Ideology of Hezbollah - Manifesto

Manifesto

Hezbollah declared its existence on 16 February 1985 in "The Hizballah Program". This document was read by spokesman Sheikh Ibrahim al-Amin at the al-Ouzai Mosque in west Beirut and simultaneously published in al-Safir as "The Hizballah Program, an open letter to all the Oppressed in Lebanon and the World," and a separate pamphlet that was first published in full in English in 1987.

According to "The Hizballah Program" the principles of its ideology are:

• To expel Americans, the French and their allies definitely from Lebanon, putting an end to any colonialist entity on our land.
• To submit the phalanges to a just power and bring them all to justice for the crimes they have perpetrated against Muslims and Christians.
• To permit all the sons of our people to determine their future and to choose in all the liberty the form of government their desire. We call upon all of them to pick the option of Islamic government which, alone, is capable of guaranteeing justice and liberty for all. Only an Islamic regime can stop any future tentative attempts of imperialistic infiltration onto our country.

It listed the Ayatollah Khomeini as the leader whose "orders we obey;" called on Christians to "open your hearts to our call" and "embrace Islam" and noted that "Allah has… made it intolerable for Muslims to particuate in… a regime which is not predicated upon… the Sharia"; explained that Israel is "the vanguard of the United States in our Islamic world."

More broadly, current leader Sheikh Nasserallah has described Hizb'allah's ideology as having "two main axis: firstly, a belief in the rule by the just jurisconsult and adherence to Khomeini's leadership; and secondly, the continued need to struggle against the Israeli enemy."

In the early 1990s, Hezbollah underwent what a number of observers have called a process of "Lebanonization," which is reflected in acceptance of a multi-confessional Lebanon, rapprochement with a variety of non-Islamist forces, participation in electoral politics, and an emphasis on providing for the social welfare of its Shi'a Lebanese constituency. This tendency was expressed in religious as well as strategic terms:

Christians and Jews differ with Muslims concerning the interpretation of the unity of God and the personality of God. Despite that, the Qur'an commands: Turn to the principle of unity—the unity of God and the unity of mankind. We interpret this to mean that we can meet with Marxists on the common ground of standing up to the forces of international arrogance; we can meet nationalists, even secular nationalists, on the common ground of Arab causes, which are also Islamic causes. Islam recognizes the Other. …So Islam does not negate the Other; it invites the Other to dialogue.

Since then, Hizbullah has published a new manifesto on 1 December 2009 which shifts its direction to better stay coherent with the current situation in their community. This new manifesto contains language that downplays the Islamic rhetoric and focuses more on integration into their community. Furthermore, the new manifesto calls for the elimination of the sectarian system in place right now in Lebanon and calls for replacement of this system by a secular modern system. However, the new manifesto states that the US and Israel are still Hizb'allah's prime enemies. Moreover, it eliminates the possibility of open discussion on its right to bear arms.