ヒズブッラーの二つの顔-レバノン社会と中東域内政治をめぐって-

The purpose of this paper is to portray two different aspects of Hizbullah: that of a radical armed organization-some scholars refer to it as a typical “terrorist” organization, and as a “social welfare party, ” especially for Shiite communities. In addition, through the study of relations between the Hizbullah and other actors, this paper tries to point out its effects on Lebanese society and on politics of the Middle East.<br>Hizbullah was born in 1982 when Israel invaded Lebanon. It is not always clear by what process it was established and organized. It is estimated, however, that Hizbullah is composed of several independent sects leaded by a collective “Ulama, ” like Iran. At present, members of Hizbullah are around 15, 000 and it has come to share influence on the Shiite population with Amal.<br>The basic goals and strategies of the Hizbullah are 1) establishment of a Lebanese Islamic state modeled on Iran, 2) Liberation of south Lebanon (a “security zone” occupied by Israel), 3) struggle against Israel and support for the establishment of a Palestine state, 4) the abolishment of “confessionalism, ” which refers to fixed rights and political power given to each religious sect, 5) support for Shiite communities. In order to complete these objectives, and especially in order to liberate south Lebanon and fight against Israel, Hizbullah took Western foreigners hostage and performed “suicide” bombings against buildings such as the embassy or military compounds of Western powers in Lebanon in the 1980s.<br>Since 1992, however, Hizbullah carried out a big change in accordance with the realities of the Lebanese political system and became one of the political parties representative of Shiite communities. Because Hizbullah took great care of agriculture, infrastructure, school education, social welfare in Shiite residences, which the Lebanese government has been ignoring so far, it gained support in Shiite communities and took twelve seats in the Lebanese parliament in 1992.<br>It is true that Hizbullah is increasing its political power in Lebanese society. However, the situation surrounding Hizbullah is quite complicated. For example, most of Hizbullah's budget still depends on Iran, and much of the freedom given to Hizbullah is only allowed by Syria. Furthermore, the relation between the Hizbullah and Christian sects, a domestic matter, has remained strained and dangerous. Therefore, this paper concludes that we need to study Hizbullah from the point of view of political relations in the Middle East, and at same time from that of religious balance in Lebanon.