Al-Ahbash Lebanon

by Daniel Nassif

At first glance, the Association of Islamic Philanthropic Projects (Jam' iyyat al-Mashari' al-Khairiyya al-Islamiyya), more commonly known as al-Ahbash, appears to be a grassroots Islamist organization, much like those that have sprouted up throughout the Middle East over the last few decades. In reality, the group is largely a propaganda tool used by Syria's secular, Alawite-dominated regime to combat Islamic fundamentalism, manipulate the Lebanese Sunni Muslim community, and gain acceptance for the Alawite sect within Islamic religious circles.

Syria's control over al-Ahbash has been clearly evident in recent weeks. After a number of prominent Sunni Muslim figures in Lebanon expressed opposition to the Syrian occupation, members of al-Ahbash were quickly mobilized by Syrian intelligence to stage a series of rallies on April 11. Dressed in black and wearing face paint and masks, the al-Ahbash members chanted pro-Syrian slogans before the TV cameras while waving nail-encrusted broomsticks, kitchen knives, brass knuckles, chains, axes, old rusted swords and hammers.

Background

The Ahbash are the followers of Sheikh Abdullah Ibn Muhammad Ibn Yusuf al-Hirari al-Shibi al-Abdari, also known as Abdullah al-Habashi, signifying his Ethiopian origins. Sheikh Habashi was born in 1920 in al-Hirara, Ethiopia, where he studied Shafii juriprudence and became a Mufti. In 1947, the Sheikh was deported to Saudi Arabia by former Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie. A year later, the Sheikh moved to Damascus to study with the Rafaiiyya and Qadiriyya Sufi orders. In 1950, he made Beirut his home and started a campaign of recruitment. In 1983, the Sheikh's followers took control of the Society of Islamic Philanthropic Projects that was originally formed by Sheikh Ahmad al-Ajuz in 1930.

The Ahbash's belief system mixes elements of Sunni and Shi'ite theological doctrines with Sufi spiritualism. It includes the following tenets that are regularly publicized in Manar al-Huda, the society's journal:

• Islam's pluralist character and opposing the use of violence against the ruling authorities.
  
  
• Supporting the legitimacy of the Imama of Ali, and of his sons Hasan and Hussein, and upholding the teachings of Imam Hussein's son, Zayn al-Abidin. They believe that fighting on Imam Ali's side against Muawiyah was a duty and a Sunna. In this, al-Ahbash set themselves apart from all other Sunni jurists and are closer to Shi'ite Islam.
  
  
• Defending many Sufi beliefs and practices that are condemned by the Islamist groups as heresies. Such practices include giving allegiances to the pious ancestors, upholding the name of Allah by singing, visiting the shrines of saintly ancestors for their blessing and keeping meditation boxes in the mosques. The Ahbash enjoy the support of three traditional Sufi orders - Qadiriyya, Rifaiiyya, and Naqshabandiyya.
  
  
• Tolerating different forms of Islamic expression and opposing the absolutist standards of the Islamists.
  
  
• Rejecting the doctrine of Takfir (the charge of unbelief leveled by the Islamists against other Muslims) and emphasizing a relativistic standard in judging individuals and rulers.
  
  
• Opposing the establishment of Islamic order and the appointment of a caliph as espoused by most Islamic fundamentalist groups. The Ahbash endorse consociationalism as a political system and oppose the establishment of an Islamic theocratic state.¹

Al-Ahbash opposes Islamic fundamentalist movements inspired by the writings of Ibn Taymiyya and Sayyid Qutb, like the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya. It also opposes revolutionary action against authority. Islamic fundamentalist groups in Lebanon see al-Ahbash as an imposter organization trying to use the power of the Syrian regime to increase its political influence in Lebanon. In August 1995, a radical Islamist group called the Islamic Band of Helpers (Usbat al-Ansar al-Islamiyya) assassinated the leader of Al-Ahbash, Sheikh Nizar al-Halabi. Three of the assailants were executed.

Halabi's deputy, Sheikh Husam Qaraqira, became the organization's leader thereafter. Not surprisingly, Qaraqira graduated from an Islamic seminary in Syria

Notes

  ¹ For more on the belief system and ideology of Al-Ahbash, see Nizar Hamzeh and Hriar Dekmejian, "A Sufi Response to Political Islamism: Al-Ahbash of Lebanon, " The International Journal of Middle East Studies 28 (1996), 217-229.