Some of
the translation of Hezbolla open letter to lebanese published
February 16, 1985 in al-Safir (Beirut).
"Risala Maftuha allati wajahaha Hizballah ila-l-Mustad'afin fi Lubnan
wa-l-Alam"
Our Identity
We are often asked: Who are we, the Hizballah, and what is our identity?
We are the sons of the umma (Muslim community) - the party of God (Hizb
Allah) the vanguard of which was made victorious by God in Iran. There the
vanguard succeeded to lay down the bases of a Muslim state which plays a
central role in the world. We obey the orders of one leader, wise and
just, that of our tutor and faqih (jurist) who fulfills all the necessary
conditions: Ruhollah Musawi Khomeini. God save him!
By virtue of the above, we do not constitute an organized and closed party
in Lebanon. nor are we a tight political cadre. We are an umma linked to
the Muslims of the whole world by the solid doctrinal and religious
connection of Islam, whose message God wanted to be fulfilled by the Seal
of the Prophets, i.e., Muhammad. This is why whatever touches or strikes
the Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Philippines and elsewhere
reverberates throughout the whole Muslim umma of which we are an integral
part. Our behavior is dictated to us by legal principles laid down by the
light of an overall political conception defined by the leading jurist (wilayat
al-faqih).
Our Objectives
Let us put it truthfully: the sons of Hizhallah know who are their major
enemies in the Middle East - the Phalanges, Israel, France and the US. The
sons of our umma are now in a state of growing confrontation with them,
and will remain so until the realization of the following three
objectives:
(a) to expel the Americans. the French and their allies definitely
from Lebanon, putting an end to any colonialist entity on our land;
(b) to submit the Phalanges to a just power and bring them all to
justice for the crimes they have perpetrated against Muslims and
Christians;
(c) to permit all the sons of our people to determine their future
and to choose in all the liberty the form of government they desire. We
call upon all of them to pick the option of Islamic government which,
alone, is capable of guaranteeing justice and liberty for all. Only an
Islamic regime can stop any further tentative attempts of imperialistic
infiltration into our country.
We consider that all opposition in Lebanon voiced in the name of reform
can only profit, ultimately, the present system. All such opposition which
operates within the framework of the conservation and safeguarding of the
present constitution without demanding changes at the level of the very
foundation of the regime is, hence, an opposition of pure formality which
cannot satisfy the interests of the oppressed masses. Likewise, any
opposition which confronts the present regime but within the limits fixed
by it, is an illusory opposition which renders a great service to the
Jumayyil system. Moreover, we cannot be concerned by any proposition of
political reform which accepts the rotten system actually in effect. We
could not care less about the creation of this or that governmental
coalition or about the participation of this or that political personality
in some ministerial post, which is but a part of this unjust regime.
To the Christians
Allah has also made it intolerable for Muslims to participate in an unjust
regime, in a regime which is not predicated upon the prescriptions (ahkam)
of religion and upon the basis of the Law (the Shari'a) as laid down by
Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets. If you search for justice, who is more
just than Allah? It is He who sent down from the sky the message of Islam
through his successive prophets in order that they judge the people and
give everyone his rights. If you were deceived and misled into believing
that we anticipate vengeance against you - your fears are unjustified. For
those of you who are peaceful, continue to live in our midst without
anybody even thinking to trouble you.
We don't wish you evil. We call upon you to embrace Islam so that you
can be happy in this world and the next. If you refuse to adhere to Islam,
maintain your ties with the Muslims and don't take part in any activity
against them. Free yourselves from the consequences of hateful
confessionalism. Banish from your hearts all fanaticism and parochialism.
Open your hearts to our Call (da'wa) which we address to you. Open
yourselves up to Islam where you'll find salvation and happiness upon
earth and in the hereafter. We extend this invitation also to all the
oppressed among the non-Muslims. As for those who belong to Islam only
formally, we exhort them to adhere to Islam in religious practice and to
renounce all fanaticisms which are rejected by our religion.
World Scene:
We reject both the USSR and the US, both Capitalism and Communism, for
both are incapable of laying the foundations for a just society.
With special vehemence we reject UNIFIL as they were sent by world
arrogance to occupy areas evacuated by Israel and serve for the latter as
a buffer zone. They should be treated much like the Zionists. All should
know that the goals of the Phalangists regime do not carry any weight with
the Combatants of the Holy War, i.e., the Islamic resistance. This is the
quagmire which awaits all foreign intervention.
There, then, are our conceptions and our objectives which serve as our
basis and inspire our march. Those who accept them should know that all
rights belong to Allah and He bestows them. Those who reject them, we'll
be patient with them, till Allah decides between us and the people of
injustice. |