Latest news with #ShiaIslamist
Metro
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Metro
Kneecap member charged with terror offence over 'Hezbollah flag at London gig'
A member of the Belfast-born rap group Kneecap has been charged with a terror offence. Liam O'Hanna is accused of displaying a flag in support of the Lebanese Shia Islamist political party, Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation in the UK. The incident is alleged to have happened at a gig in the O2 in north London last November, the Metropolitan Police said. The charge read: 'On November 21, 2024, in a public place, namely the O2 Forum, Kentish Town, London, displayed an article, namely a flag, in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a supporter of a proscribed organisation, namely Hezbollah, contrary to section 13(1)(b) and (3) of the Terrorism Act 2000.' O'Hanna is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on June 18. Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ Or you can submit your videos and pictures here. For more stories like this, check our news page. Follow on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here. MORE: School boys deny throwing massive seat over balcony at Westfield MORE: Tube trains forced to skip Liverpool Street station after flooding MORE: Blind people raise fears after Shepherd's Bush housing block is put up for sale
Al Arabiya
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Jordan's ban on the Muslim Brotherhood: Extremist ideas can die too
The Jordanian government had long shown patience and tolerance toward the Muslim Brotherhood, giving it ample time. Since October 7, 2023, there has been a continuous campaign of incitement, questioning its legitimacy, attacking its symbols, and stirring unrest to push society toward turning against the state. So, it's no surprise that extremist groups have intensely targeted Jordan for years – both Sunni and Shia Islamist groups – trying to turn it into another chaotic arena for weapons smuggling, clandestine cells, and logistical support. For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app. Jordan is closing an important chapter in its history. But the question remains: Will the idea of the Muslim Brotherhood die after the ban? The Muslim Brotherhood is not just a political organization – it's also an ideological and doctrinal one. Defenders of extremist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood argue that such ideas don't die and instead are passed down from generation to generation. And they're not entirely wrong. The Muslim Brotherhood is a concept that began nearly 100 years ago when Hassan al-Banna founded it in 1928, and it has persisted until today. Why? For several reasons. First, some governments have used the Muslim Brotherhood to gain legitimacy, out of fear of confronting them or provoking their wrath. Others used the group to mobilize against rivals or opposing ideologies, or to draw it into the political arena in an attempt to neutralize its power. These reasons all helped prolong its existence – but also led to major failures. Allowing the Muslim Brotherhood and its ideology, members, and activities to flourish unchecked for a long time essentially poisons a society from within, planting landmines of extremism. It's a dangerous game. Being lenient with extremist groups, compromising with them, or trying to contain them is like keeping a venomous snake company. History tells us the Muslim Brotherhood has often turned on its sponsors at critical, pivotal moments, weaponizing its followers and aligning with adversaries to eliminate them. Second, failed development breathed life into the Muslim Brotherhood. The group capitalized on economic decline or development failures in many Arab countries. Its legitimacy is fed by the absence of successful economic projects. Whenever poverty, corruption, poor governance, and injustice rise, the Brotherhood presents itself as the viable alternative. Third, the cultural and intellectual failure. The Brotherhood was given full freedom to dominate schools and universities, turning the education system into a tool for indoctrination. It also took over religious institutions entirely and was given the green light to influence society through events, lectures, and forums. Its media platforms operated without restriction. Its rhetoric dominated minds for decades, spreading a culture of hate at an unprecedented scale. And then we wonder why its ideas endure. Things reached a dangerous point, with Muslim Brotherhood leaders openly threatening to bring down the state, banking on the popularity they amassed over decades, rallying many in society and exploiting every tool they could – from relations with the West and the US to the Palestinian cause – to undermine their opponents' legitimacy. All of these reasons – and more – allowed the Muslim Brotherhood's ideology to endure for decades. Not because it was inherently robust or legitimate, but simply because it was given the space to survive and grow. The Muslim Brotherhood's ideology, like other extreme ideologies such as Nazism and fascism, can die – if it's defeated on security, cultural, and economic fronts. Only defeating it militarily while letting it thrive intellectually and culturally will guarantee its return. With corruption and poverty, the Brotherhood will find an opening to revive its narrative. If we take the German experience as an example, we see that the victors didn't just crush the Nazis militarily – they banned them and offered a successful economic and cultural alternative that relegated Nazism to the dustbin of history. This is exactly what must happen with the Muslim Brotherhood's ideology, which has lasted far longer than it should have.
