Young Shiite Lebanese Politicians Criticize Hizbullah: It Does Not Represent the Majority of Shiites

In a recent TV interview, young members of the Lebanese Option Party criticized Hizbullah. Rashad Sajd, one of the members of the secular, predominantly Shiite party, said: "We are the majority among the Shia, but they [Hizbullah] use weapons and other means to oppress and intimidate us." Another member, Ali Masri, called to focus on education, rather than on weapons. The interview aired on the Lebanese Murr TV channel on November 3, 2014.

Following are excerpts:

Ali Masri: I do not want to take pride in our military victories. I want to take pride in educated people graduating from schools. We should focus on the educated people. Why are we interested in weapons rather than diplomas? This is the 21st century.

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Rashad Sajd: We are not just a few people. We are the majority among the Shia, but they use weapons and other means to oppress and intimidate us. [Hizbullah] places roadblocks everywhere, and they intimidate people, even though they do not represent the state.

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Not all Shiites came to the [Hizbullah] rally. They do not represent all the Shiites. Many people remained at home. They do not support Hizbullah, and do not chant their slogans. All [Hizbullah's] slogans reflect their own interests: "We respond to your call, Nasrallah," instead of: "We respond to your call, Zaynab." We are Shiites. We have our own beliefs. We do not want to go fight Sunnis or anyone else in Syria. Hassan Nasrallah says that this is not a Shiite-Sunni conflict.

Interviewer: We will get to that later…

Rashad Sajd: Shiite extremism fuels Sunni extremism. [The Sunnis] in Syria believe that the Shiite have come to kill them, so they [attack us] here. We should remain in Lebanon. We do not have to interfere in other people's affairs.

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