Iran and Lebanon: A Long History of Mutual Support and Benefit

Iran and Lebanon: A Long History of Mutual Support and Benefit

18/10/2010 Yusuf Fernandez

October 18, 2010

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The recent visit of the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to Lebanon has constituted a particularly bright episode of a long history of ties between Iran and Lebanon over the last few centuries. Cultural, commercial and political relations between Iran and Lebanon go back to antiquity. The first important historical episode dates back to the Achaemenid Empire, which ruled the Phoenician coast and its hinterland for two centuries between 539 and 332 B.C. The Persian rulers allowed the Phoenician city-states of Tyre, Sidon and Byblos a greater degree of autonomy than their other dominions and both sides benefited: the empire provided a huge market for the Phoenician traders and as a result the cities flourished.

When the Safavi state was established in Iran and Shiism became its official religion, Lebanese Shiite scholars from Jabal Amil, the hill-country that lies in land from Sayda and Tyre in southern Lebanon, migrated to Iran to reinforce those from Persia. One of them was Ali ibn Abd al Ali al Karaki (1465-1533). He was invited to Persia by the ruler Ismail and was given by the latter and his successor Tahmasb official functions and endowments. His son Abd al Ali was also given recognition as the chief mujtahid of his age.

Another important scholar in the Persian court was Abd al-Samad al Harithi al Jubai (1512-1576), who became Shaykh al Islam in Qazvin, Tahmasb´s place of residence, and Herat. His son Bahaeddin Muhammad, known as Shaykh al-Bahai, who was born in Baalbek and taken to the Persian Empire by his father when he was very young, wrote important treaties in Persian on many subjects: poetry, mathematics, astronomy, a famous anthology, the Kashkul, and a work on fiqh. Another scholar was Hussain ibn Muhammad al-Musawi, who was Shaykh al-Islam in Mashhad and taught in the shrine of the Imam al-Rida (Reza). All these Lebanese scholars actively spread Shiite teachings among Iranian students and played a visible role in Persian religious, cultural and political affairs.

The contacts between Lebanese and Iranian scholars living in Iran, especially in Qom, remained intact for centuries. In the 20th century, a remarkable religious scholar and leader, Musa Sadr, also served to this cause. He was born in Qom in 1928. His great-great-grandfather, Salih ibn Muhammad Sharafeddin, a high-ranking scholar was born in Shhour, a village near Tyre. Sadr studied in Qom. His years in the seminary coincided with the nationalist movement in Iran that brought Mohammad Mossaddeq to the premiership in 1951. He was not immune to the passions and excitement of the political struggles of those years. He became a scholar and cooperated with Ayatollah Hussein Borujerdi, one of the greatest clerics of that time. In 1955, Sadr made his first trip to Lebanon. In 1959, he returned to this country to try to improve the lot of Shiite people. He became head of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council. Everywhere he went he asked for help for the poor of southern Lebanon.

In 1973, Sadr started to speak publicly against the Shah Reza Pahlavi´s pro-Israeli policies and accused him of undermining the Arab oil boycott that followed the October war. The Shah was then the most important ally of Israel in the Middle East and continued to supply the Zionist entity with oil. The Shah´s regime stripped Sadr of his Iranian citizenship by refusing to renew his Iranian passport. On 23 August 1978, he published an article in Le Monde in which he attacked the Shah´s dictatorship and praised Imam Ruhollah Khomeini and his movement. Some days after, he disappeared in Libya.

The Iranian ruler strengthened his links with Israel and the then chief of his political police, the Savak, Brigadier General Teimur Bakhtiar met the Israeli ambassador in Paris in September 1957 and Mossad chief Isser Harel in Rome in October. During those meetings, Bakhtiar offered Iranian cooperation in the fight against the Arab nationalism and especially against Gamal Abdel Nasser, then President of Egypt and leader of this trend. From that time on, the Shah´s regime and Israel exchanged intelligence on Egyptian activities in the Arab world and participated in some joint operations. In Lebanon, the Shah supported pro-West forces, such as President Camille Chamoun and the Kataeb Party.

However, Lebanon, due to its open politics, became one of the world centers of the Iranian anti-Shah opposition, especially in the 1960s and 1970s. One of the students of Imam Khomeini, Sayyed Ali Akbar Mohtashami, left Najaf, in Iraq, for Beirut in 1972. Lebanon had become a very attractive country for Shiite scholars after the Baathist coup in Iraq in 1968, which created a hostile atmosphere for Muslims, especially for Shiites. In Lebanon, Mohtashami started to publish the monthly magazine “15 Khordad” (the day of the 1963 uprising), which was distributed among Iranian Muslim students in Europe and the United States.

