Israel Matzav

Nasrallah's not so popular after all

Reinforcing that view is the fact that voices of dissent are starting to rise. A recent L’Orient Le Jour poll shows that the majority of Lebanese, 51 percent, want Hezbollah disarmed. Similarly, the French daily Le Figaro cited a stunning statistic: 47 percent of Lebanese do not think that Hezbollah won this summer's war against Israel.

While one might have expected the reversal of fortune of Nasrallah's movement among Christians and Sunnis, what's most surprising is that he is being attacked by some major figures in the Shi'ite community. One is the very well-respected mufti of Tyre, Sayeed Ali Al Amin. Like Nasrallah, he is a descendant of the prophet. In 1983, he was one of the original founders of Hezbollah. Yet he has been very vocal in attacking Nasrallah for what he calls “his illegal war against Israel.” Of that war, al-Amin has said: “Not only did Hezbollah not win the war but it was wrong to start it, Hezbollah has violated international resolutions and the Blue line [the border with Israel]. This kidnapping operation of the two soldiers was neither legitimate nor necessary.”

Al Amin's outspoken opposition has drawn notice. A headline in the An Nahar daily recently announced: “Ali Al Amin denies Amal and Hezbollah the right to speak for all the Shias." He has also vehemently criticized Hezbollah’s allegiance to Iran, which dearly cost the people of South Lebanon: “It’s not because Hezbollah has excellent relations with Iran that it’s the same for all Shias. Their allegiance should be to the motherland.”

Significantly, this is not the first time that al-Amin has challenged Hezbollah on its home turf. Following the Israeli withdrawal in 2000, al-Amin urged the Lebanese army to fill the security void in the south instead of Hezbollah. Then, three years ago, al-Amin started a group composed of about 100 Shi'ite intellectuals to call for reform and propose an alternative to Hezbollah. Although the initiative did not last -- members were physically threatened and the group failed to attract Western support -- it demonstrated that not all Lebanese Shi'ites march in lockstep with Hezbollah.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:01 PM