"The cult of Hassan Nasrallah in the southern suburbs of Beirut. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/OLJ)
As the funeral of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah takes place this Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, we revisit this article, originally published on Oct. 8, 2024."I saw him coming out of the site of the attack… saw it with my own eyes," swore a resident of Achrafieh after the explosion that took Bachir Gemayel’s life. The same happened with Rafic Hariri. Last week, a Nasrallah devotee confidently stated on television that the latter would be "giving a speech at 5 p.m."Beyond the political reasons behind this denial — the violence of a leader’s sudden departure and the distress of a crowd left orphaned — understanding this phenomenon, observed at different moments in Lebanon’s history, also requires looking at the early stages of human life and exploring its psychological causes.At birth, an infant has no concept of who...
As the funeral of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah takes place this Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, we revisit this article, originally published on Oct. 8, 2024."I saw him coming out of the site of the attack… saw it with my own eyes," swore a resident of Achrafieh after the explosion that took Bachir Gemayel’s life. The same happened with Rafic Hariri. Last week, a Nasrallah devotee confidently stated on television that the latter would be "giving a speech at 5 p.m."Beyond the political reasons behind this denial — the violence of a leader’s sudden departure and the distress of a crowd left orphaned — understanding this phenomenon, observed at different moments in Lebanon’s history, also requires looking at the early stages of human life and exploring its psychological causes.At birth, an infant has no...
