480 Resisting Publics
14.l-Intiqad A is Hizbullah’s current mouthpiece. The weekly newspaper was
established on 18 June 1984 as al-‘Ahd but changed its name and image in
2001, signaling a new “secular” orientation by dropping the Qur’anic sub-
stantiation (5:56), on the right side of the front page, and removing the por-
trait of Khomeini and Khamina’i, on the left. The last issue of al-‘Ahd was
number 896, dated 6 April 2001; the first issue of al-Intiqad was number
897, dated 20 April 2001.
15.l-Manar literally means “The Lighthouse.” It is probably named after A
the journal kept by Lebanese reformist Shaykh Muhammad Rashid Rida
(1865–1935), which circulated from Indonesia to Morocco without inter-
ruption for thirty-seven years (1898–1935). Rida’s journal served as an
influential platform for Muslims to express their ideas on modernity in
the form of fatwas, or legal and judicial opinions, and became a treasure
house of Islamic subjects where almost every problem of modernity was
discussed. As such, it was a most influential instrument of modern change.
Hizbullah’s al-Manar aspires to the same standing.^
16.s number reflects legitimate cable subscribers. It is estimated that at least Thi
another 6 million watch al-Manar through pirating techniques. See Dale
F. Eickelman and Jon W. Anderson, eds., New Media in the Muslim World:
The Emerging Public Sphere (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2003),
15, 19.
17.nlike the parliamentary elections law, the municipal elections law is not U
drawn along sectarian lines, which leaves a large margin for the grassroots
to voice their opinion in the ballot box and make their voices heard.
18.ased on inside sources and fieldwork observations by the author, it could B
be fairly stated that the majority of Hizbullah’s cadres consider disagree-
ments of religious and political opinions and conflicting viewpoints of
leaders to be healthy and “democratic” phenomena although obedience
and discipline should be maintained to prevent disagreements from fester-
ing into discord.
19.or the election programs and their results, see Joseph Alagha, F The Shifts
in Hizbullah’s Ideology (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2006),
42–62, 247–277.
20.li Fayyad, A al-Saraya al-Lubnaniyya li-Muqawamat al-Ihtilal al-Isra’ili:
al-Tarkiba al-Ijtima‘iyya-al-Siyasiyya wa Afaq al-Dawr [Lebanese Multi-
Confessional Brigades: The Socio-political Makeup and Future Role]
(Beirut: CCSD, 22 November 1999).