Dr. Haytham Mouzahem

Although Hezbollah has yet to name its preferred candidate for the Lebanese presidency, there are a number of requirements that a potential candidate must meet to gain the party’s endorsement. Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/05/lebanon-hezbollah-president-candidate-specification.html##ixzz31y7XAwjb

By Dr. Haytham Mouzahem The Shiite clerics of Najaf have always provided a spiritual reference to their followers, while at the same time playing an important role on various levels. Read more:  http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/03/najaf-clerics-iraq-influence-humility.html#ixzz2wbYFrNTg

By Dr. Haytham Mouzahem Unlike some religious schools in Iran and Lebanon, the seminaries in Najaf have maintained traditional teaching methods that allow students flexibility in choosing their course of study. Read more:  http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/03/iraq-najaf-seminaries-traditional-teaching-methods.html#ixzz2wbXBUHw4

By Dr. Haytham Mouzahem Following reports that Palestinian nationals have been involved in planning and carrying out recent suicide attacks in Lebanon, there are concerns that it could lead to a division between Palestinian and Lebanese factions involved in the resistance against Israel. Read more:  http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/02/lebanon-palestinian-suicide-bombers-threat-stability.html#ixzz2uc6tz0PW

Following a string of attacks by extremist groups targeting the mostly pro-Hezbollah southern suburbs of Beirut, locals in this area carry on with their lives, although with tightened security measures. Read more:  http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/01/beirut-southern-suburbs-residents-fear-attacks-qaeda.html#ixzz2uQkO7CIF

Although many suspect the recent bombings in Lebanon are aimed at breaking Shiite support for Hezbollah, they may be having the opposite effect. Read more:  http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/02/lebanon-suicide-attacks-shiite-support-hezbollah.html#ixzz2uQjgQBlu

Although the Lebanese in general, and the residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs in particular, felt relieved after security breakthroughs and arrests, their fears have been renewed since the Feb. 19 twin attacks in Bir Hassan. Read more:  http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/02/beirut-bombing-renewed-fears-lebanon.html#ixzz2uQjK8R00

By Dr. Haytham Mouzahem Saudi Arabia King Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz decreed on February 3 that citizens who fight in conflicts outside the Kingdom or belong to extremist religious or ideological groups must be punished. The royal decree has provoked questions about the reasoning behind the decision and whether the king is trying to send a firm message just to the Saudi people or also to other countries. The order targets Islamic and jihadist organizations such as al Qaeda and its branches, the Muslim Brotherhood and as other groups, including Sunni and Shi’a opposition groups calling for reform. The royal decree enacts a punishment of three to 20 years in prison for anyone who participates in conflicts outside of the kingdom, belongs to any extremist religious or terrorist organizations – domestically, regionally or internationally. Perpetrators serving in the military will receive increased prison sentences of five to 30 years. Observers say the royal order is mainly aimed at...

By Dr. Haytham Mouzahem BEIRUT, Lebanon – Late Lebanese Prime Minister Saeb Salam famously said following the 1975-1977 civil war that the conflict produced “no winner, no loser.” This conclusion may be the best description of the new Lebanese government announced on Saturday Feb. 14 by his son, Tammam Salam, the designated Prime Minister. Lebanon has sat without a government for 10 months and 10 days – the longest period Lebanon has been without a government in its history. Salam’s failure to form a cabinet was due to many reasons. First was the demand of the March 8 coalition, led by Hezbollah, for one-third of the seats plus one minister with veto power. The March 14 coalition, led by the Future party, refused this demand that allows Hezbollah the potential to dismantle the government. The coalition’s ministers resigned in January 2011, causing the fall of Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s cabinet. According to the Lebanese constitution, if one-third of the ministers plus one...

