Sahar El-Bahr spoke to Spanish correspondent Javier Martin, author of Hizbulah, El brazo armado de Dios (Hizbullah, Army of God) Bearing the logo of Los Libros de la Catarata, one of Spain's better known publishers of political literature, "Hizbullah, Army of God" by seasoned Middle East correspondent Javier Martin caused quite a stir in local literary circles. A biography of the movement detailing its emergence in the 1980s through the Lebanese Civil War to more recent developments -- the second edition covers Hizbullah's war with Israel last summer -- the book is the only one of its kind in Spanish and affords one of the most exhaustive accounts of Hizbullah in any language. The prestigious Foreign Policy magazine selected it the second best book in 2006. Since 1997 Martin has worked for the Spanish News Agency (EFE) in the Middle East; he now directs its Arabic Service. The book may have been secondary to his everyday work. But as he puts it himself, he was driven to write it by the urge to explain to the world, particularly the Spanish-speaking world, that contrary to the media presentation of Hizbullah as a fanatical and murderous sect, "the Party of God" is in fact a legitimate resistance movement against Israeli incursions on southern Lebanon. The book opens with an account of how, during the early 1980s, the nascent Hizbullah managed to draw together a number of anti- Israeli militias, transforming them into a single, unified force; barely recognised then, Hizbullah has now become one of the key players, if not the key player in Lebanese political life. The book also explains how, between 1985 and 1990, Hizbullah redefined itself by restricting its attacks to Israeli military targets. In the second edition -- Martin expanded the book after covering the Israeli war on Hizbullah in July 2006 as part of his daily work -- there is a persuasive argument concerning the futility of that war: Israel knew it could not occupy southern Lebanon; Hizbullah knew it could not invade northern Israel. There could have been no point going to war over either such military ambition. Martin explains that, on many occasions prior to 2006, Hizbullah had captured Israeli soldiers without incurring any retribution in the way of war. The war was a miscalculation on both sides: Israel did not suspect Hizbullah's military capabilities; Hizbullah did not expect Israel to attack. "As a matter of fact," Martin retorts, "both Israel and the United States have been making mistakes in the Middle East for decades. More recently the US made the worst mistake in its history by invading Iraq." One chapter deals with connections and interconnections among Hizbullah, Iran, Syria and Hamas, the first suicide attacks of the latter, in 1990, having been carried out by people who had been trained in a Hizbullah camp for five months; Martin also points to a strong personal connection between, Khaled Meshaal, Head of the Political Bureau of Hamas and Hassan Nasrallah, secretary- general of Hizbullah. Detailing the history of Iranian influence over Hizbullah -- the photo of Ali Khatami next to that of Nasrallah in Hizbullah offices, etc -- Martin explains that more recently Hizbullah has become rather more independent. In the 1980s, Syria and Hizbullah shared the same agenda -- fighting Israel; their relations were much stronger than they are now, since they have markedly different interests and agendas. "Hizbullah seeks internal political power," Martin insists; "it wants a bigger piece of the political cake in Lebanon -- of authority and power. Syria's interest in Lebanon is, on the other hand, rather purely economic. Because it has a socialist economy, Syria is isolated and under pressure from the US; Lebanon is still a perfect outlet." One of Martin's theories, expounded in the book, is that the Lebanese Civil War never ended but was rather postponed: "What we are witnessing now in Lebanon may be the beginning of the true end of the civil war. The Lebanese unify whenever they are threatened -- with invasion by Israel, say -- but once the threat is removed they split up again." In the last chapter of the second edition Martin makes predictions for the future of Lebanon, coming up with a range of scenarios, the worst of which is the outbreak of a bloody civil war, another being a series of political clashes involving assassinations and bombings. Nor will the Lebanese be free to decide their own future, he says, so long as they are under the control of states like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria and US, all of which have vested interests in Lebanon: "Lebanon is where the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran is playing itself out. The Saudis have bought the Lebanese government in return for curbing Iranian influence there." The best -- perhaps the only -- solution, as far as Martin is concerned, is the complete secularisation of Lebanon, unlikely to happen any time soon. As for the future of Hizbullah itself, Martin insists that will survive regardless; those who say that it must be dissolved, he says, are profoundly misguided. An entity so socially, economically and politically as well as militarily powerful cannot simply cease to exist. Still, Martin feels that Hizbullah should adjust its policies to the mainstream of politics in Lebanon. The book includes hundreds of interviews with officials and leaders, political analysts and intellectuals, but Martin's most treasured aspect of it comprises those interviews he conducted with ordinary people in southern Lebanon: "When I spoke to them I realised how strong Hizbullah really is, how it can capture the hearts and minds of the Lebanese even as they suffer because of it." The idea, he went on to explain, is that Hizbullah offers an incredible range of public and financial services to those people. "It is," he says, "very well organised in the charitable and social fields. They have huge foundations and hospitals and schools; they give money to the widowed and the injured; and they offer such help to Shia, Sunnis and Christians alike." Is Hizbullah funded entirely by Iran, though? At the beginning, Martin explains, this may have been true. Today they depend largely on donations from wealthy Lebanese Shia all over the world, as well as mosque donations not only in Lebanon but in Syria. More memorable perhaps than any other experience undertaken in the course of writing this book was Martin interviewing the mother of one of southern Lebanon's best known martyrs: "For me as a foreigner it was very strange how the mother of the martyr was happy that her 17-year-old son was killed defending his land. While relating the story of his death she did not show any sign of grief or sadness; she was rather just moved -- and very proud of him. She even hopes that one of his brothers will follow in his footsteps." In writing, he adds, Martin avoids analysis altogether: "I write down the facts and let the readers do their own analysis." Martin wants to donate the money of the first and second editions to the Egyptian children in need, but he is still searching for an NGO with a serious proposal to fund a project aiming at helping Egyptian children. "I have lived in Egypt for 10 years now," he says, "and Egypt has a special place in my heart."
