Unfortunately, while i agree this article is a must read, I think it is completely wrong. I am a supporter of Hizbullah and Nasrallah, but this article is enough to totally discredit Nir Rosen as a source of information on the middle east. If this is how he does all his journalism, i don’t plan to waste my time reading him again. the part that i can’t even believe he had the stupidity to write was: “For although Hizb Allah, the Party of God, is undoubtedly of Shia origin, it is in fact a secular movement, addressing real temporal issues, its leaders speaking in a nationalist discourse, avoiding sectarianism and religious metaphors.”
Say what???? Hizbullah is secular? and what proof does he have? no joke, he proves this by saying, “billboards celebrating Hizballah’s “divine victoryâ€� over Israel share advertising space with posters depicting half-naked women wearing jeans or lingerie.”
If this is not the most lazy, incompetent analysis i have ever seen, i don’t know what is. He confuses anecdotes with proof. It seems like he went to the Thomas Friedman school of journalism or something. Just because Hizbullah has political positions that are secular does not make them a secular movement. For god’s sake, Bin Laden has political views that are secular (freeing Palestine, getting American forces out of the Middle East, ending dictatorships….), but he is in no way secular. Lebanon has so many problems that it is easy for anyone to take secular positions on them. How could you not? but does that make you secular, no way.
Again, I am not saying this because i am against Hizbullah (I am secular myself), but because this is a completely idiotic article.
I’m afraid I don’t share your view of this article is “completely idiotic,” and Nir Rosen is quiet a respectable pundit and writer, who in no sense belong to Thomas Friedman’s school of journalism. Regarding Hizbollah and secularism, Nir makes it clear the organization grew out of the womb of the Shiite community, but has been formulating and Lebanese and Arab nationalist discourse that doesn’t stress the Shiite element. Such discourse (not only the fact they beat the Israelis in the south) has helped the resistance group attract huge following in the Arab World. What Nir said isn’t previously unknown news that drives one ballistic as you did with your comments.
Unfortunately, while i agree this article is a must read, I think it is completely wrong. I am a supporter of Hizbullah and Nasrallah, but this article is enough to totally discredit Nir Rosen as a source of information on the middle east. If this is how he does all his journalism, i don’t plan to waste my time reading him again. the part that i can’t even believe he had the stupidity to write was:
“For although Hizb Allah, the Party of God, is undoubtedly of Shia origin, it is in fact a secular movement, addressing real temporal issues, its leaders speaking in a nationalist discourse, avoiding sectarianism and religious metaphors.”
Say what???? Hizbullah is secular? and what proof does he have? no joke, he proves this by saying, “billboards celebrating Hizballah’s “divine victoryâ€� over Israel share advertising space with posters depicting half-naked women wearing jeans or lingerie.”
If this is not the most lazy, incompetent analysis i have ever seen, i don’t know what is. He confuses anecdotes with proof. It seems like he went to the Thomas Friedman school of journalism or something. Just because Hizbullah has political positions that are secular does not make them a secular movement. For god’s sake, Bin Laden has political views that are secular (freeing Palestine, getting American forces out of the Middle East, ending dictatorships….), but he is in no way secular. Lebanon has so many problems that it is easy for anyone to take secular positions on them. How could you not? but does that make you secular, no way.
Again, I am not saying this because i am against Hizbullah (I am secular myself), but because this is a completely idiotic article.
I’m afraid I don’t share your view of this article is “completely idiotic,” and Nir Rosen is quiet a respectable pundit and writer, who in no sense belong to Thomas Friedman’s school of journalism.
Regarding Hizbollah and secularism, Nir makes it clear the organization grew out of the womb of the Shiite community, but has been formulating and Lebanese and Arab nationalist discourse that doesn’t stress the Shiite element. Such discourse (not only the fact they beat the Israelis in the south) has helped the resistance group attract huge following in the Arab World. What Nir said isn’t previously unknown news that drives one ballistic as you did with your comments.