Lebanon: Hezbollah Museum in the Bekaa Valley

On the 2 year anniversary of the start of the July/August 2006 War with Israel (July 12), in which the Israelis invaded Lebanon and bombed Beirut, we visited the Bekaa Valley, the heartland of Hezbollah, the Shi'a political/paramilitary organization in Lebanon that is backed by Iran and Syria. They had a museum that commemorated their "divine victory" over Israel, the "Zionist entity"... Hezbollah is listed as a terrorist organization by the US, Israel, and the UK, although many countries in the Muslim and Arab world highly regard Hezbollah as a legitimate resistance movement. One of things you notice on the highway into the Bekaa Valley is that the highway is covered in Hezbollah flags and billboards. A towering gate, with the portraits of Hezbollah's leaders and the Iranian Grand Ayatollahs, stands at the entrance of this Hezbollah-controlled territory. The fields on the side of the highway were littered with Palestinian refugee camps and tents, who are given shelter and protection under Hezbollah.

The museum was typical propaganda. But like most propaganda, half were lies but half was true. The 2006 War was an embarassment for Israel, a long time regional power, in which its modern, Western military was stalled by Hezbollah's guerilla fighters. Israel had two objectives in the war: 1. to reclaim its two captured soldiers taken by Hezbollah in a cross-border raid and 2. to destroy (or at least inflict massive damage to) Hezbollah. It failed both, and ironically Hezbollah is actually stronger than it was before the 2006 War started. Hezbollah is actually even more powerful than the Lebanese Army. Israel is getting its two soldiers back tomorrow (July 16), dead or alive no one knows, but at the cost of captured Lebanese and Hezbollah fighters. In the end, Hezbollah got everything it wanted. In May, Hezbollah overran streets and neighborhoods in West Beirut (where my apartment and university is located) and completely routed the pro-government forces. Over 80 people were killed across the country, which would have descended into another civil war if it hadn't been for the Qataris and the Doha Agreement, which turned out to be another Hezbollah victory since it gave them more power in the government, especially the power to veto any new legislation. So it looks like Hezbollah won't be disarming anytime soon.

The museum, or "terrorist propaganda center", had mostly pictures of destroyed Israeli equipment and dead soldiers. Some of the captured Israeli equipment was on display (rifles, iPods, helmets, etc.) In the back was a hall filled with portraits of Hezbollah martyrs, fighters who died in the war against Israel. There was this young kid, probably 8 years old, who worked in the museum and explained the exhibits. He talked a lot but what struck me is that he actually didn't know anything. He'd been brainwashed into Hezbollah's thinking and when I tried to actually have somewhat of an intellectual discussion with him about Hezbollah, he couldn't say anything more than what he had already been taught. As I was leaving, it was hard getting through my mind that I had just been in a "terrorist" area. Then again, one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. An American militiaman was a freedom fighter to his fellow colonists but a terrorist to the British Empire. Hezbollah isn't Al-Qaeda. Hezbollah is actually at war with Al-Qaeda for the same reasons that the US is: Al-Qaeda is un-Islamic and a dangerous threat to peace. Of course I don't support Hezbollah, but I just can't agree with why the US and so many Americans blindly support Israel and its regional policies, which in turn harm the US's own policy in the Middle East.

I can understand Hezbollah's resistance to Israel (which still occupies Lebanese and Syrian land...and not to mention, Palestinian land) but some people would raise the issue of Israeli civilian casualties. Though Hezbollah, to justify its legitimacy, has a strict targeting policy that forbids attacking innocent civilians (Hezbollah condemns Al-Qaeda's attacks on innocent civilians, especially 9/11), they consider Israeli civilians to be a separate issue. Nasrallah, Hezbollah's leader, stated that "in occupied Palestine, there is no difference between a soldier and a civilian, for they are all invaders, occupiers and usurpers of the land." Then again, Israel also violated the UN Resolution (which prohibited bombing in heavily populated civilian areas aka South Beirut). It's amazing how much news is filtered from the Middle East to the West and how Israeli violations against innocent civilians goes largely unreported. In my opinion, war is war. Civiians on both sides unfortunately get caught in the crossfire. If Israel wants to deserve US support, it should earn it and act appropriately. And if the US is to give support, it should only be with good intentions and not blindly.

What people should be upset about is how much reporting is altered to fit a news agency's agenda. It's a real shame considering Hezbollah's highly regarded and well-respected social services that it provides to the Lebanese people and Palestinian refugees in Lebanon (shelter, food, employment, schools, hospitals, mosques, social welfare, etc.). A US author once commented that Hezbollah's relief efforts to South Lebanon and South Beirut in the aftermath of the 2006 War was more organized and efficient than the US government's response to Hurricane Katrina. But no one in the West sees this side of Hezbollah and automatically assume they're just the Shi'a version of Al-Qaeda.

