Joseph Alagha
Biographic Data
| ID | 300085 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Joseph Alagha |
| GIVEN NAMES | Joseph |
| FAMILY NAME | Alagha |
| SIGNATURE | ALAGHA J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Haigazian University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8940-6194 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 2 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 18 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1970 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Hizbullah's Identity Construction
before officially abolishing it in written laws.The party also called for upholding the principle of consensual democracy.However, based on its demographic strength, Hizbullah called for reducing the voting age from 21 to 18 and changing the electoral system to proportional representation, which the party believed would give the 18 ethno-confessional communities more equitable representation.Hizbullah's identity has undergone a considerable trans…
Hizbullah's Post-Islamist Trends in the Performing Arts
This article outlines Hizbullah's shift to post-Islamism and its various cultural activities in Lebanese society that underpin this shift. The Party's involvement in these activities is integrated in current research on post-Islamism and its various social, political, and cultural manifestations. In its Islamist stage, Hizbullah anathematized the Lebanese political system and state institutions. In its post-Islamist phase, Hizbullah became pragma…
Hizbullah’s Post-Islamist Resistance Art
In post-Islamist phase, Hizbullah reformulated some of its central ideas and strategies. Its former top-down strategy of forcibly imposing an Islamic state against the will of significant parts of the Lebanese society has changed toward an integrative, bottom-up strategy, not only in politics but also in arts. Hizbullah’s popular culture and lifestyles by discussing its ‘resistance art.’ Resistance art is ideologically motivated art, which aims a…
Ibn Khaldun: A sociology of history
Alatas’s two books reviewed in this essay offer a new reading of an important sociologist by shedding an important contextual light on Ibn Khaldun’s works. They interpret and analyze Ibn Khaldun’s philosophy of history, social theory, and sociological doctrines, not only by stressing their modern relevance, but also by demonstrating how they could be employed to forge a new reading of the social sciences. Thus, Alatas’s methodology applies Ibn Kh…
Moderation and the Performing Arts in Contemporary Muslim Societies
Art plays an important role for politically engaged Muslims and promotes moderation (wasaṭīyah). Moderation has a civilizational mission: to buttress an open society that recognizes its inhabitants’ diversity so that they can freely and skillfully express their own cultural identity and thus contribute to enhancing the overall Islamic cultural sphere by endorsing the performing arts. The wasaṭīyah authors discussed below reject the notion of “art…
Salafism in Lebanon: From apoliticism to transnational jihadism
Robert Rabil has written a groundbreaking book on Salafism in Lebanon. Drawing on field research, personal interviews and a vast repertoire of primary sources, he traces the emergence and developme
Shii Sectarianism in the Middle East: Modernisation and the Quest for Islamic Universalism
This is a good analytical book, which conveys meticulously the transformations of two prominent Shii ‘ulama’—Kashif al-Ghita’ in Iraq and Muhsin al-Amin in Lebanon—who combined authenticity with modernity. While relying on an impressive host of original primary Arabic and Persian sources, the author is gifted in employing discourse and content analysis, which can capture the attention of both academic and lay readers. The monograph’s only liabili…
Hezbollah and the Arab Spring
The Lebanese resistance movement and political party, Hezbollah, benefited from the Arab Spring to spread its hegemony over Lebanon through democratic means. In January 2011, the party and its allies forged a majority in the parliament and formed a cabinet. Since March 22, 2013, a power vacuum has been reigning in Lebanon: there is no cabinet; no functioning parliament; and no properly running institutions. This situation increased sectarian tens…
G. Banna’s and A. Fadlallah’s Views on Dancing
This article discusses the concept of purposeful art ( al-fann al-hadif ), which is ideologically motivated art that caters to Muslim religious sensibilities, in opposition to lowbrow art ( al-fann al-habit ) that does not. It compares Gamal al-Banna’s attempt in Egypt to include dance into the concept with the views of the Lebanese Ayatullah Fadlallah, the late ideologue and early mentor of the Shi‘ite resistance movement Hizbullah. The main que…
Jihad through ‘music’: The Taliban and Hizbullah
This article discusses the cultural politics of the Taliban and Hizbullah. While Hizbullah embraces ‘resistance art’ and encourages purposeful music and artistic expressions as pious entertainment, the Taliban censor music and restrict artistic activities, considering them innovations (bida‘) that distract from the practice of ‘authentic Islam’ and ‘true worship’. To discuss the interplay between the ‘power of music’ and ‘music in power’, this ar…
Dominique Avon and Anaïs-Trissa Khatchadourian. Hezbollah: A History of the “Party of God.”
