Difference Between Hamas and Hezbollah

Terrorism or intentional violence to achieve political interests are a threat to every country. There are various ways by which every country safeguards itself from such threats. There are numerous terrorist organizations all over the world with different objectives and targeting different parts of the world. The two common organizations are Hamas and Hezbollah.

Hamas vs Hezbollah

The main difference between Hamas and Hezbollah is that Hamas Is a Sunni organization and follows Muslim Brotherhood in political and social terms while Hezbollah focuses on the concept of “wilayat al-faqih” that is the guardianship of the Jurist to act as a supreme political leader and absolute authority.

Hamas is a Palestinian Sunni- Islamic militant, fundamentalist, and nationalist organization. The organization was founded in 1987. Even before its establishment, Hamas had a broad network in the Palestinian area. The ideology followed by Hamas is Sunni Islamism.

On the other hand, Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shia Islamic political party and militant group. The organization was founded in 1985. The ideology followed by Hezbollah is Shia Islamism. The organization maintains independent armed status and adjusts to the changing environments rapidly.

Comparison Table Between Hamas and Hezbollah

What is Hamas?

Hamas is a Palestinian Sunni- Islamic militant, fundamentalist, and nationalist organization. The name Hamas signifies the Islamic resistance movement in Arabic. Hamas acts as a social service wing and also as a military wing. It has won the election of Palestinian legislative in 2006 and later became the governing authority of the Gaza Strip. The organization holds a majority in the Palestinian national authority parliament.

The spokesperson of the organization is Fawzi Barhoum while the chief of the Political Bureau is Ismail Haniyeh. The organization was founded on 10th December 1987. The headquarters of the organization is in Gaza. It was founded by a group of individuals among which the most popular and renowned ones are Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Mohammed Zahar, Abdel Fattah Dukhan, Mohammed Hasan, Ibrahim Fares Al-Yazouri, and several others.

The organization follows a strict ideology of Islamism, Palestinian nationalism, anti-zionism, religious nationalism, and anti-Semitism. The organization follows the color green. It has national affiliation from the Alliance of Palestinian forces.

The main religion followed by the organization is Sunni Islam. Many countries like Israel, Canada, Japan, European Union, and the United States have declared Hamas a terrorist organization while some still refer only to the military wing as the terrorist organizations. The main objective of Hamas is to liberate Palestinians from the occupation of Israel and completely transform the country into an Islamic state.

What is Hezbollah?

Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shia Islamic political party and militant group. The name Hezbollah signifies “party of Allah” or “party of God” in Arabic. The group was led by Hasan Nasrallah in 1992. It was formed as a paramilitary wing of the Jihad Council and it was also a political wing in the Lebanese parliament. The organization was designated as a terrorist organization by many countries. Some countries like Russia consider Hezbollah as a “legitimate sociopolitical force”.

The founder of the organization is Syed Abbas Al- Musawi. It was founded in the year 1985. The headquarters of Hezbollah is in Beirut which is in Lebanon. It follows the religion of Shia Islam. The two main colors followed by the organization are yellow and green.

The main language of the organization is Arabic. Hezbollah follows the strict ideology of Islamic nationalism, Anti-imperialism, pan-Islamism, Shia jihad, anti-Zionism, Khomeinism, anti-west, and even anti-semitism. The size of the organization is over 100000. Hezbollah has been part of several battles and wars like the Lebanese civil war, Iran-Iraq war, Syrian civil war, South Lebanon conflict, Bosnian war, and several other such wars.

Hezbollah maintains strong support among Lebanese Shia Muslims. During March 14 Alliance, it has even helped some Christian areas of Lebanon. Most of the military training, financial support, and weapons are provided by Iran and Syria. Hezbollah actively participates in Lebanese politics, protests, and clashes.

Main Differences Between Hamas and Hezbollah

Conclusion

Hamas and Hezbollah are two popular terrorist organizations. Both the organization have emerged during the 1980s. Many countries regard both the organization as a terrorist organization while the organization claims itself as an Islamist resistance organization. Hamas and Hezbollah have different religious orientations. Both establish their interests in different and diverse ways.

Both the organization have a common acceptance of ijtihad and similar interpretation of the Islamic culture and religion. Both the organization try to reinterpret the Islamic sources. Both the organizations have a separate military wing that functions outside the territory. The end goal of both the organization is to establish their target countries as separate Islamic State and promote their religion and beliefs on a global level.

References

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