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From* Mehdi Kia, cut and paste excuse the formatting:* There is no doubt that on the international scene Hezbollah has allied itself with progressive forces (as has the Iranian regime). But to call it anti-imperialist is to misunderstand what social forces can be truly anti-imperialist. It is undoubtedly true that Hezbollah provides social services and security for the Shia poor. But then so do the drug gangs running the flavelas of Brazil, to name but one. What I think is missing in this, and many articles relating to the Shia Islamist movement, is the central role expediency plays in Shia ideology. This is critical for a minority religion trying to survive in the midst of Sunni dominance over the centuries. Khomeini crystallised it in his addition to the constitution of the Islamic Republic when he introduced the concept of *velayate motlaqeh faqih*, which proclaimed that the supreme leader can do anything, and bring in any laws, to strengthen “the Islamic government” - even including the suspension of the fundamentals of religion, such as the daily prayer, fasting, etc. In other words what you say and who you ally with should only have one long-term aim - to consolidate the rule of Islam. It is in this light that we have to accept Khomeini’s pronouncement in Paris that in the post-revolutionary regime communists would be free to organise and that the choice of female attire would be entirely voluntary - only to retract the latter within three months and the former once the Tudeh had served their purpose in 1983. This is how we should view Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s ‘progressive’ pronouncements. At its base, the Hezbollah is a top-down, totalitarian movement that splits the working class of Lebanon along Shia, Sunni and Christian (not to speak of male-female) lines. Such an organisation is not in any sense anti-imperialist. Indeed in the long run it will help imperialist domination on the region - as the Islamic regime has done. This should not stop us supporting its legitimate opposition to Israeli rule in the region. But let us spread no illusions over its true historic role - which is to slow down progress, not aid it. On Thu, Mar 11, 2010 at 2:19 PM, Louis Proyect <l...@panix.com> wrote: In his last will and testament in 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini > included a scathing attack on communism: "Islam differs sharply > from communism. Whereas we respect private property, communism > advocates the sharing of all things -- including wives and > homosexuals." [19] In Tehran, communists and other political > dissidents are summarily executed, and outed homosexuals publicly > hanged. In Beirut, they walk freely and Hezbollah does not hunt > them down. Will Hezbollah ever criticize or break with the > Islamic Republic and its founder? > > full: http://www.zcommunications.org/whither-hezbollah-by-assaf-kfoury > ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
