AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): On Sunday, December 1, 2024, the panel discussion “The Reason for the Formation of the Resistance Front and its Future” was held at ABNA News Agency Conference Hall, with the presentation of Hojat al-Islam Dr. Sayed Kazem Sayedbaqeri, Faculty Member of the Research Institute for Islamic Culture and Thought, at the ABNA News Agency Conference Hall.
In this meeting, which was held in English, Hojat al-Islam Dr. Sayedbaqeri, after offering condolences on the occasion of the martyrdom anniversary of Lady Zahra (a.s.), explained the roots of the Resistance Front in the region and commented on the future of the movement.
What follows is Dr. Sayedbqeri’s remarks:
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Of course, it is a popular it is a great and popular question that we must answer, and we must talk and discuss why the Resistance Front was formed in Lebanon, Palestine, and Islamic countries.
So, I think it is an important question that we must talk and learn about, and of course, elaborate on lots of dimensions and aspects of this important topic.
Because of this, I want to talk about the history of this important topic and then Insha Allah I will speak about the reasons for forming the Islamic Resistance Front
When we are talking about this important subject, I mean the Resistance Front, we must remember, learn, and know that it was in 1897 that a group of Jews, the leader of them was Theodor Herzl, gathered in the city of Basel in Switzerland and formed the World Zionist Organization.
I think this date is very important to learn and to talk about. It was a conference, and in this conference of course by the leadership of Herzl, as I said, the World Zionist Organization was formed.
Herzl wrote a book, under the title “The Jewish State”. At the Basel conference, he said that if I want to summarize the result of the Basel conference in one sentence which I want to refer is, “I would have to say that I laid the foundation of a Jewish State in Basel.” It was 50 years before the formation of the Zionist regime in 1948.
Of course, the active diplomacy of Zionists at that time, in 1897 at the Basel conference was very important to mention. It is again his (Herzl’s) sentence, “Some may laugh at my statement, but the Jewish state will be established in 50 years.”
He said this sentence 50 years before the formation of the Zionist regime in Palestine.
Within these years, Herzl contacted 7 European governments and promised each one that if they cooperate and help, Zionism would protect their interests. The Zionists say that they would protect the interests of the European government in Palestine and the Middle East. From this sentence, we can understand that Israel is the watchdog of the Europeans and superpowers in our region, the Middle East. Why? Because, in that time, 50 years before the formation of this dangerous Zionist regime, they said that they would protect European interests. In this political deal, Britain pledged to support the Zionist cause of the establishment of a Zionist state.
Finally, in 1917 Lord Balfour, the British foreign minister, said in a famous declaration in that year, that “the British will follow, and help the Zionist and the Jewish people to make a government, to establish the Jewish state in Palestine.”
He (Balfour) wrote to one of the leaders of the Zionists in that time, before the First World War, “My dear Lord Richard,” as I said, he was one of the leaders of the Zionists at that time, “this promise is in response to the request of the Jewish Zionist community, which had reached this ministry (British Foreign Ministry). We have agreed to help you to make a government. The British Imperial government considers the establishment of a national home for the Jews in Palestine in special object, and will in the future use its best efforts to achieve this object.”
So, he promised that they would help and protect them (Zionists) to make a government in Palestine, a Jewish government. Of course, after the First World War, the League of Nations in June of 1922, finally, ratified and declared that the mandate of Palestine was for the British. At this time, this document was a very good reason and opportunity for the British Government to undertake the implementation of the Balfour Declaration.
Because they wanted to help, and on this date, about 25 years after having the mandate of Palestine, they did everything and did their best to provide facilities for Jewish immigration in this region. They did their best for the Jewish people and Zionist groups to make the Zionist state in Palestine.
Of course, in 1921 or 1922 the Jews living in Palestine at that time were just about 6% of the people of the country. But they (Britain) used all their means and helped the Jewish people to enable, and to exercise the final call and to gain control of Palestine.
So, the British forced forces had not yet left Palestine when Ben-Gurion announced the formation of the Zionist Stated in Palestine. It was just about 25 years of the mandate of Britain on Palestine. So, it is about 25 or 26 years that they did everything for the Jewish people and the Jewish state to have control of Palestine and the land of Muslims in Palestine.
So, when we come to this important historical data, we can understand that it has unfortunately, a very long background for the Zionist British government, and European governments to help to protect and to calm and to gain control of Palestine. But, when we again refer to history, there was a long war between Palestinians and Zionists in 1948. But the people of Palestine left their lands and their homes, with the hope that they would come back and return to their homeland.
Fat’hi Shaqaqi, a Palestinian leader once said, “The confrontation with the occupiers, and their acts of repression, oppression, and arrogance, in the destruction of the homes of Palestinians, and confiscation of land, and settlement of Jews, and construction of the settlements, and torture of fighters, and arrest and exile and terror and breaking the bones; destroying the Palestinian economy and infrastructures of society; all of this oppression from the Zionist regime in 1948, and the year after that, we can consider that the Zionist regime is and was ignoring the human and political rights.”
These were the sentences of Fat’hi Shaqaqi about the Intifada, and of course, in this situation, there were lots of terror, killing, oppression, and arrogance; in this situation, is there any way for the people of Palestine, but to resist? There is no way for them. If you want to be alive and continue your leaving, there is no way for you, but to resist.
So in Palestine, we have a kind of, we may say, a semi-state (it is not a state) of Palestine, a semi-state of Abu Maze; the citizens, even Abu Mazen himself, need the permission of Zionist troops and stated to go from point A to point B within Palestinian state in West Bank. So there is no freedom for the people of Palestine, even for Abu Mazen.
