Talk:Hezbollah

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Darrell Issa

The article contradicts itself. In one paragraph, it quotes Issa as he calls Hezbollah a terrorist organization. Then in the next paragraph it says that he claims it is not a terrorist organization. Upon reviewing the sources, it seems that the latter claim is the erroneous one. Serotrance (talk) 02:56, 26 January 2012 (UTC)

Edit request from 96.26.213.146 (talk)

How many times can the article emphasize that Hizbullah has Iranian/Syrian backing and funding (in first and fourth paragraphs)? I propose that at least one of these mentions be removed. 96.26.213.146 (talk) 07:43, 12 June 2011 (UTC)

"It receives financial and political support from Iran and Syria..."

"Hezbollah receives military training, weapons, and financial support from Iran, and political support from Syria."

Political position

On what basis is Hezbollah labeled right wing?? In light of their extensive social programs, what Conservative, Libertarian, Austrian or Capitalist could support them? They may be "national socialist" but take any political science class and you will learn that the Nazis were of the Authoritarian Left. 99.231.200.55 (talk) 05:55, 16 June 2011 (UTC)

It was re-added without discussion, though it had been previously removed. They are Islamist, and Islamism is a right-wing ideology as it is religious and holds to traditional, conservative values. Hizbullah is not "National Socialist", and the Nazis were authoritarian centrist (fascism), not leftist. 96.26.213.146 (talk) 22:20, 16 June 2011 (UTC)

I don't think it makes any sense to label Hezbollah as either right-wing or left-wing since these concepts includes many different ideas. Hezbollah is also not a political party, but a militant group. Davidelah (talk) 23:07, 16 June 2011 (UTC)

It's a political party too. Why else would they have representatives in the Lebanese parliament? 96.26.213.146 (talk) 06:54, 17 June 2011 (UTC)

How about religious (i.e. Islamic) conservative, with the Sharia and all that. After all right-wing often includes libertarianism, which is not what Hezbollah is espousing, if they are fighting to imitated Iran. Davidelah (talk) 10:30, 22 June 2011 (UTC)

And Libertarianism can be left-wing too, that's exactly what anarchism is about. "Left-Right" is an economical scale, not a social one; libertarianism and totalitarism are the opposites on the social scale, and both can be either right or left wing. That being said, we can't decide whether they're right wing or not. We have to find reliable sources for that. Walid Charara and Frédéric Domont define them as "Islamo-nationalists" in their book about the Hezbollah. Don Durandal (talk) 13:48, 22 June 2011 (UTC)

Fair enough, although I doubt that they are nationalist (fighting for Lebanon), but maybe that excludes "Islamo-nationalists," they rarely use the Lebanese flag if at all. Also if you read the right-wing article its seems to be a social thing also. Davidelah (talk) 14:58, 22 June 2011 (UTC)

Political Position 2

I very much agree that Hezbollah has no business being labeled Right-Wing. Unfortunately we live in the same world that even labels Adolf Hitler and National Socialism as Far-Right, even though the very word Socialism takes is to the left spectrum of the political matrix. Second, Adolf Hitler was far from being a fascist, I could say that he was labeled so as an attempt to undermine the development of the Fascist ideology. If we'd judge other ideologies by its previous crimes, than Communist wouldn't be allowed anywhere in the world.

Hezbollah is not right-wing or left-wing. Besides Islamism is not right-wing! That is an awfully childish and biased way of putting things. A Religion and its values can't be translated into a political matrix, even though that religion is tied to the state in several cases.

I'd say it is of great display of ignorance by Wikipedia to label Hezbollah as right-wing. I'd even say it is greatly offensive for right-wingers. Right-Wing all over the world is closely connected to ideologies and movements that strive to end terrorist and that are at times xenophobic and racist towards Islamic people. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.90.97.171 (talk) 03:02, 19 June 2011 (UTC)

"...Hitler was far from being a fascist...he was labeled so as [sic] an attempt to undermine the development of the Fascist ideology"

Yes, Mussolini was a real saint. It was just those Leftists who besmirched his name, turning fascism into something negative. Il Duce was so good for progress, wasn't he?

