Hezbollah

Hezbollah (Arabic ‮حزب الله‬, meaning Party of God, for other designations or alternative spellings, see 'name 'part of this article) is a political and military party in Lebanon founded in 1982 to fight Israel in southern Lebanon. It is regarded by many in the Arab and Muslim world as a legitimate militant Shia political party in Lebanon and by many in the Western world, by various non-Arab governments, and by the Israeli government as an Islamist terrorist or Islamic fundamentalist organization. In addition to its military wing, Hezbollah maintains a civilian arm, which runs hospitals, various news services, and eductional facilities.

Names

The word ‮حزب الله‬ is transliterated in a number of ways. A scientific transliteration would be hizbu' llah. Hezbollah is used by CNN and the BBC. It is also written as Hizbullah, Hizballah, Hizbollah, Hezbullah, and Hizb Allah, which is used by Al-Jazeera. "Hizb" is correct for general Arabic pronunciation, "Hezb" is closer to Persian. The 'h' is sibilant in Arabic, but a normal 'h' sound in Persian.

Related Topics:
CNN - BBC - Al-Jazeera

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Hezbollah has a military branch known as Al-Muqawwama al-Islamiyya (in English: the Islamic resistance), and is the possible sponsor of a number of lesser-known militant organizations, some of which may be little more than fronts for Hezbollah itself. These organizations include the Organization of the Oppressed, the Revolutionary Justice Organization, the Organization of Right Against Wrong, and Followers of the Prophet Muhammed. http://www.canlii.org/ca/regu/sor1-360/whole.html

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