Hezbollah

[Catharsis]

Re: Hezbollah

Thanks for the info ArmSurvival and the recollection of personal experiences is also quite telling.

[Eddo211]

Re: Hezbollah

I will take a Shiite over a Sunni any day, even though I have had many confrontations (some really ugly ones) with anti Armenian sentiments from Shiites in Iran.
I do know however that most educated middle class Persians are Iranians first, Muslims second and most are very good with Armenians. One of my best friends is an Iranian.

[KanadaHye]

Re: Hezbollah

I will take a Shiite over a Sunni any day, even though I have had many confrontations (some really ugly ones) with anti Armenian sentiments from Shiites in Iran.
I do know however that most educated middle class Persians are Iranians first, Muslims second and most are very good with Armenians. One of my best friends is an Iranian.

Turks are Sunni, Iraq is Sunni/Shia and Iran is Shia. If it wasn't for the Sunni/Shia divide, the middle east would be a solid rock.

[Armanen]

Re: Hezbollah

Turks are Sunni, Iraq is Sunni/Shia and Iran is Shia. If it wasn't for the Sunni/Shia divide, the middle east would be a solid rock.

Not so sure about that. There is still the arbitary borders of the middle eastern countries, and no leader of any of those nations will want to give up their power to a neighboring leader. If religion isn't the issue there will always be other factors for people and countries to fight over, it is human nature.

[Armanen]

Re: Hezbollah

I will take a Shiite over a Sunni any day, even though I have had many confrontations (some really ugly ones) with anti Armenian sentiments from Shiites in Iran.
I do know however that most educated middle class Persians are Iranians first, Muslims second and most are very good with Armenians. One of my best friends is an Iranian.

I'm curious what the arguments were about. Do you mind telling us?

[KanadaHye]

Re: Hezbollah

Not so sure about that. There is still the arbitary borders of the middle eastern countries, and no leader of any of those nations will want to give up their power to a neighboring leader. If religion isn't the issue there will always be other factors for people and countries to fight over, it is human nature.

I find it odd that after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the borders were neatly drawn along "religious" lines. There are historical reasons for the divisions, perhaps deeply rooted in the politics of the past but if Muslims united regardless of their branch, they would be a force to reckon with. Unity among people will always be stronger than any government. The reason governments have so much power is because of divisions among the people. Obviously the Arab/Muslim governments supporting Israel aren't doing so for the good of the citizens in the region but rather because those in the government benefit from doing so. Israel wants control over Lebanon and if it weren't for Hezbollah and company, Lebanon would be conveniently ransacked by big brother Israel.

[Armanen]

Re: Hezbollah

I find it odd that after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the borders were neatly drawn along "religious" lines. There are historical reasons for the divisions, perhaps deeply rooted in the politics of the past but if Muslims united regardless of their branch, they would be a force to reckon with. Unity among people will always be stronger than any government. The reason governments have so much power is because of divisions among the people. Obviously the Arab/Muslim governments supporting Israel aren't doing so for the good of the citizens in the region but rather because those in the government benefit from doing so. Israel wants control over Lebanon and if it weren't for Hezbollah and company, Lebanon would be conveniently ransacked by big brother Israel.

I'm sure you know who 'drew' the boundaries of the current Arab countries and they did the same in Africa and east Asia to a lesser extent. The arab governments which support israel do it purely for politcal and economic reasons, after all, egypt does get more funding than israel from the u.s. but that is basically to keep the peace and ensure continued egyptian cooperation with u.s./israeli aims in the region. It has been stated by many, but one of the leading reasons why the muslim world, and arabs in particular, dislike the united states is because of the double standard, the u.s. always advocates democracy but doesn't hesitate to support un-elected, and unpopular governments. At least with the other powers vying for influence in the region, i.e. Russia & China, they don't get involved with internal affairs publicly and as long as their said interests are taken care of, they could care less who runs the government(s).

Another region that would be a force to reckon with if united would be Latin America, but that is just as unlikely as the Middle east being truly united.

[Eddo211]

Re: Hezbollah

I'm curious what the arguments were about. Do you mind telling us?

Discriminations, segregations, insults, ridicules……….these things were more prevalent at school level.

Examples are:
Being called a dirty Armenian or Armenian dog.
Pointing to yellow ants on the ground (compared to the numerous black ones), calling them Armenians and then stomping on them. Hahaha, that set me off like crazy maniac.
Getting ganged up on.
Getting pulled out of class because they were going to talk to the other students about something that we Armenians were not allowed to hear.
Teachers beating us up more than others and for no good reasons at all.
Being told to get out, this not your country. You know……….normal stuff.

As we grew older these things settled down and most cases we were all Iranians in their eyes. Armenians in military were honored properly.
But really with all this said, I would rather be in Iran than any other Muslim country, even with them freaking Mullahs in charge.


KanadaHye: The biggest conflict between Sunnis and Shiites will be Iran Vs Saudi Arabia...........this is what is about regardless of businesses between the two. It is the old Arab Vs Persian deal which can never heal.

[Federate]

Re: Hezbollah

Not to mention the fact that not only is Hassan Nasrallah from Bourj Hammoud but his childhood friends were all Armenian and he is reportedly fluent in the language

[KanadaHye]

Re: Hezbollah

Not to mention the fact that not only is Hassan Nasrallah from Bourj Hammoud but his childhood friends were all Armenian and he is reportedly fluent in the language

So I wonder if Ahmadinejad's reported Armenian ancestry is true as well...

"Ahmadinejad was born near Garmsar in the village of Aradan, in Semnan province, the fourth of seven children. His father, Ahmad, was an ironworker, grocer, barber, blacksmith, and religious Shi'a who taught the Qur'an. His mother, Khanom, was a Seyyede, an honorific title given to those believed to be direct bloodline descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Ahmadinejad's father changed his name from "Sabourjian" or "Sabaghian" when Ahmadinejad was four years old to avoid discrimination when the family moved to Tehran as the rural name inferred a lowly social standing. Sabor is Farsi for thread painter, a once common occupation within the Semnan carpet industry. Ahmadinejad was chosen as it means from the race of Ahmad, one of the names given to Muhammad."