What do we know about Hezbollah’s new leader, Naim Qassem?

EXPLAINER

Hezbollah, the Lebanese radical celebrated for its secrecy, has appointed a caller leader.

Hezbollah’s caller secretary-general is Naim Qassem, the longtime fig 2 to the precocious Hassan Nasrallah who was assassinated by Israel connected September 27.

Hezbollah announced the assignment connected Tuesday via its Telegram channel.

Who is Naim Qassem?

Qassem has a agelong past successful Shia governmental activism and has been lawman secretary-general of Hezbollah since 1991 erstwhile Abbas al-Musawi was secretary-general.

Al-Musawi was besides assassinated by Israel.

“He was hoping to go Hezbollah’s secretary-general erstwhile Musawi was killed successful 1992,” Nicholas Blanford, a nonresident elder chap with the Atlantic Council’s Middle East programme, told Al Jazeera.

“The Shura Council elected Nasrallah, who was Musawi’s prodigy.”

Qassem was calved successful the Nabatieh governorate’s Kfar Kila, a confederate Lebanese colony that has suffered done galore Israeli attacks, particularly since past October.

One of Qassem’s spiritual mentors was the wide respected Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, and Qassem himself has taught spiritual classes for decades successful Beirut.

Has Qassem ever been with Hezbollah?

Not always.

In the 1970s, helium joined the precocious Imam Musa al-Sadr’s Movement of the Dispossessed, which yet became portion of the Amal Movement successful Lebanon.

He near Amal and helped commencement Hezbollah successful 1982, becoming 1 of the group’s foundational clerics.

What has his relation been successful Hezbollah?

The secretive quality of Hezbollah means lone immoderate of Qassem’s roles are nationalist knowledge.

At 1 point, helium oversaw portion of Hezbollah’s acquisition web and has besides been progressive successful overseeing the group’s parliamentary activities.

He has played an important public-facing relation successful Hezbollah implicit the years, and is besides a subordinate of the group’s Shura Council.

He famously published a publication called, Hizbullah, the Story from Within, successful 2005, which was translated into respective languages.

Lebanese radical Hezbollah’s caller person Sheikh Naim Qassem speaks during a rally supporting Palestinians successful Gaza, connected October 13, 2023 [Zohra Bensemra/Reuters]

A new, antithetic leader

After Nasrallah’s assassination, immoderate speculated that Hezbollah’s Shura Council mightiness hold for the extremity of Israel’s warfare connected Lebanon to elite a caller leader, but Qassem was chosen amid a warfare that whitethorn signifier the group’s future.

Qassem is simply a acquainted look who has fixed galore interviews. He addressed Hezbollah’s followers pursuing Nasrallah’s assassination.

He wears a achromatic turban, dissimilar Nasrallah and Safieddine whose achromatic turbans signalled descendance from the prophet.

Immediately aft Nasrallah’s assassination, determination were 2 candidates to regenerate him: Qassem and Hashem Safieddine, who headed the enforcement council.

Safieddine was targeted a fewer days aft Israel assassinated Nasrallah but his decease wasn’t announced for a mates of weeks, reportedly owed to the information that Israeli subject strikes impeded the rescue process.

Much of Hezbollah’s subject enactment has been assassinated by Israel successful a small implicit a period and its home governmental allies person started to enactment region betwixt themselves and the group.

“Ultimately, he’s 1 of the past lasting figures of the governmental and spiritual enactment cadre that was eligible to beryllium elected secretary-general,” Blanford said. “I’m not amazed astatine all. It was a clear-cut decision.”

“I don’t deliberation it signals a change, if anything, Qassem is simply a motion of continuity [for Hezbollah].”