Smoke billows following a reported air strike on a rebel-held area in the southern Syrian city of Daraa. Mohamad Abazeed / AFP
Smoke billows following a reported air strike on a rebel-held area in the southern Syrian city of Daraa. Mohamad Abazeed / AFP

Hizbollah’s evil hand continues to stir Syria’s war



Jihad is a central element of the sectarian narrative circulating today in Syria. Yet jihad is also at the crux of the discourse held by Lebanese Hizbollah and a major driver for its militants fighting across the border.

In Syria, jihad appears to have become above all the prerogative of radical Sunni groups such as ISIL and Hayaat Tahreer Sham (also known as the former Nusra affiliate to Al Qaeda).

Jihad has allowed these organisations to attract tens of thousands of fighters. According to the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, more than 20,000 fighters joined the conflict in Iraq and Syria, while other experts put this figure closer to 38,000 fighters. Concomitantly Shiite militias from Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon have also deployed in Syria to buttress the Assad regime.

In May 2013, when justifying the involvement of the militant group in Syria, Hassan Nasrallah, Hizbollah’s secretary general, said that “we are not only ready to declare jihad [in Syria]; in fact with a couple of words you would find tens of thousands of mujahideen heading to these fronts”.

Experts believe that 6,000 to 9,000 Hizbollah fighters are deployed in Syria.

While Hizbollah was previously known more as a resistance movement, its involvement in Syria, which was framed as a war against the takfiris, brings its jihadist roots to the forefront. The organisation’s 1985 open letter defined the group as a jihadist movement that belonged to the larger “Muslim Ummah”. Like other jihadists groups, Hizbollah has relied on religious references and text to provide a rationale for its call for jihad.

Both Sunnis and Shiite religious narratives used in the Syrian war are reminiscent of a centuries-old enmity.

In a 2016 speech, Mr Nasrallah said events in Syria proved the lesson that blood triumphs over sword.

This narrative finds a strong echo within Hizbollah’s fighters. In a previous interview I conducted, a young Hizbollah fighter argued that “what is happening in Syria today is a repetition of what happened over 1,000 years ago. We will not allow that to happen another time”.

Other fighters have also invoked the protection of Shiite religious shrines, namely that of Sayyidah Zeinab, to justify their involvement in Syria.

“There is no better satisfaction than dying fighting to protect the religious shrine of Zeinab,” another Hizbollah fighter told me.

Hizbollah fighters say they have received a religious command before going to fight in Syria.

“My place is secured in heaven if I die [in Syria] and my family taken care of,” said Abou Ali, a commander who has been deployed several times in Qussayr, Qalamoun, Damascus and Aleppo.

Experts believe that more than 2,500 Hizbollah fighters have been killed in Syria and more than 7,000 injured. As the number of dead mounts, the discourse of Hizbollah fighters is further radicalising. “Among rebel ranks, there are no more civilians,” said one fighter.

Reducing the conflict there to a battle within Islam holds great dangers. Hizbollah thinks it has the upper moral ground in the Syrian conflict, where its fighters are fanning the sectarian fires and prolonging a conflict that is wreaking havoc in the region where the sectarian divide now runs wide.

Mona Alami is a non-resident fellow at the Rafik Hariri Centre for the Middle East

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

THE SPECS

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COMPANY PROFILE
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Number of employees: 4

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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The Bio

Favourite place in UAE: Al Rams pearling village

What one book should everyone read: Any book written before electricity was invented. When a writer willingly worked under candlelight, you know he/she had a real passion for their craft

Your favourite type of pearl: All of them. No pearl looks the same and each carries its own unique characteristics, like humans

Best time to swim in the sea: When there is enough light to see beneath the surface

How to avoid crypto fraud
  • Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
  • Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.