A Comparative Case Study on Hezbollah and Hamas

Existence of radical militant and terrorist groups in the Near East, Middle-East and North

African regions is a day to day political reality. Groups such as Hezbollah (Party of God),

Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement), Al Shaabab, and Boko Haram are regrettable integral

parts of the countries and regions where they operate. These groups are largely a product of the

historical and contemporary social, economic and political conditions and happenings, as well as,

religious beliefs. By and large, they are rebel religio-political formations with a guiding

ideology, belief system, clear organizational structures and a strong leadership. They hold

extremist religious beliefs based almost exclusively on Islamic teachings. The groups are more or

less cultic and their members follow the leaders command without question. Majority of the

groups’ members are extensively brainwashed, intolerant and hostile to perceived and real

enemies. To a large extent, the groups are the major root cause of the perpetual political

instabilities, upheavals, and recurrent cases of insecurity that characterizes their mother countries

and by extension the Middle East and North African region. Furthermore, their activities and

objectives is the driving force of the menace of terrorism which has emerged as a major threat to

international peace and security. This is a comparative case study of the Hezbollah and Hamas

groups found in Lebanon and Pakistan respectively. The contention of this essay is that the

Hezbollah and Hamas are typical Islamic militant and terror groups with virtually similar guiding

ideologies, belief systems, organizational structures, leadership qualities and goals.

Part 1: Hezbollah

History and Development

Hezbollah is a Shia terrorist group based in Lebanon-based. Information regarding the origin of

Hezbollah (the Party of God) is cloudy. However, it is generally believed that it was formed in

1982 in response of Lebanon by the Israeli. It was formed by a group of young enthusiastic

leaders from many existing parties who defected to form the new revolutionary outfit under the

direction of Ayatollah Khomeini (Gleis & Berti).

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