I could go on and on about Hezbollah but I'll just bring that up in more posts later on. Supposedly there's another Hezbollah museum in South Beirut, another area controlled by Hezbollah, so we'll try to see that one too. Anyway, the prisoner exchange between Israel and Lebanon/Hezbollah is tomorrow morning at 9am, and my university canceled classes for the day.


with the Hezbollah flag, i gave the thumbs down while the guards weren't looking so this wouldn't be incriminating








captured Israeli equipment and photos of destroyed Israeli vehicles


Imad














Martyrs Hall.. Hezbollah fighters killed in the war against Israel








the top says "Then surely the party of God are they that shall be triumphant" (Quran 5:56) and the bottom (cut off) says "The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon"




Israeli warship that was hit by a Hezbollah missile off the coast of Beirut


the Israeli Black Hawk that was shot down by Hezbollah... its wreckage is on display at the Hezbollah museum in South Beirut


captured Israeli equipment




illustrating Hezbollah's tactic of firing massive amounts of missiles into Israel


at the museum gift shop: light-up keychains and coffee mugs with the portraits of Iranian Ayatollahs/Hezbollah leaders on them...only $2...yes, they accept US currency.


Iranian flag outside the museum


Palestinian Refugee Camp Tents


Imad again...Hezbollah signs, billboards, and flags cover the highway... just letting everyone know they're in Hezbollah territory


the Bekaa Valley, Hezbollah's homeland

Turkey

I fell asleep on my flight from London and woke up 4 hours later outside Istanbul in Turkey.


Old walls of Constantinople


Taksim Square outside Marina's hotel window


Taksim Square


Asia's just across the Bosphorus Strait


old Constantinople across the Golden Horn






Yeni Mosque


Outside the Yeni Mosque

Turkey was cool. The border between Asia and Europe. Where East literally meets West. A country where 98% of the population is Muslim but is secular anyway. Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire and the capital of the Eastern Roman/Byzantium Empire and the Eastern Orthodox Church when it was known as Constantinople. Istanbul takes its identity from both European and Middle Eastern influences. Turks dressed in typical Western summer clothes and drank beer at sidewalk cafes under the blaring muezzins' call to prayer at the local mosques. Istanbul's the city of a thousand minarets. Mosques are just as ubiquitous in Istanbul as they are in Cairo. But bars and nightclubs are just as ubiquitous in Istanbul as any other European city. Like other Muslim countries in the Middle East, Turkey is a place where tradition and modernization seem inevitably forced into a conflict. I never saw a single person wearing a dishdasha or an abayya the whole time. Maybe they're probably just trying to impress the EU officials.


Galata Tower


Old City of Constantinople/Sultanahmet across the Golden Horn...Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque off in the distance




The Sultan's Palace


Sea of Marmara




Across the Golden Horn

I was in Taksim Square when Turkey scored a goal with 0 seconds left to tie Croatia (1-1) and then subsequently beat them in penalty kicks (3-1). That was my last night in Turkey and the place pretty much rioted. The main street in Galata was deserted during the game but once Turkey pulled off another Euro 08 miracle that night, the place was packed and going nuts. Turks are just obsessed with football. Crazy fun.


Istiklal Caddesi


Taksim Square during the Euro Cup 08 match against Croatia

Earlier that day I took a ferry up the Bosphorus Strait, which divides Europe and Asia. Istanbul is on the European side (Thrace) and the ferry went up the Strait into the Black Sea and I got off on the Asian side (Anatolia/Asia Minor). There were tons of oil tankers (probably mostly Russian) going in and out of the Black Sea. I wandered around this village a bit and found this old castle at the top of a hill.


Ferry up the Bosphrous Strait into the Black Sea... getting off in Asia Minor/Anatolia




the Bosphrous Strait and the Black Sea


the Bosphorus Strait that divides Asia and Europe


the Black Sea...Europe's on the other side


old Ottoman castle


Dolmabahce Palace...where Ataturk also died




Besides that, I did the usual tourist stuff in Istanbul. Topkapi Palace, the Ottoman Sultan's residence, was expensive but worth it, though it felt nearly overrun by Japanese tourists. I visited the Hagia Sophia (St. Sophia, built in 532AD by Emperor Justinian of the Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire) that was once the most prestigious church in Christianity. It was the largest cathedral ever built in the world for nearly a thousand years. That is, until Muhammad the Conquerer and the Muslims captured Constantinople in 1453 (renaming it Istanbul) to establish the capital of the Ottoman Empire. Then they converted Christianity's #1 church into a mosque and removed all the symbols of Christianity. The altar was replaced with a Qibla and the mosaics were plastered over. They even built the huge Sultanahmet mosque directly across the street in front of the Hagia Sophia. Of all the Muslim lands I have ever traveled to, Istanbul had the most beautiful mosques. I'm bumping Iran's mosques down to #2...kind of ironic since Turkey actively encourages secularism and Iran is an Islamic Republic.


Entrance to Topkapi Palace


Turkish Kids in the national dress


Inside the Palace of the Sultan


Inside the Hagia Sophia...Allah and Muhammad


The Qibla that replaced the altar




One of the mosaics that was plastered over


Sultanahmet/Blue Mosque






Sultanahmet Mosque






at the Hippodrome: Egyptian Obelisk from Temple of Karnak and Constantine's Column - stripped of its gold


Hagia Sophia


inside the Sultanahmet Mosque


Basilica Cistern, used to store water during sieges


Grand Bazaar




looking down at the Old City of Constantinople/Sultanahmet

After meeting up with Marına (ND Army ROTC/Farley frıend) on her last nıght/my fırst nıght ın Istanbul and going around Turkey and the Black Sea for a week, I flew to Beirut, Lebanon to start my intensive Arabic classes this summer. I'll be in Lebanon from June 21 to August 2. Beirut is best known as the party capital of the Middle East. Too bad it's also known as a war zone. Update on Beirut coming soon too.