Subhi al-Tufayli

Sheikh Subhi al-Tufayli is a former secretary-general of Hezbollah. Tufayli was an Islamist ideologue and close follower of Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Al-Tufayli spent nine years studying theology in the city of al-Najaf, Iraq, where he met and was influenced by other Islamist clerics and by the teachings of the Ayatollah Khomeini. Returning to Lebanon, he joined with Abbas al-Musawi to help found the Hezbollah movement/militia in the Beqaa Valley in 1982. Beqaa is one of Hezbollah's three main regions of support in Lebanon. [Ranstorp, Magnus, "Hizb'allah in Lebanon : The Politics of the Western Hostage Crisis", New York, St. Martins Press, (1997), p.46]

He was the spokesman for Hezbollah between 1985 and 1989, and then first Secretary-General of Hezbollah from 1989 until 1991. In 1992 he was replaced by Sheikh Abbas al-Musawi when Hezbollah decided to participate in national elections Tufaili opposed. He either quit or was expelled from Hezbollah in 1992. [ [http://www.thecroissant.com/sample_printall.php?issuedate=2007-09-21 The break with HEzbollah and Hassan Nasrallah] ] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/52217.stm Lebanese army hunts down radical cleric] ] Tufaili is now rumored to lead the splinter group Ansar Allah, which is held responsible for attacks in Lebanon, Panama, and Argentina. He has been backed by Syria as a means of challenging Hezbollah leader Nasrallah, who has remained inflexible to Syrian demands. [ [http://www.tkb.org/KeyLeader.jsp?memID=5962 MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base ] ]

Tufaili's leadership in Hezbollah

Tufaili has been a stalwart in his opposition to the existence of the state of Israel, telling one funeral audience that `we know that we will not triumph in one or even several years but have prepared for a battle of centuries,` to eliminate Israel. [Sheikh al-Tufayli in speech at the 1992 funeral of Hizb'allah Secretary-General al-Musawi who was assassinated by Israelis. [source: Voice of the Oppressed, 0630 gmt 19 Feb 92-SWB ME/1309, 20 February 1992. Quoted in (Ranstorp, Magnus, Hizb'allah in Lebanon : The Politics of the Western Hostage Crisis, New York, St. Martins Press, 1997, p.57]

In July 28 1989 elite Israeli military units abducted Sheikh Abdal-Karim Obeid, a senior Hizballah cleric and regional military commander of the Islamic Resistance, who they hoped to use to negotiate an exchange for several IDF soldiers and Western civilian hostages held by Hezbollah. [Ranstorp, "Hizb'allah", (1997), p.103] Under Tufaili's militant leadership however, Hezbollah "remained adamant" in its refusal to release either "any IDF soldiers [or] any Western hostages" it held. [Ranstorp, Magnus, "Hizb'allah in Lebanon", 1997, p.104]

In 1991 or 92 Tufaili lost his job to Abbas al-Musawi. Hezbollah's hostage-taking campaign had wound down since the "Kuwait 17" bombers of the 1983 Kuwait bombings who were connected to leading Hezbollah members were now free, and Taif Agreement had essentially ended the Civil War in Lebanon. Al-Musawi was both head of the military wing and former head of the movement's "internal security apparatus in Beirut," and was thus thought better equipped to lead Hezbollah in its new primary mission of fighting Israel and ending Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon. [Ranstorp, Magnus, "Hizb'allah in Lebanon", 1997, p.105]

Tufaili's activities after leadership

Tufaili left the movement in 1992 in protest over Hezbollah's participation in the parliamentary elections and its "moderation" toward the Lebanese state. [ [http://www.meib.org/articles/0202_l1.htm Hezbollah: Between Tehran and Damascus] ] Since then he has been active in fighting Hezbollah and the Lebanese government.

In July 1997 he organized protest against government which has been called "hunger revolution". [ [http://www.lebanon.com/news/local/1997/7/7.htm News from Beirut July 7 1997] ] Tufeili said it is "completely unacceptable that a human being could be humiliated because of poverty or because they were in need." [ [http://www.lebanon.com/news/local/1997/7/14.htm News from Beirut July 7 1997] ]

His breakaway group is known as the "Revolution of the Hungry" ("Thawrat al-Jiya"), although his support base is largely limited to the villages of Brital and Tarayya. [ [http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2005/issue1/jv9no1a1.html Hizballah Rising: The Political Battle for the Loyalty of the Shi'a of Lebanon MERIA] March 2005]

He is wanted by the Lebanese government for leading a revolution against the country, but has not been arrested. [ [http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/news/article_1252501.php/Former_Hezbollah_chief_lashes_at_the_groups_current_leadership Former Hezbollah chief lashes at the group's current leadership - Middle East ] ]

In January 1998 he attempted with his militia to occupy a Hezbollah religious school and touched off a violent confrontation with the Lebanese army. Lebanese authorities issued a warrant for Tufaili's arrest, while Lebanese army units conducted a massive sweep of the Beqaa.According to Lebanon's army statement in 1998:

"Following the decision of the military prosecutor to order the arrest of Sheikh Sobhi Tufaili and his supporters on charges of forming armed groups, endangering national security and killing soldiers and civilians, the army took control of Sheikh Tufaili's house."

In February 1998 Lebanese troops surrounded a village looking for a Tufaili after two days of clashes that left eight people dead. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D01E2D7133AF932A35751C0A96E958260&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fOrganizations%2fH%2fHezbollah 8 Killed as Lebanon Battles Dissident Sheik] ] Tufaili and around 100 of his fighters were allowed to escape to his hometown of Britel when the head of Syrian military intelligence in Baalbeck, Col. Ali Safi, stepped in and forced advancing Lebanese army units to halt. [ [http://www.meib.org/articles/0202_l1.htm Hezbollah: Between Tehran and Damascus] ]

In April 1999, Tufaili's forces overran a Hezbollah arms depot in the village of Nabichit, near Baalbeck, seizing large numbers of machine-guns, rocket-launchers and other military equipment. [ [http://www.meib.org/articles/0202_l1.htm Hezbollah: Between Tehran and Damascus] ] [ Al-Watan al-Arabi, 3 December 1999.]

He has stated the Hassan Nasrallah implements the agenda of Ali Khamenei of the Islamic Republic of Iran. [ [http://www.memritv.org/Transcript.asp?P1=1377 Former Hizbullah Secretary-General Subhi Al-Tufeili: Nasrallah Implements Khamenei's Policy in Lebanon] 28 January 2007]

ee also

Hezbollah
Lebanon hostage crisis

References and notes

External links

* [http://www.meib.org/articles/0202_l1.htm Hezbollah: Between Tehran and Damascus] by Gary C. Gambill and Ziad K. Abdelnour
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/52217.stm Lebanese army hunts down radical cleric]
* [http://www.meib.org/articles/9912_l3.htm Tufaili Returns to Lebanese Political Scene, December 1999]