THE SHIITE JIHAD IN SYRIA AND ITS REGIONAL EFFECTS

8 n THE SHIITE JIHAD IN SYRIA
In fall 2013, the major Shiite holiday of Ashura, which commemorates Hussein’s
680 martyrdom at Yazid’s hands, occasioned further invocations of the
Shiite cause. In particular, Hezbollah and its fellow proxies adopted a new
motif modeled on the Arabic word hayhat (“It is impossible”), 51 which is tied
to Shiite concepts related to Imam Hussein, oppression, and martyrdom and
linked to the phrase hayhat mina al-dhila (“disgrace/humiliation is finished”). 52
This term had also been used by Hezbollah in propaganda regarding the Israeli
occupation of southern Lebanon, including in the song “Hayhat ya Mehtal ” (It
Is Impossible [Dare Not], O Occupier). 53 Demonstrating the interlinked nature
of Iran’s proxies, the logo has been utilized by AAH, KSS, the Badr Organization,
and Kataib Hezbollah.
Pan-Shiism was explored in other songs as well. In September 2013, Ali
Delfi, a singer associated with AAH, released the song “Ashat al-Muqawama”
(Long Live the Resistance). 54 The song featured the refrain “Ashat al-Muqawama,
Shia al-Muqawama” (Long live the resistance, the Shiite resistance). The
song’s video showed Kataib Hezbollah and AAH attacks against U.S. targets
during the Iraq war of a decade ago, Lebanese Hezbollah attacks against Israelis,
and speeches by Nasrallah. The war in Syria was framed in this way: Muw
al-Bashar ahna hamna al-Shia (“Bashar is not our concern, it is the Shiites”).
Themes relating to shrine defense, the “Islamic resistance” factions started by
Iran, and a distancing of the Syrian fight from realpolitik motivations thereby
coalesced. Thus, the conflict was morphed into a romantic jihad addressing a
varied existential threat.
Takfiris: A Perfect Enemy
Following Assad’s lead, Iran and its proxies have since fall 2012 engaged in
an extensive media campaign casting the Syrian rebels, whatever their actual
beliefs, as takfiris, or Muslims who accuse other Muslims of apostasy. 55 In turn,
when a takfiri accuses other Muslims of apostasy, this marks those “apostates”
for death. 56 In Shiite usage, the term is often synonymous with the extremist
Sunni Wahhabis, who have historically predominated in Saudi Arabia. 57
Through the early propagation of the inaccurate view that all Syria’s rebels
embrace radical Sunni ideology, 58 Iran and its Shiite proxies have effectively
stirred visceral support among their coreligionists. The message especially
struck those who feel oppressed in their various cultural and national contexts.
The argument also fans fears that if Assad were to be deposed, a takfiri
organization such as al-Qaeda or ISIS would take over Syria. 59 Ibrahim