Hezbollah: A History of the “Party of God” aspired to become a leading reference work on the party. On close scrutiny, it turned out to be a mundane book based on a selective reading of secondary sources. Although the authors boast a privileged access to Hezbollah, hardly any empirical fieldwork has been done; not a single interview with Hezbollah’s rank and file is reported. The book is marred by factual errors as well as mistakes in principle a…
Hizbullah's Identity Construction
As the dominant political force in Lebanon and one of the most powerful post-Islamist organizations in the world, Hizbullah is a source of great controversy and uncertainty in the West. Despite the significant attention paid to this group by the media, the details of Hizbullah's evolution have frequently confounded politicians' and even scholars. In this important study, Joseph Alagha, a scholar with unprecedented access to the organization, exha…
Muslim Rap, Halal Soaps, and Revolutionary Theater: Artistic Developments in the Muslim World
Hizbullah's Documents: From the 1985 Open Letter to the 2009 Manifesto
Compilation and translation into English of the original primary documents in Arabic
Hizbullah's Documents: From the 1985 Open Letter to the 2009 Manifesto
Despite the controversial reputation of Hizbullah in the West, and the significant role this powerful Islamist organization plays in Lebanese politics, there are few reliable, published English translations of the party’s primary documents. With this extensive work, Joseph Alagha seeks to remedy this problem and rectify the distortions and misrepresentations that have resulted from inaccurate translations.\n \nThrough privileged access to the par…
The Shifts in Hizbullah's Ideology: Religious Ideology, Political Ideology, and Political Program
De Libanese Shi'itische verzetsbeweging Hizbullah ondergaat een opzienbarende politieke en ideologische transformatie. Ten tijde van de stichting in 1978, door Libanese geestelijken en leiders en met Iranese steun, was Hizbullah vooral een islamitische beweging die zich verzette tegen sociale en politieke omstandigheden. Gaandeweg ontwikkelde de beweging zich tot een 'volwassen' sociale beweging, met een solide organisatie, structuur en ideologie…
Hizballah after the Syrian Withdrawal
ince the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1559 in September 20zoo4, Hizballah has been in the internaS tional spotlight. In addition to demanding the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon, the resolution calls for the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias, primarily reference to the Islamic Resistance that is Hizballah's armed wing. Following the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-H…
"Wilāyat al-faqīh" and Hizbullah's Relations with Iran
Hizbullah in Lebanon has succeeded in employing Imām Khūmaynī’s theory of wilāyat al-faqīh (‘the guardianship of the jurisprudent’) as a cornerstone in its politico-religious ideology from 1978, molding, interpreting and adapting the original theory to suit Lebanese social and political conditions. In order to negotiate successive changes in the political system, Hizbullah has shifted its ideology to become a key player affecting the dynamic chan…
Hizbullah’s Post-Islamist Resistance Art
In post-Islamist phase, Hizbullah reformulated some of its central ideas and strategies. Its former top-down strategy of forcibly imposing an Islamic state against the will of significant parts of the Lebanese society has changed toward an integrative, bottom-up strategy, not only in politics but also in arts. Hizbullah’s popular culture and lifestyles by discussing its ‘resistance art.’ Resistance art is ideologically motivated art, which aims a…
"Wilāyat al-faqīh" and Hizbullah's Relations with Iran
Hizbullah in Lebanon has succeeded in employing Imām Khūmaynī’s theory of wilāyat al-faqīh (‘the guardianship of the jurisprudent’) as a cornerstone in its politico-religious ideology from 1978, molding, interpreting and adapting the original theory to suit Lebanese social and political conditions. In order to negotiate successive changes in the political system, Hizbullah has shifted its ideology to become a key player affecting the dynamic chan…
Hizballah after the Syrian Withdrawal
ince the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1559 in September 20zoo4, Hizballah has been in the internaS tional spotlight. In addition to demanding the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon, the resolution calls for the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias, primarily reference to the Islamic Resistance that is Hizballah's armed wing. Following the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-H…
The Shifts in Hizbullah's Ideology: Religious Ideology, Political Ideology, and Political Program
De Libanese Shi'itische verzetsbeweging Hizbullah ondergaat een opzienbarende politieke en ideologische transformatie. Ten tijde van de stichting in 1978, door Libanese geestelijken en leiders en met Iranese steun, was Hizbullah vooral een islamitische beweging die zich verzette tegen sociale en politieke omstandigheden. Gaandeweg ontwikkelde de beweging zich tot een 'volwassen' sociale beweging, met een solide organisatie, structuur en ideologie…
Muslim Rap, Halal Soaps, and Revolutionary Theater: Artistic Developments in the Muslim World
Hizbullah's Documents: From the 1985 Open Letter to the 2009 Manifesto
Compilation and translation into English of the original primary documents in Arabic
Hizbullah's Documents: From the 1985 Open Letter to the 2009 Manifesto
Despite the controversial reputation of Hizbullah in the West, and the significant role this powerful Islamist organization plays in Lebanese politics, there are few reliable, published English translations of the party’s primary documents. With this extensive work, Joseph Alagha seeks to remedy this problem and rectify the distortions and misrepresentations that have resulted from inaccurate translations.\n \nThrough privileged access to the par…
Hizbullah's Identity Construction
As the dominant political force in Lebanon and one of the most powerful post-Islamist organizations in the world, Hizbullah is a source of great controversy and uncertainty in the West. Despite the significant attention paid to this group by the media, the details of Hizbullah's evolution have frequently confounded politicians' and even scholars. In this important study, Joseph Alagha, a scholar with unprecedented access to the organization, exha…
Jihad through ‘music’: The Taliban and Hizbullah
This article discusses the cultural politics of the Taliban and Hizbullah. While Hizbullah embraces ‘resistance art’ and encourages purposeful music and artistic expressions as pious entertainment, the Taliban censor music and restrict artistic activities, considering them innovations (bida‘) that distract from the practice of ‘authentic Islam’ and ‘true worship’. To discuss the interplay between the ‘power of music’ and ‘music in power’, this ar…
Dominique Avon and Anaïs-Trissa Khatchadourian. Hezbollah: A History of the “Party of God.”
