The coronavirus pandemic has put Hezbollah in a complex and sensitive position.
Immediately after the first infected individuals were identified in Lebanon, Hezbollah was accused of conveying the disease to the country from Iran. Air traffic from Tehran to Beirut had continued without letup as Lebanese students and their families fled the universities in Iran, particularly the madrasas of Qom where thousands of Lebanese study, and returned to Lebanon without being checked or quarantined, thereby spreading the disease from Iran to Lebanon.
These accusations sparked fear as well as intense anger at Hezbollah, which claimed that the virus had broken out in the Jesuit monasteries of Beirut and Bikfaya. Hezbollah thereby sought to place the blame at the door of Lebanon’s Maronite Christian community.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who has given several speeches over the past few weeks, stated unequivocally that the responsibility for handling the virus in Lebanon belongs to the Lebanese state and the Lebanese government. That means all residents of Lebanon, including Hezbollah members and their families, must comply with the directives of the Lebanese Health Ministry, which is headed by a Hezbollah-affiliated minister. continued here
THE ISLAM REPORT 