The Church of Jihad-Why do Presbyterian leaders insist on meeting with Hezbollah?

Hezbollah official Nabil Qawuq is undoubtedly a busy man. As Hezbollah’s commander in Southern Lebanon, Qawuq is responsible for leading the bulk of the Shi’ite terrorist group’s combat forces, while frequently overseeing attacks on Israeli positions and attempts to kidnap Israeli soldiers or civilians. A confidante of Hezbollah General Secretary Hassan Nasrallah, Qawuq is also a fixture on Al-Jazeera and Lebanese television, his appearances generously mottled with calls for the destruction of the Jewish state.

Nevertheless, Qawuq recently found the time in his busy schedule to meet with -- of all things -- a church group. On October 20th, a delegation from the Presbyterian Church of the USA (PCUSA) met with Qawuq and other Hezbollah leaders for an hour in southern Lebanon as part of their three-week regional tour. Led by the head of the Chicago Presbytery Reverend Bob Reynolds, the meeting was convened for supposedly “educational” purposes, with Reverend Reynolds suggesting “I think one way people can learn from one another is to learn the way people talk about themselves and describe their own reality.”

Unfortunately, the conversations which took place between the two parties were anything but realistic. Quwaq opened the conference with a lengthy harangue against the “chaos” and “fear” created by President Bush and “American policy,” whose true purpose he defined roughly as enabling Ariel Sharon to “turn Lebanon into a bridge to harm Syria.” Eager to endear himself to the perturbed Hezbollah commander, PCUSA delegation spokesman Robert Worley, a retired seminary professor, assured Quwaq that all delegation members had voted for John Kerry. Furthermore, Worley promised his host to help disavow Americans of the notion -- impressed upon them by the Western media -- that Hezbollah was a terrorist group, stating:

“Americans hear in the Western media that Hizbullah is a terrorist organization, and they do not hear any other opinion. They know nothing about the party’s concern for the people of the south.”

Worley then pointed out that Hezbollah and his church share similar goals, along with comparable opponents:

“We have suffered much pressure on the part of Jewish organizations in the U.S. because [of our help in] divesting corporations working with Israel. We want Jerusalem to be a united city..”

The words of Worley and Quwaq (translated by MEMRI.org) were then broadcast on Al-Manar, Hezbollah’s televised conduit for frothing hate speech, which featured them prominently as part of their virulently anti-Israel programming. The visit gained little notice until last week, when it was reported on by both The New York Times and The Chicago Tribune. Even in the glare of hostile media attention, Worley and Reynolds remained unrepentant, with Worley declaring “Hezbollah got its reputation for resisting occupation…Hezbollah is part of rebuilding Lebanon.”

Instead of engaging in condemnation of the Bush administration, perhaps Worley and company could have better served the people of Lebanon by asking Qawuq to adhere to UN Resolution 1559, which calls for the disarmament of radical groups within Lebanon. Or, as American citizens, the delegation could have queried their Hezbollah hosts on their role in the 1983 attack on the Marine barracks in Beirut which killed 241 American servicemen -- including numerous Presbyterian adherents. Finally, as supposed proponents of inter-faith dialogue, Worley should have asked why Hezbollah carried out an attack on the Jewish community of Argentina in 1994, a bombing which led to the deaths of 86 people and destroyed a nearby church.

Such questions went unasked, of course, stemming from the fact that the PCUSA leadership cannot even bring itself to deem Hezbollah a terrorist organization. As Mr. Worley later asked the Times, “is ‘terrorists’ the right word? They [Hezbollah] are resistants.”

Inexplicably, the PCUSA’s recent “unofficial” Lebanese soirée represented the second such trip taken by high-ranking church officials. On October 17th, 2004, a PCUSA-led delegation -- including Robert Worley -- met with Mr. Qawuq. During the cordial discussion, Ronald Stone, a church elder and former professor of church ethics, stated the following to his gracious hosts:

"We treasure the precious words of Hizbullah and your expression of goodwill towards the American people. Also, we praise your initiative for dialogue and mutual understanding. We cherish these statements that bring us closer to you. As an elder of our church, I'd like to say that according to my recent experience, relations and conversations with Islamic leaders are a lot easier than dealings and dialogue with Jewish leaders..”

The conversation was aired with much fanfare on Al-Manar Television and Iranian state television. The resulting controversy led to the condemnation of the PCUSA leadership by several U.S. Congressman and the Anti-Defamation League, forcing Stone to offer a weak excuse, suggesting Al-Manar “edited” his comments. He did apologize, however, for publicly airing his “own personal frustration” with Jewish leaders. The uproar -- which led to the resignation of two PCUSA staffers -- was apparently insufficient in negating the PCUSA’s seemingly deeply-rooted desire to converse with Qawuq.

