Voice of Hezbollah: The Statements of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah

by Hassan Nasrallah, Nicholas Blanford (Introduction)

In July 2006, with the commencement of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the longstanding secretary general of the “Party of God,” burst into the spotlight of the Western media — cast, almost inevitably, as an even more dangerous incarnation of Osama bin Laden. Yet well before the start of the war, Nasrallah had acquired an almost unrivalled credibility in the Arab world among admirers and detractors alike, a profile that soared in May 2000 when he became the first leader to push Israel out of Arab land.

Voice of Hezbollah brings to an English-speaking readership for the first time Nasrallah’s speeches and interviews: the intricate, deeply populist arguments and promises that he has made from the mid-1980s to the present day. Newly translated from the Arabic, and with an introduction by one of the foremost writers on Lebanon, Voice of Hezbollah is critical to the understanding of the man and the movement.

Genres: Middle East, Politics, Lebanon, Islam, Religion, History, Nonfiction

420 pages, Paperback

First published August 27, 2007

About the author

Hassan Nasrallah was a Lebanese cleric and the secretary-general of Hezbollah, a Shia Islamist political party and militant group.

Reviews

[Michael Griswold · Rating 4 out of 5]

A political science professor I had encouraged all of his students to read as much as we could and refused to recommend books. This was one of the few books that he actually looked at and declared it was a good book. In the modern terrorist era, which we currently live, it is imperative that we understand not just the positions of our politicians and notable figures, but the organizations we claim to be fighting on the War on Terror. As alien as the ideas in this book may appear to an American audience, Voice of Hezbollah offers the reader, an enlightening look inside the leadership and thought process of Secretary Nasrallah, whom has turned Hezbollah into a global force to be reckoned with, particularly when considering Israel and Western interests. After several hundred pages things get repetitious, but central themes include 1. Resistance against Israel both within Lebanon and on the Palestinian issue, 2. Resistance against a perceived threat of American domination within the Middle East and 3. An increasingly delicate juggling act between moderate and more extreme positions. Overall, a highly recommended read for those who desire to know about Hezbollah.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

It gives a good idea of the pragmatic and anti-sectarian ideas of Hezbollah.

Although the translators/editors claim it is only to hide their quest for worlddomination. They are so nice to give at the end a bunch of books approved by the Israeli media, for the people who are afraid to going to get too pro-hezbollah.