Hizbullah’s Post-Islamist Resistance Art

Joseph Alagha

Joseph Alagha Political Science and Intercultural Studies Haigazian University, Beirut, Lebanon

Keywords: Post-Islamism, Islamism, cultural citizenship, cultural politics, infitāh (‘opening-up’), purposeful performing arts, resistance, democracy

Abstract

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In post-Islamist phase, Hizbullah reformulated some of its central ideas and strategies. Its former top-down strategy of forcibly imposing an Islamic state against the will of significant parts of the Lebanese society has changed toward an integrative, bottom-up strategy, not only in politics but also in arts. Hizbullah’s popular culture and lifestyles by discussing its ‘resistance art.’ Resistance art is ideologically motivated art, which aims at rectifying individuals and reforming society by portraying art as pious-moral productions that are in line with Islamic values, norms, and religious sensibilities. It is ‘clean art’ that portrays good deeds, as distinguished from bad deeds that characterize indecent or lowbrow art.’ Resistance art deals with political and social issues as well as the themes of justice, jihād, sacrifice, and patriotism. Hizbullah exploits the concepts of cultural
citizenship and cultural politics to encourage – in mixed gender spaces – purposeful performing arts: music, dancing, singing, revolutionary theatre, and satire. Probably, Hizbullah is the only post-Islamist party that has an orchestra of more than 100 musicians who play more than 44 instruments. Islam, as it is lived out by its followers, finds a necessary expression in social practices; it is the art form of bodily movement that is more controversial. Hizbullah appears to equate modernity with European art forms rather than indigenous forms. In short, in its ideology and politics, Hizbullah fluctuated between Islamism and post-Islamism. While in its performing arts, Hizbullah conveyed a post-Islamist face. Nevertheless, the party’s post-Islamism remains inconsistent, selective, and pragmatic.

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