Americans unfamiliar with PCUSA’s current political machinations in the Middle East may be shocked to learn that a rudimentary Hezbollah-Presbyterian synthesis exists. To observers aware of PCUSA’s relentless attempts to divest money from the state of Israel, however, Worley’s and Stone’s willingness to meet with the “peace makers” of Hezbollah comes as little surprise.

In July 2004, the PCUSA synod passed the “Divestment Resolution,” which called for all church funds to be withdrawn from businesses based in, or involved with, the state of Israel. Since then, the PCUSA has vigorously expanded and nurtured the program, including the distribution of divestment literature to 11,000 churches and holding national expositions, where hundreds of local church leaders have been educated on divestment action tactics. Additionally, the PCUSA leadership has been thoroughly infiltrated by pro-Palestinian activists who hold dual-memberships in the church and political action organizations, such as the Middle East Council of Churches.

The PCUSA’s incessant crusade against the state of Israel now tinges almost every church initiative. A recent press released aimed at denouncing the ravings of Iranian President Ahmadinejad could not help but spend over 100 words denouncing the “illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.”

Approximately 64,000 Presbyterians currently serve proudly in the armed forces of the United States. Their security -- along with that of their millions of civilian co-religionists -- is being severely undercut by the hierarchy of their own church, which, on two separate occasions, has seen fit to lend respectability to an organization which thinks nothing of murdering thousands in the name of God.

It's quite simple actually, being the good Christians they are they feel it is their Christian duty to extend the hand of Christian Fellowship and if necessary turn the other cheek....Being a good Christian transcends being an American.

Funny he didn't say that.

We do not wish to defend the U.S. administration. We all elected the Democratic Party against the Republican Party. Rest assured that we will return to the U.S. in order to continue our activity for peace, and we want to hear about the charity activities and the cultural and social activities organized by Hizbullah in south [Lebanon]. The Americans hear in the Western media that Hizbullah is a terrorist organization, and they do not hear any other opinion. They know nothing about the party's concern for the people of the south. We have suffered much pressure on the part of Jewish organizations in the U.S. because [of our help in] divesting corporations working with Israel. We want Jerusalem to be a united city, just as we encouraged the Palestinians and the Jews to work for peace, and we demanded that our administration adheres to this position
Robert Worley

He isn't turning the other cheek, he's turning a blind eye to a terrorist group which, I admit, kills mostly Jews, presuming one gives them a free pass for the hundreds of American's they killed two decades ago. I don't.

The organization he shares goals and common opponents with.