In this situation, and after the Declaration of Independence of Israel, the Zionist regime, the Palestinian people, I told you, left their country and their homelands, as they thought that they would soon return to their homes but They couldn’t. Why? Because there were a lot of, we may say, bitter experiences of the defeat of the Arab countries and in the 6-Day War in 1967, and the lack of unity among Muslims, the Camp David peace agreement, and disappointment of the classic war by the Arab countries armies, and the military power of the Arab countries.
In 1948 there were one million Palestinians who left their homeland and country and said to themselves that they would Insha Allah come back soon because Arab armies would defeat Israel. But they couldn’t. In this situation, they were disappointed and dispersed but they put their hands on their knees and returned to their power; they returned to themselves and relied on their power. “If we want to come back and if we want to continue our living, there is no way but resistance’
When the people of Palestine and Lebanon lost all hope, they realized that they had no choice but to stand on their own feet and resist the enemy. It was at this moment that the idea of resistance emerged, inspired by the Islamic Revolution of Iran.
The ideology of the Islamic Revolution and Imam Khomeini (r.a.) taught them this principle: “To achieve victory, you must rely on yourselves, your capabilities, your homeland, and your own power, not on the powers of superpowers because they support Zionist regime; nor on the power of Arab countries because unfortunately, they align with the regime too.” We know that, under the so-called Deal of the Century, some Arab countries normalized their relations with the Zionist regime.
The discourse of the Islamic Revolution of Iran declared: “You must return to yourselves and your power, for there is no path but resistance.” The strategic thought of Imam Khomeini, along with the political ideology of Islam and the Palestinian cause, was established on a popular approach that emphasized the role of the people, not of the armies of Arab countries or other nations that support the Zionist regime.
The Future of Resistance
Here, we should ask: What is the future of Resistance and this path? I think individuals, societies, and groups must assess their capabilities, return to their potential, and plan their strategies accordingly.
There are two types of approaches to this struggle: a hard and a soft solution. In the hard solution, Islamic countries, or more specifically, members of the Resistance Front, can boycott goods produced by the Zionist regime in the Islamic world and even globally. This is the first step.
On the soft strategy: we are aware that media plays a critical role in today’s world. This era is defined by a war of wills and control over minds and hearts. Therefore, strengthening the spirit and hope among the people is of great importance. We must constantly remind ourselves that divine victory is near. Turning to the Quran, we find peace and strength. As mentioned in Surah An-Nisa, verse 81: “فَأَعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ ۚ وَكَفَىٰ بِاللَّهِ وَكِيلًا” (So turn away from them and put your trust in Allah. And Allah is sufficient as a trustee.) A similar message is found in Surah Al-Ahzab, verse 48: “وَلَا تُطِعِ الْكَافِرِينَ وَالْمُنَافِقِينَ وَدَعْ أَذَاهُمْ وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ ۚ وَكَفَىٰ بِاللَّهِ وَكِيلًا” (And do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites; disregard their hurt, and rely upon Allah. And sufficient is Allah as a trustee.) Such references from our sacred texts provide significant hope for the Resistance Front.
The second aspect of the soft strategy involves enhancing communication and media. By leveraging media across the Islamic world, we can connect with numerous academic and cultural centers to advance our cause.
The third pillar of the soft strategy focuses on promoting unity and solidarity within the Islamic world. The internal front is crucial. Among the internal front—be it Hezbollah, Ansarullah, or the groups engaged in the protracted Syrian conflict—unity and harmony are essential, as they constitute the backbone of the Resistance Front.
Another key component of the soft strategy is avoiding sectarian conflicts and challenges between Shia and Sunni communities, as the enemy seeks to exploit such divisions for its gain.
The fourth element of the soft strategy is countering the exaggeration of the Zionist regime’s military power. We know that this regime constantly seeks to magnify its strength. However, the 33-day and 22-day wars, as well as the ongoing conflict over the past year, have shown that the Zionists are incapable of achieving anything other than the massacre of women and children. While they aim to project invincibility, the global community must recognize their inability to fulfill their objectives.
Additionally, we must work to dismantle the so-called Deal of the Century. As mentioned earlier, certain Arab states, such as the UAE and Bahrain, have normalized relations with the Zionist regime. Yet, through media efforts, public dialogue, and highlighting the injustices perpetrated by the Zionist regime, we can expose and ultimately dismantle this agreement.
Another noteworthy point is the use of legal tools to bring the Zionist regime to international courts. While we know that global powers control many aspects of the judiciary, persistence, and effort can enable us to raise issues in international forums. For example, recently, Netanyahu was identified as a war criminal by the International Criminal Court.
In conclusion, let us reflect on the words of the Supreme Leader, who stated that Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is not merely an individual but a movement and a school of thought. This movement and ideology can continue. By drawing from historical data, it becomes evident that the people of Palestine have no option but to strengthen themselves, return to their roots, and stand firm. For the future, it must be said that there is no alternative to the outlined path. We know that victory is attainable through Muslim unity, resistance, and adherence to the principles espoused by Sayed Hassan Nasrallah.
Finally, let us remember that Ezzedine Qassam, a leader of the resistance, was martyred in 1935, years before the establishment of the Zionist regime in 1948. He was killed by British forces, underscoring that the Resistance Front has deep historical roots, even predating the creation of the Zionist regime. Thirteen years before its establishment, Qassam fell as a martyr. Thus, the Resistance Front is rooted in history and, God willing, will continue its path. For the Palestinian people, resistance remains the only option.
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