Statements recently made a top Hezbollah figure and published Friday by Hezbollah’s Al-Manar media outlet risk accelerating a wave of sectarian strife that, having been largely imported from the nearly three-year conflict in neighboring Syria, has increasingly generated open fighting between various factions and a wave of car bombs targeting Hezbollah in retaliation for its critical role in ensuring the survival of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime. Al-Manar conveyed statements from Naim Qassem, Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General.

Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem asserted that Hezbollah will continue its war against the takfiri plot anSheikh Naim Qassemd will defeat it, noting that the achievements in this context are to appear soon. Sheikh Qassem added that the recent suicidal explosions are not vandalizing attacks, yet a planned war against the resistance and all its environment as well as against the Lebanese army. Sheikh Qassem pointed out that Syrian town of Yabroud is the source of the booby-trapped cars which are being moved to Lebanon via a certain Lebanese town where the suicide bombings are planned and executed by multinational takfiri criminals.

The gesture toward ‘takfiri’ is an accusation of apostasy, and is used by Hezbollah and its Shiite allies to describe not just Sunni jihadists but also moderate Sunnis battling the Assad regime and Sunni Muslims in general. It has been repeatedly used by Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah to justify warfighting inside Syria. Its increasing prevalence in Hezbollah’s rhetoric regarding Lebanese violence will deepen fears that hardened sectarianism, which has complicated efforts to dampen Syrian violence, will take hold in Lebanon.

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