ABSTRACT
The history of both Lebanon and Islam had broadly demoted the Shiite sect to marginality, so that it lacked distinction, legitimacy, and power. Unlike Lebanon's proud Maronite and Druze founding communities, and without the religious and political status of the Sunnis, the Shiites languished in poverty and powerlessness as their mournful collective fate. The radical entry of Hezbollah into Lebanese public affairs was not that of a conventional party seeking influence and power; even Amal initially saw its role as a militia defending communal interests in an anarchic breakdown of law and order. Shiite militancy found its symbolic day in 1983 in Nabatiyya during the early period of Israel's military presence, when an Israel Defense Forces patrol encountered the frenzy of a postprayer Ashura commemoration in the streets of the town. A report from Der Spiegel newspaper carried a story about a secret agreement between Israeli officials and Hezbollah that had been reached shortly before the withdrawal.
