Unequal distribution of power is not a foreign concept to any nation. Within many Middle Eastern countries, most of the power resides in the hands of the religious minority. Lebanon doesn’t break the mold on this, with the majority of power resting in the hands of the Maronite Christians. This stems from the National Pact in 1943, which assumed that the Christian population was in majority and thereby receiving 6:5 representation in parliament. This representation has yet to be update with a new census which would assuredly remove the Maronites from the majority, the picture below depicting a more accurate distribution of the religious populations in Lebanon.
Hezbollah is a Shia islamist military group that originated in Lebanon.
Their rise to power reflects the growing population of underrepresented Shia muslims within the country. Some countries like the U.S. considering it a terrorist organization while others like those in the E.U. consider it a paramilitary group. The organization has a similar origin story as the Muslim Brotherhood of funding social works, healthcare and education programs. Check out this article to get a better understand of the two sided coin that is Hezbollah. However, both groups have engaged in militant actions that has made their names synonymous with violence.
This timeline demonstrates Hezbollah’s history of violence in the global sector:http://www.timetoast.com/flash/TimelineViewer.swf?passedTimelines=83812
The green represents territory in Lebanon with a significant Hezbollah presence, mirroring the distribution of the Shia population on the previous map. Similarly, this distribution represents Hezbollah’s primary goal at its conception to regain Israeli controlled territory in the south.
Here’s a video of a Hezbollah military parade:
Food for thought questions:
Is Hezbollah a para militant group that was conceived out of necessity? Was it needed to level the political playing field in Lebanon as well as to defend against aggressive military neighbors?
Should the U.S. drop it from the list of terrorist organizations or should the E.U. add it to its list?
With Iran being its primary financial supporter, does this make Hezbollah a danger to the US?
contributed by: Ali B.
Hezbollah UCSC 2015 