Islamic Unity and Political Change. Interview with Shaykh Muhammad Hussayn Fadlallah

Key takeaways

content: "@fadlallahIslamicUnityPolitical1995" -file:@fadlallahIslamicUnityPolitical1995

Reading notes

• We are still experiencing the deep wounds inflicted on our psyche by Palestine. I would go so far as to say that the average Muslim exper- iences the Arab-Zionist problem as a Jewish problem.

• Even pan-Arabism had an Islamic content. The Egyptian national anthem adopted by Gamal 'Abd al-Nasir, the father of Arab nationalism, began with the words "God is Great [Allahu Akbar]."

• Even the Christians living in the Arab world unconsciously think with an Islamic mentality

• Despite this strong identity, the Islamic world is suffering from a lack of a clear and objective understanding of the true situation of Islam and Islamic thought

• There is also doctrinal intolerance between Sunnis and Shi'ites, which is a sore point in Islamic affairs. International and local intelli- gence agencies are at work in each Islamic country trying to widen the chasm between Sunnis and Shi'ites and preventing any attempts at dia- logue and unity even regarding general Islamic issues

• There is no such a thing here as "Islamic fundamentalism" as the West presents it-in other words, exclusive recourse to violence to bring about change and negation of "the Other.

• jihad in Islam is a defensive movement and a deterrent

• If someone fires a rocket at me, I cannot respond by offering him a rose. From an Islamic perspective, we com- pare violence to surgery: One only turns to it as a last resort.

• We interpret this to mean that we can meet with Marxists on the common ground of standing up to the forces of international arrogance; we can meet nationalists, even secular nationalists, on the common ground of Arab causes, which are also Islamic causes. Islam recognizes the Other.

• Justice is indivisible. Justice for an individual or society or in politics cannot offer scope for discriminating between a Muslim and an unbeliever. That is not what I was trying to say. What I meant was that we need to study individual cases to see if there are extenuating circumstances, and indeed there might not be any.

• y. We oppose the killing of foreigners in Algeria and Egypt: It is not permissible to kill an individual who comes trustingly to you just because he belongs to a country you want to fight. Some acts cannot be justified on any grounds.

• Islam, in the most comprehensive sense, means surrender to the Majestic and Sublime God by being in total harmony with His message. In this light, all the monotheistic religions belong under the heading of Islam

• Thus the Qur'an stresses that the relationship between Muslims and the People of the Book should be based on a dialogue of ideas....

• We believe that the Judeo-Christian dialogue was launched by certain circles to create an opening for Islamic-Christian acceptance of the Jewish reality of Israel; in fact, what was needed was to remove the barrier between Judaism (in its Zionist-Israeli manifestation) on the one hand, and Muslims and Christians on the other

• We have nothing akin to the famous saying "West is West and East is East and never the twain shall meet... ."

• When I spoke of the Lebanonization of the Islamist movement in Lebanon, what I meant was that the Islamist movement should examine the prevailing circumstances in Lebanon and formulate its strategy within that framework, making allowances for Lebanon's particular cir- cumstances, its confessional sensitivities, its perception of its environ- ment

• Christians in Lebanon have a "complex," or fear of the Islamic reality that leads them to seek control over the presidency of the republic and other key positions and things of that sort

• Lebanon cannot be transformed into an Islamic republic, which is un- realistic, but the Islamists should give free reign to their ideas in Lebanon

• Lebanon is not only a window to the west but also for the west on the east

• Hizballah should enter the electoral arena if only for the sake of Islamic legitimacy in Lebanon, which dictates the forma- tion of a parliamentary part

• I want first to emphasize that neither Iran nor any other country is a sponsor of any of my projects, which are funded by contri- butions from philanthropists as well financial obligations prescribed in religious law

• s, Israel has destroyed much of the infrastructure of south Lebanon and the western Biqa' Valley; many martyrs have fallen to Israel.

• In my opinion, the solution for south Lebanon is inseparable from the solu- tion of Palestine and overall Arab-Israeli problem: No separate solution can be found.

• We are not against the presence of UN forces insofar as they help create a semblance of balance in certain regions and may prevent Israel from overrunning the area. However, the UN forces are a negative factor when they constitute an obstacle for the resistance

• The United Nations has fallen under the complete control of the Americans, who are acting under Israeli influence in this regar

• U.S. policy is in fact Israeli policy. I

• Under Khomeini, Iran raised the banner of the "Movement of the Oppressed" which in- cludes Muslims and non-Muslims alike, and it has been Iran's policy to support all liberation movements throughout the world, focusing espe- cially on the affairs of Muslims and liberation through Islam.

• The Egyptian and Algerian regimes are always accusing Iran of fo- menting trouble for them. In fact, many of the leading Islamists in these two countries suffer from a phobia of Shi'ite Islam and hence have an irrational fear of Iran

• While Iran is not interfering in the affairs of any Arab country, one wonders: Doesn't the Egyptian regime interfere in Sudan and Algeria? Egyptian security meddles wherever it can in the Arab world and has established a presence in more than one Arab country

• brogated by decree. Moreover, there are Sunni Muslims who are sympathetic to Iran; Hamas and Islamic Jihad mili- tants are not Shi'ites. If Iran does not have what it takes to make others move in step with it, it can neither impose their allegiance nor prevent it.

• n. My position may, and often does, agree with that of Iran, but I have my own opinions, and I sometimes differ with them in relation to methods or circumstances. For example, I do not believe that the ques- tion of authority (marji'iyya) is an Iranian issue, but a Shi'ite issue

• We shall continue to maintain that Israel is illegitimate. Israel remains a usurper by virtue of every Palestinian it has expelled from his home and replaced with a Jew.

• We do not believe that the Palestinian Authority has the right to sign a peace treaty that gives the Jews the right to expropriate Palestinian lands and homes, including those be- longing to the Palestinians of 1948.

• If the establishment of such a state (1967 borders) entails recognition of Israel, then we reject it. However, if the Palestinians were to gain control over any piece of land on which to establish a state without having to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the rest of Palestine, that we do not reject.