectar- porters that they cannot lose. Have they changed?
couple of years now, mainly since Hezbollah be- ian conflict, and more significantly, leave a region Not at all. They just revised their rhetoric. Have
came involved in Syria, the party has adopted the where everyone blames the US for its abandon- they become religiously more tolerant? Not in the
media and propaganda games Assad played. Assad ment and failure. South or the Beqaa, where alcohol, music, and
and his allies succeeded in portraying the Syr- much else are still prohibited. Will they change
ian rebels as terrorists and fundamentalists. They Those who are chosen by God cannot change their with Iran’s new policy toward the US? Highly un-
helped strengthen al-Qaeda groups until it became ideology or rhetoric in a day. Decades of brain- likely. Hezbollah’s media is very telling; one can
a reality. This was translated into antagonism by washing cannot be erased by a couple of signa- detect shifts in rhetoric and policy in Al-Manar TV
Shiites against Sunni extremists, and vice-versa. tures. They believe that they were chosen to save or the Al-Akhbarnewspaper. So far, this is a victory
for Iran, the resistance, and Assad. If Iran is plan-
ning to change its role in the region, we would have
felt a change in the rhetoric.
The next six months will tell more. Meanwhile, He-
zbollah and al-Qaeda will not stop fighting in Syria
and Lebanon, and the bloodshed will continue. If
Iran’s nuclear program and its role in the Middle
East are not contained simultaneously, fear, loath-
ing, and blood will continue to mark this region.
Hanin Ghaddar is managing editor at NOW. Se
tweets @haningdr