Imam Khomeini, who was already the spiritual guide of Iranian Muslims, paid attention to Lebanon. On 11 October 1972, he issued a declaration in which he called on all Muslims, especially the Lebanese, to support the struggle against the Zionist entity. With this declaration he denounced the conspiracies of the agents of imperialism, who were spreading anti-Palestinian propaganda with the aim of separating Lebanese Muslim groups from the Palestinian fighters and expelling the latter ones from strategically important locations. On 22 January 1977, he called on Muslims to mobilize to help victims of the Lebanese civil war and authorized his followers to spend a part of the tithes due to him on relief work.

THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION AND LEBANON

It would be a mistake to ascribe the new prominence and empowerment of Lebanon´s Shiites from the 1980s on to the Iranian Islamic Revolution or the Iranian assistance, important as these can be. Lebanese Shiites´ dissatisfaction with their social and political position in the country and their subsequent efforts to ameliorate it predated Iran´s revolutionary movement for some decades. The establishment of Hezbollah organization was also a manifestation of this long-term trend.

The Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1978 and the actions of Antoine´s Haddad´s pro-Israeli militia -which sought to punish the Shiite population in the South for having supported the Palestinians resulted in the death of more than 2,000 villagers and the displacement of 250,000 not to speak of the material damage to houses and infrastructure. The uprooted Shiites moved to Beirut´s Southern Suburb. However, this situation drove many villagers in south Lebanon into its arms.

In this context, the Iranian Islamic Revolution has become a crucial event not only for Lebanon but also for the peoples of the Middle East and the world. This Revolution provided an example for successful struggle against oppression and injustice. In 1978, Shiites in Lebanon started to set up committees in mosques and schools in support of the Islamic Revolution and they staged two big demonstrations in Beirut. The victory of the Revolution in February 1979 was received with joy in Lebanon, especially by those who understood the deep changes that it would bring for the region.

A group of 92 Lebanese Muslims visited Iran, met Imam Khomeini, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, and pledged support for the revolution and the new Iranian state.

According to Western experts, Iran gave the Lebanese Resistance assistance when Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982. Some sources claim that Iranian Revolutionary Guards trained Lebanese guerrillas who later fought Israeli occupation forces in south Lebanon. One of the first fighters was the would-be Secretary General of Hezbollah Abbas Musawi. The Iranian assistance was significant because Iran was then fighting an imposed war after being attacked by Saddam Hussein´s army in 1980. Iran also helped Lebanon to build infrastructures and hospitals.

In 1984, the diplomatic relations were restored and the new Iranian ambassador was given a triumphal welcome in Beirut. Since the 1980s, many hundreds of Lebanese studied Islamic Sciences in Qom and the exchange of scholars and scientists started to grow.

Some Iranian charities have also been working in Lebanon. One of them was the Imam Khomeini Assistance Committee, which gave more than 1,3 million scholarships and helped more than 135,000 needed families until 1991. Interest-fee loans were also given to Lebanese families by this organization. In 1988, the Iranian Martyr´s Foundation paid the hospital caring for Lebanese injured fighters and civilians and also built Ar-Rasul al Azam hospital in Dahiya (Southern Suburb of Beirut).The hospital has become a reminder of the important work undertaken in Lebanon by the Islamic Republic. After the July 2006 War, Iran gave generous donations to rebuild the destroyed infrastructure and houses of a large number of Lebanese. The South of Lebanon and Beirut were two key destinations of these funds.

Thus, the hero's welcome given to Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has been the last step of a large chain of mutual and strong relations. Dozens of thousands of Lebanese shouted "khosh amadid" ("welcome" in Farsi) and showered the presidential convoy with rice and petals as the Iranian leader waved to crowds after arriving in Beirut at the beginning of his 2-day trip, during which he met with President Michel Suleiman and a large group of Lebanese political and religious leaders.

At a news conference with Suleiman, Ahmadinejad rejected charges of Iranian intervention in Lebanon's affairs: "We believe that the Lebanese people and also the people of the region are capable of conducting their own affairs on their own and to conduct the relationships with each other on the basis of justice and respect,'' Ahmadinejad said. "Our region does not need the interference of regional or outside powers. We agreed with his Excellency the president to intensify our calls and meetings and to exchange our experiences in order to reach the maximum of our capability and success and to support each other."

Ahmadinejad and Suleiman have signed several economic and commercial agreements and Iran has promised to give a 450-million-dollar loan to Lebanon. Moreover, Iran has offered military assistance to Lebanon. Unlike American aid, Iranian support is unconditional and would include the type of advanced weapons that Washington has refused to send to Lebanon in case it use them against the Israeli enemy, whose military superiority constitutes the first US goal in the Middle East.

Ahmadinejad´s visit to Lebanon has showed the world that Iran is a major power player that must be treated with respect and understanding, and must be engaged instead of confronted because Iran and its policies are strongly supported by Arab and Muslims masses. On the other hand, the visit was a signal that Lebanon has loyal friends and is not alone facing the ongoing Israeli threats and the plots seeking to damage its unity and spreading sedition, such as the biased and politicized indictment that is being prepared by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

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