Alagha 469the evening of 1 June 2006, LBCI (Lebanese Broadcasting On
Corporation International) aired its weekly political satire show entitled
“Basmat Watan,” which is a pun that could imply either “The Death of
a Nation” or “The Smiles of a Nation.” One of the actors, dressed like
Nasrallah in his turban and attire, mocked the secretary general’s political
leadership (though not his religious position). Hizbullah’s constituency
took to the streets chanting “death to humiliation” [hayhāt min al-dhull],
and intending to go all the way to the Christian heartland of Beirut to
“burn” LBCI. On their way they wreaked havoc in Sunni and Christian
areas and almost clashed with the youth there. After Hizbullah’s MPs and
mid-rank cadres failed to contain the crowds, in an unprecedented move,
Nasrallah called on the demonstrators to return to their homes. Although
they immediately obeyed, the riots tainted Hizbullah’s image as an advo-
cate of free speech and expression.
ese events, especially the return of violence to the streets of Th
Beirut, were worrying signs threatening the still fragile post-civil-war
public sphere. In an effort to achieve more coherence at the national level,
in 2006 national dialogue sessions among fourteen leading politicians in
Lebanon, including Nasrallah, were planned to deal with sensitive issues,
including subjects hitherto taboo, such as the right of Hizbullah to carry
weapons and continue its military strategy. At the first session, a consen-
sus was reached on two important issues: 1) the Sheb‘a farms^38 were rec-
ognized as Lebanese, justifying Hizbullah’s right to continue its resistance
against the occupying Israeli Defense Forces (IDF); and 2) it was agreed
that an international tribunal should bring to justice the perpetrators of
the Hariri murder. The last session was supposed to be held on 25 July,
but due to the Israeli invasion on 12 July, it never took place. The war with
Israel halted the national dialogue and would also come to have important
implications for Hizbullah’s role at the national level.
The present: Hizbullah’s contested hegemony in the Lebanese
public sphere
The July–August 2006 war between Israel and Hizbullah was trig-
gered when Hizbullah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border