Hezbollah: A History of the “Party of God” aspired to become a leading reference work on the party. On close scrutiny, it turned out to be a mundane book based on a selective reading of secondary sources. Although the authors boast a privileged access to Hezbollah, hardly any empirical fieldwork has been done; not a single interview with Hezbollah’s rank and file is reported. The book is marred by factual errors as well as mistakes in principle a…
Shii Sectarianism in the Middle East: Modernisation and the Quest for Islamic Universalism
This is a good analytical book, which conveys meticulously the transformations of two prominent Shii ‘ulama’—Kashif al-Ghita’ in Iraq and Muhsin al-Amin in Lebanon—who combined authenticity with modernity. While relying on an impressive host of original primary Arabic and Persian sources, the author is gifted in employing discourse and content analysis, which can capture the attention of both academic and lay readers. The monograph’s only liabili…
Hezbollah and the Arab Spring
The Lebanese resistance movement and political party, Hezbollah, benefited from the Arab Spring to spread its hegemony over Lebanon through democratic means. In January 2011, the party and its allies forged a majority in the parliament and formed a cabinet. Since March 22, 2013, a power vacuum has been reigning in Lebanon: there is no cabinet; no functioning parliament; and no properly running institutions. This situation increased sectarian tens…
G. Banna’s and A. Fadlallah’s Views on Dancing
This article discusses the concept of purposeful art ( al-fann al-hadif ), which is ideologically motivated art that caters to Muslim religious sensibilities, in opposition to lowbrow art ( al-fann al-habit ) that does not. It compares Gamal al-Banna’s attempt in Egypt to include dance into the concept with the views of the Lebanese Ayatullah Fadlallah, the late ideologue and early mentor of the Shi‘ite resistance movement Hizbullah. The main que…
Moderation and the Performing Arts in Contemporary Muslim Societies
Art plays an important role for politically engaged Muslims and promotes moderation (wasaṭīyah). Moderation has a civilizational mission: to buttress an open society that recognizes its inhabitants’ diversity so that they can freely and skillfully express their own cultural identity and thus contribute to enhancing the overall Islamic cultural sphere by endorsing the performing arts. The wasaṭīyah authors discussed below reject the notion of “art…
Salafism in Lebanon: From apoliticism to transnational jihadism
Robert Rabil has written a groundbreaking book on Salafism in Lebanon. Drawing on field research, personal interviews and a vast repertoire of primary sources, he traces the emergence and developme
Ibn Khaldun: A sociology of history
Alatas’s two books reviewed in this essay offer a new reading of an important sociologist by shedding an important contextual light on Ibn Khaldun’s works. They interpret and analyze Ibn Khaldun’s philosophy of history, social theory, and sociological doctrines, not only by stressing their modern relevance, but also by demonstrating how they could be employed to forge a new reading of the social sciences. Thus, Alatas’s methodology applies Ibn Kh…
Hizbullah’s Post-Islamist Resistance Art
In post-Islamist phase, Hizbullah reformulated some of its central ideas and strategies. Its former top-down strategy of forcibly imposing an Islamic state against the will of significant parts of the Lebanese society has changed toward an integrative, bottom-up strategy, not only in politics but also in arts. Hizbullah’s popular culture and lifestyles by discussing its ‘resistance art.’ Resistance art is ideologically motivated art, which aims a…
Hizbullah's Post-Islamist Trends in the Performing Arts
This article outlines Hizbullah's shift to post-Islamism and its various cultural activities in Lebanese society that underpin this shift. The Party's involvement in these activities is integrated in current research on post-Islamism and its various social, political, and cultural manifestations. In its Islamist stage, Hizbullah anathematized the Lebanese political system and state institutions. In its post-Islamist phase, Hizbullah became pragma…
Hizbullah's Identity Construction
before officially abolishing it in written laws.The party also called for upholding the principle of consensual democracy.However, based on its demographic strength, Hizbullah called for reducing the voting age from 21 to 18 and changing the electoral system to proportional representation, which the party believed would give the 18 ethno-confessional communities more equitable representation.Hizbullah's identity has undergone a considerable trans…
Political science (15 works) · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies (14 works) · Middle East Politics and Society (14 works) · Law (13 works) · Sociology (13 works) · Politics (11 works) · Philosophy (9 works) · Ideology (8 works) · Islamic Studies and History (8 works) · Aesthetics (7 works)