Members of the "Taharror" movement at the group's announcement in Beirut in late 2023. (Credit: Facebook)
“Shiites Against War,” “Taharror,” “Sovereign Front for Lebanon,” are examples of these opposition groups. Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, initiatives by Shiite groups opposed to Hezbollah and its involvement in the war have multiplied.
This comes at a time when the (predominantly Shiite) inhabitants of south Lebanon have been heavily affected by Israeli bombardments of their villages, and at a time when Israel threatens to strike violently at the rest of the country, if Hezbollah carries on its operations and does not move away from the border.
In this tense atmosphere, the Shiite opposition, which has so far struggled to carve out a place for itself on a political stage dominated by the Amal-Hezbollah tandem, seeks to introduce itself as an alternative.
“The Shiite public opinion is clearly afraid of war,” said Ali al-Amin, editor-in-chief for Janoubia website and a leading critic of Hezbollah.
In his last two speeches, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah addressed his popular base directly in an attempt to calm frustrations.
“Families have had to leave their homes carrying their furniture on their backs. These families are resilient, because it’s not at all easy to be far from your home, your village, your school... That’s part of the sacrifice of jihad,” he said in early January.
It is through this crack, albeit slight, between Hezbollah and the Shiite public opinion on the front line of the clashes that the opposition groups are working to break through.
So far, the national anti-Hezbollah opposition camp has been dominated by Christians, and to a lesser extent Sunnis and Druze, with no influential Shiite presence within its ranks.
It is perhaps in an attempt to change this situation that some Shiite rebels announced in Jan. 18 the formation of the “Great Lebanon” coalition, which includes a number of opposition figures and is sponsored by the head of the Maronite Church, Bechara al-Rai.
“We don’t want our community, or any other group in Lebanon, to be taken hostage by Iran,” said Lina Hamdan, a Shiite opposition figure and previous parliamentary candidate.
In her view, the multitude of Shiite opposition and tiny groups that have recently been formed will try to agree and unite into a single front.
“The aim is to make it clear that we are against Israel and its war on Gaza,” said Hamdan. “However, this does not mean that Lebanon should also risk a destructive war while the major Arab countries and regional powers do nothing,” she added.
Hamdan called on the authorities to take diplomatic actions to end the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza, rather than covering up for Hezbollah and its military operations.
No to velayat e-faqih
These new groups include Taharror (Liberation), a group founded at the end of 2023 by Shiite opposition figures, including Ali Khalifeh and Hadi Mrad. The group defines itself as a “political movement for a modern and liberal state in Lebanon.”
“We founded Taharror for all Lebanese,” Mrad told L’Orient-Le Jour. “Above all, we want to represent the protest within the Shiite public opinion, which must be freed from the monopoly of the Amal-Hezbollah tandem.”
The group is particularly targeting the velayat e-faqih. Developed by the Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, this doctrine followed by some Shiites in Lebanon (notably those affiliated with Hezbollah) makes the Wali al-faqih (the Iranian Supreme Guide) the earthly representative of the “hidden imam,” Mohammad al-Mahdi, the 12th successor of the prophet Mohammad, who disappeared in 939, and whose return is supposed to put an end to oppression around the world.
As a result, his power cannot be limited by any temporal considerations, nor can it be contested. This creates a vertical link between all the world’s Duodecimal Shiites and Tehran.
To counter this doctrine, Taharror works in collaboration with Shiite religious figures opposed to the velayat e-faqih, such as Sheikh Ali Amin, who is despised by Hezbollah.
“We believe that every nation must be sovereign and decide its own future, and that Lebanon cannot be dissociated from the Arab world to the benefit of Iran. These are the objectives of our movement,” said Mrad.
“We are currently holding meetings to fine-tune our political program, which we will be announcing in the coming months,” he said.
“Unlike the movements that emerged in the wake of the October 2019 uprising, our aim is not to win an election, but to bring diversity back to our community,” he said.
This is easier said than done. Hezbollah, backed by Tehran, has financial resources and an impressive clientelist machine, not to mention its arsenal and capacity for intimidation.
“It has to be said that what these opponents are doing is courageous and important,” said Amin. “However, with all due respect, I don’t think they will be able to make any impact in the short term. These are small groups that cannot, on their own, represent an alternative to Hezbollah in the eyes of the Shiite public opinion,” he said.
Internet users close to Hezbollah were quick to accuse all those who criticize the party for its involvement in the Israel-Hamas war of “treason.”
Even figures, including Patriarch Bechara al-Rai and Kataeb leader Sami Gemayel, have not escaped this label. This intimidation is even more effective in Shiite circles, where opposing Hezbollah sometimes leads to real excommunication, with opponents isolated from their entourage and constantly threatened.
On Feb. 3 2021, the Lebanese Shiite activist and intellectual Lokman Slim, who was known for his critical stance towards Hezbollah, was murdered in mysterious circumstances. Before his death, he announced that he had been threatened on several occasions by people close to the Amal-Hezbollah tandem.
“It would have been easier for the Shiite opponents to join the state and side with the institutions against Hezbollah, as they did during the July 2006 war, when Prime Minister Fouad Siniora clearly distanced himself from the party’s policy,” said Amin. Yet, that the current caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, has modelled Beirut’s policy on that of Hassan Nasrallah.”
This article was originally published in L'Orient-Le Jour. Translated by Joelle El Khoury.