A crowd waving the Hezbollah flag and Khamenei's portrait during a rally in his honor after his assassination, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, on March 1, 2026. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L’Orient-Le Jour)
Before Islam, the Arabs named certain years after battles they fought, such as the "Year of the Elephant," in memory of the eponymous battle. They also called their tribal wars, such as the war of al-Basous, the "Great Days of the Arabs." As for us, all our days and years relate to Hezbollah and its wars. Thus, one might say that someone was born during Hezbollah's second war against Israel, or 10 years before its war in Syria. It has invaded Lebanese time, including our personal timelines, without ever tiring or introducing the slightest modification to break the monotony.I heard of Hezbollah for the first time in 1981. That day, an organization by this name was founded in Iran, tasked with leading a "cultural revolution" aimed at purging universities of the "harmful influences of Western...
Before Islam, the Arabs named certain years after battles they fought, such as the "Year of the Elephant," in memory of the eponymous battle. They also called their tribal wars, such as the war of al-Basous, the "Great Days of the Arabs." As for us, all our days and years relate to Hezbollah and its wars. Thus, one might say that someone was born during Hezbollah's second war against Israel, or 10 years before its war in Syria. It has invaded Lebanese time, including our personal timelines, without ever tiring or introducing the slightest modification to break the monotony.I heard of Hezbollah for the first time in 1981. That day, an organization by this name was founded in Iran, tasked with leading a "cultural revolution" aimed at purging universities of the "harmful influences of Western...