Also, your argument about Right-wingers disliking Islam is invalid, because religious fundamentalists oppose each other and are by and large intolerant of other religions, even though they are all on the right.96.26.213.146 (talk) 09:32, 22 June 2011 (UTC)

As long as there are no sources approving the right-wing political position, according to Wikipedia:Verifiability it should not be included. At the moment it looks a lot like Original Research. Maybe the western left-right scheme simply cannot be applied to an islamist party. RJFF (talk) 21:17, 23 June 2011 (UTC)

"Islamic socialism" in the infobox

The claim of "Islamic socialism" in Hezbollah's ideology stands only in the infobox. It is not mentioned anywhere in the article body, namely the ideology section, and it is not sourced. It seems very dubious to me, probably "Original Research". If there is no reference added soon, it should be deleted. RJFF (talk) 21:35, 23 June 2011 (UTC)

No objections? No sources? OK, I delete it. -- RJFF (talk) 20:59, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

Hezbollah in the Arab and Muslim world

In this section a statement is made claiming that "Hezbollah support in the Arab world is on decline, and the Arab world except for the Palestinians appears to be united in blaming Iran and Syria for the fighting in Lebanon." The citation for this statement is an article in the Jerusalem Post, a very biased source. I seriously question the ability of the Jerusalem Post to decide who is to blame for the violence in Lebanon, especially given the three extremely deadly and controversial Israeli invasions of Lebanon. Soapy1 (talk) 19:42, 10 August 2011 (UTC)

Jerusalem Post is considered a reliable source on wikipedia. If you think there is a case of bias you can open a thread at RSN noticeboard. Wikifan^{Be nice} 02:41, 11 August 2011 (UTC)

Actually the article in question is an editorial by KHALED ABU TOAMEH and hence not a reliable source for Arab public opinion.Poyani (talk) 23:32, 18 November 2011 (UTC)

Hezbollah's Founding Date

This article notes on numerous occasions that Hezbollah was founded or active in 1982 and attributes numerous activities to Hezbollah between 1982 and 1985 (for example bombing of US assets in Lebanon). However more authoritative and reliable sources note that Hezbollah was founded in 1985. The actions taken against US and French troops in 1982-1985 was claimed by Islamic Jihad Organizations, which existed parallel to Hezbollah between 1985 and 1992 (see article Islamic Jihad Organization). The US government claims that many members of IJO later joined Hezbollah and hence label IJO a "precursor" to Hezbollah"

Take for example this recent testimony of Brown University professor Dr. Melani Cammett to US Congressional Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence.

The precise origins of Hezbollah are difficult to pinpoint. Various individuals and groups, including those linked to the bombings of the U.S. Embassy and marine barracks in Lebanon in 1983 and the kidnappings of Westerners during the 1980s, are said to be precursors to Hezbollah, which did not formally exist at the time. In 1985, Hezbollah officially announced its establishment with the publication of its Open Letter. The document outlined its philosophy of “oppression,” called for the established of an Islamic state in Lebanon modeled after Iran’s Islamic Republic, declared its opposition to the state of Israel, and detailed other aspects of its ideological orientation.

Is there any serious evidence to suggest that Hezbollah was formed in 1982 because it seems that we are just using this date because it is the year of the Israeli invasion? The current source is a BBC article which briefly goes over the movement's history. But I think this BBC article should be considered less reliable than the testimony of an academic expert before a government panel. Poyani (talk) 18:01, 17 August 2011 (UTC)

Egypt classification of Hezbollah

The lead states that Hezbollah is currently classified by the government of Egypt as a terrorist organization. It cites the Los Angeles Times. But there are a few problems with this.

1. The link to the Los Angeles times is not a news item. It is a blog. 2. I think the entry from the Los Angeles Times blogger is being misinterpreted. The blogger did not state that the government of Egypt maintains a list of terrorist organizations (I don't think they even have one), to which it had added Hezbollah. It states that one Egyptian politician has used the adjective "terrorist" to describe Hezbollah (which the blogger approved). 3. The minister in question, along with the rest of his colleagues in the National Democratic Party, was overthrown in the 2011 Egyptian revolution.

For that reason I am removing Egypt, from the list. If anyone objects, please discuss. Poyani (talk) 03:26, 23 November 2011 (UTC)

File:Sayyed Hassan.jpg Nominated for Deletion

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scholarly views

all of the views seem to be supporting only one side, that hezbollah is a terrorist organization and i dont disagree but why call it scholarly views if they all conform to one view point? also i think chomsky and finklestein would not agree with that label, perhaps those are other view points that can be added. for example on May 8, 2006, MIT Professor Noam Chomsky began an eight-day visit to Lebanon and in a speech said:

Hezbollah's insistence on keeping its arms is justified... I think [Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan] Nasrallah has a reasoned argument and [a] persuasive argument that they [the arms] should be in the hands of Hezbollah as a deterrent to potential aggression, and there is plenty of background reasons for that. So until – I think his position [is] reporting it correctly and it seems to me [a] reasonable position, is that until there is a general political settlement in the region, [and] the threat of aggression and violence is reduced or eliminated, there has to be a deterrent, and the Lebanese army can't be a deterrent. (Noam Chomsky, Al Manar TV, 13 May 2006) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.84.68.252 (talk) 09:55, 22 February 2012 (UTC)