The Oppressor And The Oppressed: Iran And Hezbollah's Policy In Syria
13 May 2013
By Dr. Hamad Al-Majid
"Iran and Hezbollah bear responsibility for every
Syrian killed, every tree felled, and every house
destroyed."
This is not a quote from a Shi'ite leader calling for
a review of Shi'a doctrine: it comes from Sheikh Subhi
Al-Tufayli, a pillar of Hezbollah, one of its founders
and its first secretary-general.
It is evidence of a deep intra-party dispute between
Sheikh Subhi, Hezbollah and the Iranian regime.
However, it was not an ideological dispute that urged
Mr. Subhi to reconsider his religious doctrine, and
consequently his political beliefs. He left Hezbollah
as a result of his differences with the group, and
once he did Mr. Subhi became a full-time preacher
among poor Shi'ites in Baalbek and Hermel. He
established Ein Bordai Hawza, a traditional religious
school, in Beqa'a, Lebanon, where he still keeps a
portrait of the Iranian revolutionary leader Ruholla
Khomeini in his office.
The statements made by Sheikh Al-Tufayli are important
because they come from an influential Shi'ite voice.
Most of the ideas expressed by Tufayli have already
been articulated by Arab politicians, intellectuals
and writers, who have said that the support given by
Iran and Hezbollah to Assad's regime will take the
region to the brink of a devastating sectarian
conflict.
Unfortunately, however, we are always met with those
who play the sectarian card. This is a rational
warning and criticism of Iran and Hezbollah's policy
in Syria, coming from a Shi'ite figure who is highly
regarded both as a scholar and as a politician. It
should encourage the wise among Shi'ites to clearly
and independently express their condemnation of
Assad's regime and fully recognize the Syrian people's
right to get rid of their bloodthirsty ruler. They
need to pressure the Iranian government and discourage
it from implementing its harmful policies, as Sheikh
Tufayli has done.
They should do this not only to support the subjugated
people in Syria, but also to protect the Shi'ites
there who have been dragged by Iran and Hezbollah into
an awkward situation with the country's Sunni
majority. Fair-minded Shi'ites who adopt the logical
and rational stance of Sheikh Tufayli are acting in
the interest of both Sunnis and Shi'ites in the
region. Iranian policy, according to Tufayli, is the
primary reason for unprecedented sectarian tensions in
the Middle East. However, it is still possible to
spare the region's population—whatever their personal
creed—from sectarian strife that will bring nothing
but total destruction.
Dr. Hamad Al-Majid is
a journalist and former member of the official Saudi
National Organization for Human Rights. Al-Majid is a
graduate of Imam Muhammad Bin Saud Islamic University
in Riyadh and holds an M.A. from California and a
Doctorate from the University of Hull in the United
Kingdom.
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