By Dr. Haytham Mouzahem  Iraq’s controversial Shi’a cleric Muqtada al-Sadr decided on Saturday to quit politics, distancing himself from the Al-Ahrar bloc that represents his movement in the Parliament and in government. “I will not interfere in politics,” al-Sadr announced. “There is no political entity that represents me anymore, nor any position in parliament and government. Whoever acts against this will be subjected to legal and religious action,” he added. Sadr announced the closure of his movement’s offices in order to “preserve the reputation of al-Sadr (family)… and to put an end to all the wrongdoings that were conducted, or could be conducted, under their title.” The al-Sadrs are a prominent religious family that gave Iraq many Grand Ayatollahs, known as Marja’a, which are a religious authority the Shi’a follow in their religious life. One of those Grand Ayatollahs was Muhammad Sadeq al-Sadr, Muqtada’s father, who was killed by the Iraqi regime in 1999. The oth...

Dr. Haytham Mouzahem   A love of God links many religions and sects. As Imam Mohamed Al-Baqir asked, “Is religion anything but love?” Except that the de facto Arab and Muslim reality today is missing the “love” that is the core of the relationship between God and mankind and between one human being and another. Instead we see hatred and hostility in the name of religion and in the path to Allah (God). The sectarian and religious conflicts ruling the Islamic world today are not a unique or new phenomenon, nor in the political and authoritarian dimensions when religion was used to mobilize support for rulers or regimes. The Christian west also witnessed conflicts and sectarian divisions between Catholics and Orthodox believers and between Catholics and Protestants. Such conflicts spawned brutal battles in the 16th and 17th century in Europe, leaving millions dead. In Germany alone, during the 30 Years War (1618-1648) between Protestants and Catholics, more than six mil...

By Dr. Haytham Mouzahem Kuseyr şehrinin  Suriye ordusu ve Hizbullah tarafından ele geçirilmesi, temmuzda toplanması beklenen Cenvere-2 Barış Konferansı’n nasıl etkiler? Şam’ın hareket tarzı, Kuseyr’de elde edilen  askeri zaferle  rejimin hem siyasi sahnede hem de savaş alanında özgüven kazandığına işaret ediyor. Ülke dışındaki muhalefet ise, Kuseyr’in devam eden mücadelede sadece bir aşama olduğuna inanıyor. İsminin yazılmaması kaydıyla 7 Haziran’da  Al-Monitor’a  konuşan hükümet yanlısı bir milletvekili, Kuseyr çarpışmasının büyütülmesiyle Suriye hükümetinin hem askeri ve siyasi alanda hem de halk nezdine güçlü bir konum elde ettiğini, orduda da morallerin yükseldiğini kaydetti. Bu zaferin verdiği özgüvenle rejim kendini daha güçlü hissedip Cenevre-2’de taviz vermekten kaçınır mı? Bu soruya karşılık aynı milletvekili, yönetimin ilgili şartları belirlediğini ve barış konferansından çıkacak kararların referanduma sunulacağını belirtti. Kayna...

By Dr. Haytham Mouzahem İsrail, 17 Aralık 1992 tarihinde 415 Hamas ve İslami Cihad mensubunu Batı Şeria’dan Lübnan’a, Bekaa Vadisi’ndeki Marj El Zohur’a sınır dışı etti. Bu karar sayesinde, Hamas ve Hizbullah hareketleri ilk defa doğrudan temas kurdu. 17 Haziran 2013’e gelindiğinde ise Hamas Hizbullah’a şu  mesajı  gönderiyordu: “Güçlerini Suriye’den çeksinler ve silahlarını Siyonist düşmana karşı doğrultsunlar, hele de Suriye’deki müdahaleleri bölgedeki mezhepsel kutuplaşmayı keskinleştirmişken.” Hamas’ın Kahire’deki liderleri tarafından kaleme alınan bu açıklama, Hamas Siyasi Büro Başkan Yardımcısı Musa Ebu Marzuk’ın Facebook sayfasında yayımlandı.   Bu denli ağır sözlerle muhatap olan “Allah’ın Partisi”,  Hamas’a 20 yıl boyunca askeri eğitim verip silah ve roket kaçırmasına yardım etmişti. Hizbullah, ayrıca Beyrut’un güneyindeki kalesi El Dahiye’de Hamas liderlerine güvenli bir sığınak sunmuştu. İran’ın Filistin direniş hareketine sağladığı para ve...