Hizballah / Hizballah
Party of God
Islamic Jihad
Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine
Organization of the Oppressed on Earth
Revolutionary Justice Organization
Hizbollah is an Islamic freedom fighting movement founded after the Israeli military seizure of Lebanon in 1982, which resulted in the formation of the Islamic resistance units for the liberation of the occupied territories and for the ejection of the Israelis forces. Hizbollah was established in 1982 during the Lebanon War when a group of Lebanese Shi'ite Muslims declared themselves to be the "Party of God" (Hizb Allah). Upon the realization that the IDF was entrenching itself in south Lebanon, and influenced and assisted by the recently stationed 1,500 Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Lebanon, Hizballah cells began developing with the immediate desire to resist the Israeli invasion. Hizbollah began establishing its base in Lebanon in 1982 and has expanded and strengthened ever since, primarily due to its wave of suicide bombings and foreign support by Iran and Syria.
Description
Radical Shia group formed in Lebanon; dedicated to creation of Iranian-style Islamic republic in Lebanon and removal of all non-Islamic influences from area. Strongly anti-Western and anti-Israeli. Closely allied with, and often directed by Iran, but may have conducted operations that were not approved by Tehran. A very important factor that developed Hezbollah was the establishment of the Islamic Revolution in Iran that was led by the Imam Khomeini. This revolution consolidated new concepts in the field of Islamic thought mainly the concept of Willayat Al-Faqih. The revolution also generalized Islamic expressions against the west such as arrogance, the great Satan, hypocrites and the oppressed. Due to that it was only normal for the ideological doctrine in Iran to take root in Lebanon. This tie was very quickly translated on the ground by direct support from the Islamic Republic of Iran through its revolutionary guards and then to Hezbollah that was resisting the Israeli occupation. This religious and ideological tie between Hezbollah and Iran following the revolution with its stance towards the Zionist entity had a great effect on releasing vital material and moral support to Hezbollah. Hezbollah’s ideological ideals sees no legitimacy for the existence of Israel, a matter that elevates the contradictions to the level of existence. And the conflict becomes one of legitimacy that is based on religious ideals. The seed of resistance is also deep in the ideological beliefs of Hezbollah, a belief that found its way for expression against the occupation of Lebanon.
Activities
Once established as a militia, Hizbollah received acclaim and legitimacy in Lebanon and throughout the Muslim world by fighting against IDF and SLA troops. In fact, since 1988 Hizbollah replaced Amal (the other prominent Shi'ite organization in Lebanon) as the predominant force due to its activity against Israel. Over the years Hizbollah military operations have grown to include attacking IDF and SLA outposts, ambushing convoys, laying explosive devices booby-trapping cars, and launching long range mortar shells and Katyusha rockets at IDF outposts and into Israel proper. Between the spring of 1983 to the summer of 1985 the Hizballah launched an unprecedented wave of suicide bombings which included an attack on the US embassy and at a US Marine base in Beirut. Known or suspected to have been involved in numerous anti-US terrorist attacks, including the suicide truck bombing of the US Embassy and US Marine barracks in Beirut in October 1983 and the US Embassy Annex in Beirut in September 1984. Elements of the group were responsible for the kidnapping and detention of US and other Western hostages in Lebanon. The group also attacked the Israeli Embassy in Argentina in 1992.
The organization was very active against Israel during its stay in Lebanese territory, and since the IDF's withdrawal from Lebanon in May 2000 it began focusing on increasing and expanding its activities within Israel with the aim of carrying out" quality" attacks in Israeli territory, thus disrupting any attempt at dialogue and any opportunity to return to the peace process. This became evident during earlier attempts to hold negotiations with regard to a 'hudna' (ceasefire), when Hezbollah operators encouraged attacks aimed at causing these contacts to fail.
The organization operates against Israel in four main ways:
Bringing terrorists and collaborators through the border crossings using foreign documents Setting up a terrorist organization inside Israel and in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip Cross-border operations - smuggling weapons and terrorists
Financial support for Palestinian organizations and groups.
Since 2003 it has been possible to see a trend of increasing cooperation between Hezbollah in Lebanon and operational entities among the other Palestinian terrorist organizations, with the accent on Tanzim, Islamic Jihad, Hamas and the Popular Front. This cooperation is particularly evident between Hezbollah and the Tanzim and in practice, in recent months Hezbollah has served as a kind of "external command" for most of the Tanzim organizations in the territories.
Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, admitted for the first time in public the existence of a Hezbollah unit responsible for activities with the Palestinians. He said this on Almanar television on July 19, 2004, after the death of Ghaleb Awaleh, a senior Hezbollah terrorist: "… the fallen Ghaleb Awaleh is like the fallen Ali Salah, from the group which dedicated its life in recent years to helping our brothers in conquered Palestine. We do not wish to conceal the truth. We declare it and glory in it. Ghaleb Awaleh today has fallen on the Palestine road. He is a Jerusalem martyr. He is an Al Aksa Mosque martyr. He is a martyr in the fight against the Zionist enterprise… and we will not to abandon this fight and have never abandoned it. We are in a position where we will fight openly and we will fight clandestinely."
Hezbollah's methods of controlling terrorist organizations in the territories are similar to those characteristic of the involvement of the command centers of Palestinian terrorist organizations abroad (Hamas and Islamic Jihad) in the actions of their organizations inside the country. Striking in this framework are the instructions to carry out mass murder attacks within Israeli territory, mediation between terrorists at the different centers of action, the large-scale transfer of money, and finally, coordination of the effort to upgrade the terrorist capabilities of the organizations.
Strength
Today the number of members involved in combat activity in southern Lebanon is under 1,000. But it has many activists and moral supporters.
Location/Area of Operation
Operates in the Al Biqa' (Bekaa Valley), the southern suburbs of Beirut, and southern Lebanon. Has established cells in Europe, Africa, South America, North America, and elsewhere. Its training bases are mostly in the Syrian-controlled Biqa Valley, and its headquarters and offices are in southern Beirut and in Ba'albek.
External Aid
Hezbollah was established by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards who came to Lebanon during the 1982 "Peace for Galilee" war, as part of the policy of exporting the Islamic revolution. It receives substantial amounts of financial, training, weapons, explosives, political, diplomatic, and organizational aid from Iran and Syria.
In Israel's view, Hezbollah's activities are part of Iran's overall policy with regard to Israel, which is to fan the flames of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and initiate terrorist activities against Israel, despite the fact that Hezbollah is a Lebanese organization consisting entirely of terrorists from Lebanon, with no national connection to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In view of Iran's interest in smudging its fingerprints with regard to direct control over internal terrorist activities, Hezbollah's status is significant as Iran's front-line operative arm against Israel.

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