The Guardian
03-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘The price of this war was huge': Hezbollah left reeling after conflict with Israel
Crowds of people gathered last week in the ruined town square of Aitaroun, south Lebanon, to attend the mass burial of 95 people – one of the largest funerals held in Lebanon since the start of the Hezbollah-Israel war. Hundreds of people waving Hezbollah flags watched as rows of coffins were brought in by four semi-trucks, the vehicles' procession lined with pancaked buildings destroyed in Israeli bombardment months earlier. Thirteen months of fighting with Israel has left the Iran-backed Shia Islamist group, once renowned as the world's strongest non-state militia, reeling. The group's near-total dominance of the Lebanese state for the past two decades has been weakened by the losses it suffered in the past year of war. The war started when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel 'in solidarity' with Hamas on 8 October 2023. Fighting was concentrated near the Lebanese-Israeli border, until Israel dramatically expanded its aerial campaign and invaded south Lebanon in late September, leaving more than 3,900 dead across the country and destroying dozens of Lebanese border villages such as Aitaroun. Most of Hezbollah's senior leadership was killed in the fighting, along with thousands of its fighters, and many of its weapon caches were destroyed. But the damage inflicted on the group has also been felt heavily by the communities in southern Lebanon that make up its support base. In Aitaroun, one of Lebanon's hardest hit villages, residents were left wondering if their sacrifices were worth it. Maggie Seyedhassan, a 23-year-old student attending Friday's funeral, was carrying a picture of her neighbour, Abbas. He was killed along with 22 other Aitaroun residents in an Israeli strike on Aitou, a Christian town in north Lebanon where they had taken shelter. 'Abbas didn't want to be a martyr, he had so many things he wanted to do with his life. The price of this war was huge. Why did we have to fight it?' Seyedhassan said. Ahmad Grube, a 67-year-old farmer and resident of Aitaroun, has been sleeping in a tent after his home was heavily damaged in an Israeli strike. The village has no running water or electricity as a result of damage to public infrastructure. Like others the Guardian spoke to in the border villages last week, Grube had yet to receive compensation from Hezbollah for damages caused by fighting. Hezbollah promised early in the war to compensate anyone who suffered damages. Now, with wide swathes of the country primarily populated by members of its base destroyed, Hezbollah has struggled to find the funds to fulfil its promise and has asked its supporters for patience. 'We're not optimistic at all. The future of our kids, it's all gone. And we don't expect to receive the value of the house back,' Grube said. Lebanon and Hezbollah have looked to the international community for money to rebuild the war-torn country, which has sustained damages estimated to be in the billions. The militia has backed the country's new government in order to get reconstruction money flowing to Lebanon, despite previously blocking the appointment of the country's current president. Lebanon's government has pledged to restore the state's monopoly on violence and to work towards disarming all militias in the country – a statement primarily directed at Hezbollah. As a condition of the 27 November ceasefire with Israel, Hezbollah has withdrawn its weaponry from its historical heartland south of the Litani river, about 18 miles from the Israeli border. The subsequent fall of the Assad regime on 8 December in Syria was another loss for the group, which used Syria as a vital lifeline to ferry funds and arms from Iran to Lebanon. The Lebanese army has been active in enforcing the terms of the ceasefire deal. It has been dismantling military assets belonging to the group in south Lebanon and conducted raids in the southern suburbs of Beirut – something unthinkable just six months earlier. The group has also lost control of key assets such as the Beirut airport and smuggling routes along the Syrian border, both historically key for the group's cashflow. On Friday, Reuters reported that an individual was caught arriving at the Beirut airport from Turkey carrying $2.5m(£2m) in cash apparently destined for Hezbollah. Despite this, last Thursday, Hezbollah MPs endorsed the new government and gave it a vote of confidence. According to a western diplomat in Beirut, Hezbollah is in 'wait and see mode', as the group recovers from the war and adjusts to a new political reality in Lebanon and the wider region. 'They are playing along because it's the best option they have. It's temporary,' the western diplomat said under the condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media. Experts have said that Hezbollah is still the strongest domestic political actor by far – and should not be underestimated. 'We're telling our closest allies, especially the US, not to alienate parts of the population, that's a recipe for failure. The group is not dead,' the western diplomat said.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Huge crowds gather for Hezbollah leader Nasrallah's funeral
