Hezbollah of Iran

The Hezbollah, or Party of God, is an Iranian movement formed at the time of the Iranian Revolution to assist the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and his forces in consolidating power. Hezbollah is/was not a tightly structured independent organisation, but more a movement of loosely bound groups, usually centered around a mosque, whose "members" are referred to as Hezbollahi, [Schirazi, "Constitution of Iran," (1987)p.153] and who "generally act without meaningful police restraint or fear of persecution." [ [http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/world/iran/basij.htm Niruyeh Moghavemat Basij Mobilisation Resistance Force] ]

Hezbollahi initially attacked demonstrations and offices of newspapers that were critical of the Ayatollah Khomeini and are said to have "played an important role on the street at crucial moments in the early days of the revolution by confronting those the regime regarded as counter-revolutionaries," [ [http://www.unhcr.org/home/RSDCOI/3df4be430.html Iran: Group known as Anssar-e Hizbollah (Ansar/Anzar e Hezbollah) UNHCR 2007] ]

Once political challenges to the regime had died down Hezbollahi attacks expanded to include a wide variety of activities found to be undesirable for "moral" or "cultural" reasons, [Schirazi, "Constitution of Iran," (1987)p.153] such as poor hijab, mixing of the sexes and consumption of alcohol. [ [http://www.unhcr.org/home/RSDCOI/3df4be430.html Iran: Group known as Ansar-e Hizbollah (Ansar/Anzar e Hezbollah) UNHCR 2007] ] Mojtaba Bigdeli is a spokesman for the Iranian Hezbollah.

History and activities

The name Hezbollah, or party of Allah, is generic, [ [http://www.unhcr.org/home/RSDCOI/3df4be430.html Iran: Group known as Anssar-e Hizbollah (Ansar/Anzar e Hezbollah) UNHCR 2007] ] coming from the rallying cry used by its "members": "Only one party - of Allah; only one leader - Ruhollah." The phrase "party of Allah" [Bakhash, Reign of the Ayatollahs, (1984), p.67 ] came from a verse in the Quran ...

And whoever takes Allah and His apostle and those who believe for a guardian, then surely the "party of Allah" are they that shall be triumphant.Quran|5|56 [ [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/k/koran/koran-idx?type=simple&q1=5%3A+56&size=First+100 5:56] ] (italics added)

... and Ruhollah was the first name of the Islamic Revolution's leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini In the early days of the Revolution, Khomeinists -- those in the Islamic Republican Party -- denied connection to Hezbollah, and maintaining its attacks were the spontaneous will of the people over which the government had no control. [Moin, "Khomeini" (2000), p.211]

The Hezbollahi is a wild torrent surpassing the imagination. He is a maktabi [one who follows Islam comprehensively] , disgusted with any leaning to the East or West. He has a pocketful of documents exposing the treason of those who pose as intellectuals. He is simple, sincere and angry. Stay away from his anger, which destroys all in its path. Khomeini is his heart and soul . ... The Hezbollahi does not use eau de cologne, wear a tie or smoke American cigarettes. ... You might wonder where he gets his information. He is everywhere, serving your food, selling you ice-cream. [A definition of the Hezbollahi, given in a pamphlet published by the Ministry of Islamic Guidance, quoted in [http://www.unhcr.org/home/RSDCOI/3df4be430.html Iran: Group known as Anssar-e Hizbollah (Ansar/Anzar e Hezbollah) UNHCR 2007] ]

In fact, the Islamic Republican forces did supervise Hezbollah. Hojjat al-Islam Hadi Ghaffari, "a young protegee of Khomeini," being in charge of them. [Moin, "Khomeini" (2000), p.211]

Hezbollah was instrumental in the Islamic Cultural Revolution against secularists and modernists at Iran's universities.

After Friday prayers on 18 April 1980, Khomeini harshly attacked the universities. `We are not afraid of economic sanctions or military intervention. What we are afraid of is Western universities and the training of our youth in the interests of West or East.` His remarks served as a signal for an attack that evening on the Tehran Teachers Training College. One student was reportedly lynched, and according to a British correspondent, the campus was left looking like `a combat zone.` The next day, hezbollahis ransacked left-wing student offices at Shiraz University. Some 300 students required hospital treatment. Attacks on student groups also took place at Mashad and Isfahan Universities"` Attacks continued April 21 and "the next day at the Universities at Ahwaz and Rasht. Over 20 people lost their lives in these university confrontations. ... The universities closed soon after the April confrontation for Islamization`. They were not to open for another two years." ["The Reign of the Ayatollahs" by Shaul Bakhash, p.122 ]

The "membership" of Hezbollahi is said to be "essentially the same group of persons" who surrounded prominent members of the ulama during the Qajar dynasty, and "who would take to the street and create agitation when it suited the ulama to call them out." of town toughs or "luti"

Appearance

The Hezbollahi do not wear uniforms, but are said to be recognizable to Iranians by a familiar "look" that ignores fashion and in particular Western fashion. Hezbollahi favor simple, non-fashionable, collared shirts that are never tucked into their pants; plain slacks (never jeans), and plain black shoes or slippers. A black and white Palestinian-style scarf is commonly worn in the winter. A beard or three-day growth is almost always worn. [Molavi, Afshin, "The Soul of Iran", W.W. Norton, (2005), p.89]

Ansar-e Hezbollah

Ansar-e Hezbollah was formed in 1995, [according to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND), of the British Home Office, quoted in [http://www.unhcr.org/home/RSDCOI/3df4be430.html Iran: Group known as Anssar-e Hizbollah (Ansar/Anzar e Hezbollah) UNHCR 2007] ] A 1997 Amnesty International report describes Ansar-e Hezbollah as an "offshoot" of Hezbollah. [Amnesty International. 1997. "Iran: Human Rights Violations Against Shi'a Religious Leaders and Their Followers." London: Amnesty International. (MDE 13/18/97)] and "Middle East International" describes it as the "vigilante associate" of Hezbollah. ["Middle East International", 15 Oct. 1999, 23 ] Journalist Afshin Molavi describes them as "a small fringe group" with "perhaps 100 Tehran members at most," but with influence disproportionate to its numbers thanks to "links with police and security services and high-level conservative clerics." Ansar-e Hezbollah is known for its attacks against "popular Islamic philosopher" Abdol Karim Soroush. [Molavi, Afshin, "The Soul of Iran", W.W. Norton, (2005), p.97]

ee also

*Islamic Republican Party
*Iranian Revolution
*Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps
*Organizations of the Iranian Revolution

References

Bibliography

*cite book |author=Bakhash, Shaul |title=Reign of the Ayatollahs" |publisher=Basic Books, |year=1984
*cite book |author=Moin, Baqer |title=Khomeini: Life of the Ayatollah |publisher=Thomas Dunne Books |year=2000
*cite book |author=Schirazi, Asghar |title=The Constitution of Iran |publisher=Tauris |year=1997

External links

* [http://www.unhcr.org/home/RSDCOI/3df4be430.html Iran: Group known as Anssar-e Hizbollah (Ansar/Anzar e Hezbollah) UNHCR 2007]