Shi'ite Lebanese Journalist: I Renounce The Shi'ite Sect; Hizbullah Is 'Immoral, Murderous' - MEMRI

by MEMRI

Al-Sabbar wrote on the news website newlebanon.info that Hizbullah was an "immoral and murderous" organization that was deviating from God's path and from the path of the fathers of the Shi'a.

In response to the massive attack of the Syrian regime and its allies on the city of Aleppo in the last few days, in which over 200 people have already been killed, Shi'ite Lebanese journalist Hannan Al-Sabbar penned a scathing article in which she renounced Hizbullah as well as the Shi'ite sect that follows it blindly. Al-Sabbar, who is known for her criticism of Hizbullah, especially since it joined the war in Syria, wrote on the news website newlebanon.info that Hizbullah was an "immoral and murderous" organization that was deviating from God's path and from the path of the fathers of the Shi'a. She compared the events in Aleppo to the battle of Karbala in 680 CE, between the supporters of the Prophet's grandson, Hussein bin 'Ali, and the supporters of the first Umayyad caliph, Yazid I, which is a seminal event in the history of Shi'ite Islam.

The following are excerpts from her article:  

 Aftermath of airstrike in Aleppo (image: al-Arabiya.net, April 26, 2016)  

"I am a Shi'ite from South [Lebanon, the stronghold] of the resistance [i.e., Hizbullah], and I used to be proud of this. [In the past] I never thought that the resistance was wrong or would ever be wrong, and I staunchly defended the beliefs of my society and my surroundings. I did not know that a day [would come] when I would renounce [my] society, my blind sect and the party [Hizbullah,] which I have condemned since it became involved in the Syrian crisis.

"Today I asked myself: where is the conscience of the 'resistance' when it comes to the children [of Aleppo]? How can we be the party of God [Hizbullah] when we do not obey God's directives? Every morning, I went over the reports [from Aleppo], trying to find even one piece of proof that Assad has the right to do what he is doing – but I found only words filled with sadness and grief over loved ones killed in the airstrikes. I found only the tears of an old man calling on Muhammad's nation to help him, and a young man who insists on his honor and declares, 'we stay here. This is our land, not the Russians' or the Americans.'

"This loyalty to the land, despite the crisis these residents of Aleppo are experiencing, filled me with embarrassment and caused me to wonder what was the source of this loyalty to a city that is nearly in ruins... [At that point] I finally decided to revolt and take off the false mantle of Shi'ism, for my Zainab[1] would not allow the women of Aleppo to become the Zainabs of this age, and my Imams, 'Ali and Hussein,[2] would not want the children of Aleppo to become the 'Abdallah al-Radhi' of this age.[3] 

"If [the battle of] Karbala is being waged all over again by those who hide behind a mantle of piety, then [Hizbullah] is immoral and murderous and I cannot but say: Aleppo, I feel shame towards you and I hereby renounce the Shi'a and the party [Hizbullah] that supports the one who is destroying you.'"      

Endnotes: 

[1] The granddaughter of the Prophet Muhammad and daughter of 'Ali, who was taken hostage in the battle of Karbala.

[2] 'Ali bin abi Talib, the fourth caliph, and his son Hussein, who was killed in the battle of Karbala.

[3] 'Abdallah, the son of Hussein and the grandson of 'Ali, was killed in the battle of Karbala when he was only six months old.

MEMRI

Source: http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/9164.htm

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