Large crowds have gathered for the funeral of Hezbollah's former leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air strike in Beirut in September. Mourners dressed in black flocked to a stadium on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital on Sunday. They also paid their respects to Hashem Safieddine, Nasrallah's successor, who was killed in a separate Israeli strike before he could assume his post. Nasrallah, the former leader of the Lebanese militant Shia Islamist group, was one of the most influential figures in the Middle East. Hours before the funeral began at 13:00 local time (11:00 GMT), Israel launched air strikes in southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah rocket launchers. People braved the cold to attend the funeral, which was held at the 50,000-capacity Camille Chamoun Sports City stadium. Nasrallah's coffin was draped in Hezbollah's flag and paraded along with Safieddine's casket through huge crowds of black-clad mourners. Excerpts of Nasrallah's speeches were played to the gathered supporters, who chanted, waved flags and held portraits of the leaders. One mourner, 55-year-old Umm Mahdi, told the AFP news agency that the funeral was the "least we can do" for the late Hezbollah leader "who gave up everything" for his cause. Prior to his death, Nasrallah had not been seen in public for years because of fears of being assassinated by Israel. The late leader had close personal links to Iran and played a key role in turning Hezbollah into the political and military force it is today. He was revered by the group's supporters. Under Nasrallah's 30-year leadership, Hezbollah - which is banned as a terrorist organisation in the UK, US and other countries - helped train fighters from the Palestinian armed group Hamas, as well as militias in Iraq and Yemen, and obtained missiles and rockets from Iran for use against Israel. He died aged 64 in Dahieh, a closely-guarded suburb of Beirut. After Nasrallah's death, Hezbollah allowed open access to the area for the first time for a public memorial. The mass funeral is an apparent show of strength for Hezbollah, which suffered a series of major setbacks during Israel's campaign in Lebanon last year. Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz wrote on X that Israeli planes were flying over the stadium while the funeral took place to "convey a clear message: whoever threatens to destroy Israel - that will be the end of them". Israel's incursion into Lebanon came after almost a year of cross-border hostilities sparked by the war in Gaza. Lebanon was subject to an intense Israeli air campaign and a ground invasion of the country's south. Dozens of senior figures were killed when Israeli-made walkie-talkies were detonated in a surprise attack in September 2024. Many of Hezbollah's most senior military and political leaders were also killed during the latest conflict with Israel. The offensive killed around 4,000 people in Lebanon - including many civilians - and led to more than 1.2 million residents being displaced before a ceasefire deal was struck in November. Representatives from Iran, Iraq and Yemen attended the funeral, which was delayed to allow time for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon - though some troops still remain. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the slain leaders as "two heroes of the resistance" in a speech. Who was Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah? Hezbollah confirms death of Nasrallah's heir apparent Lebanon ceasefire deal extended as initial deadline passes
BBC News
23-02-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Hassan Nasrallah: Huge crowds gather for Hezbollah leader's funeral
Large crowds have gathered for the funeral of Hezbollah's former leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air strike in Beirut in dressed in black flocked to a stadium on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital on Sunday. They also paid their respects to Hashem Safieddine, Nasrallah's successor, who was killed in a separate Israeli strike before he could assume his the former leader of the Lebanese militant Shia Islamist group, was one of the most influential figures in the Middle before the funeral began at 13:00 local time (11:00 GMT), Israel launched air strikes in southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah rocket launchers. The Camille Chamoun Sports City stadium, which has a capacity of almost 50,000 people, was nearly full hours before the ceremony was set to to his death, Nasrallah had not been seen in public for years because of fears of being assassinated by late leader had close personal links to Iran and played a key role in turning Hezbollah into the political and military force it is today. He was revered by the group's Nasrallah's 30-year leadership, Hezbollah - which is banned as a terrorist organisation in the UK, US and other countries - helped train fighters from the Palestinian armed group Hamas, as well as militias in Iraq and Yemen, and obtained missiles and rockets from Iran for use against died aged 64 in Dahieh, a closely-guarded suburb of coffin was paraded through huge crowds of black-clad mourners, many of whom waved flags or held portraits of him. The mass funeral is an apparent show of strength for Hezbollah, which suffered a series of major setbacks during Israel's campaign in Lebanon last year. Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz wrote on X that Israeli planes were flying over the stadium while the funeral took place to "convey a clear message: whoever threatens to destroy Israel - that will be the end of them".Israel's incursion into Lebanon came after almost a year of cross-border hostilities sparked by the war in was subject to an intense Israeli air campaign and a ground invasion of the country's of senior figures were killed when Israeli-made walkie-talkies were detonated in a surprise attack in September of Hezbollah's most senior military and political leaders were also killed during the latest conflict with offensive killed around 4,000 people in Lebanon - including many civilians - and led to more than 1.2 million residents being displaced before a ceasefire deal was struck in from Iran, Iraq and Yemen are expected to attend his funeral.
