BEIRUT — When Hizbullah intervened in Syria, it was accused by anti-Syrian government politicians in Lebanon of supporting the Syrian president for sectarian regions. However, the group maintains that it joined the war in Syria to protect the Lebanese border from the threat of takfiris, extremists who consider others infidels.

In an interview with The Arab American News, Hizbullah Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem said the United States is not serious about combating extremists. He added that many parties in Lebanon and the Gulf are starting to realize the dangers of the takfiri threat. 

On internal Lebanese politics, he urged the government to take a courageous approach to free the soldiers who were kidnapped by extremist militants in Ersal. He said Hizbullah’s candidate for presidency is “known.”

Below is our interview with Qassem:

The Arab American News: How would you describe the state of the region after the violent developments and the rise of the “Islamic State”?

Naim Qassem: The number issue that’s preoccupying Lebanon and the region is the danger of the takfiri project that’s being carried out by ISIS and the Nusra Front and others. This danger requires local, regional and international cooperative efforts to face it. Some of the employers of the takfiri emirs have discovered that they are going in a different direction than intended.

What we are seeing of regional and international panic is related to losing control and fear of the implications that they have not calculated. With that being said, it should be noted that the international effort led by the United States is not serious against the takfiri threat, but it intends to place limitations [on takfiri militants] that would ensure benefiting from this threat as a source of fear to garner political benefits. Likewise, the regional panic has to do with direct harm to certain states, which might appear in some way soon.

NQ: We have foreseen the existence of the takfiri threat years ago and faced it preemptively not to lose control of our Lebanese border. We told everybody that what’s happening in Syria is a change in geography and politics. As for geography, the change follows the plans of the U.S. vice president, Joe Biden, who wants to divide Iraq. In politics, it is to hit the resistance project to serve Israel.

But some parties refused our assessment, turned against us and spoke of a revolution, until they saw the militants beheading people and vowing to erase the border and rebelling against everything. Even today, some people refuse to admit their mistake and recognize the danger.

NQ: We work calmly and in extreme precision and take the necessary steps to preserve and protect the resistance project and Lebanon, our country. I think it is time for everybody to know that waiting for regional developments in Syria and Iraq will not result in anything. Hence, those waiting for regional results will be waiting for a long time, which will prolong the status quo in Lebanon. 

NQ: The solution is for Lebanese parties to recognizing the demands of different groups by electing a president who represents the people or putting the parliament, which is considered a council for the Lebanese people, to work.

NQ: Our stance is clear— electing a consensus president according to the constitution.

NQ: We are ready to do that as soon as possible.

NQ: This accusation is invalid and rejected. We consider the matter in the hands of “14  March” who insist on unrealistic, impossible choices, such as the candidacy of Samir Geagea 

NQ: Our candidate, as Hizbullah, is known and the rules that we have followed is that he must be representative of the Christian community and has a good reputation in the entire country. We consider this candidate to possess the ability to soothe the worries of “14 March.” The presidency in Lebanon is not a partisan post. It is a post where the strong president, who represents the people, can lead the ship safely.

NQ: The events in Ersal are a threat to the entire country. We see that there is a demanding necessity to do everything possible to rescue the soldiers of the Lebanese army, who represent the entire country. This responsibility falls on the Lebanese government to follow this issue carefully and free the servicemen safely. 

TAAN: How will you deal with this issue?

NQ: We are with a courageous approach to this situation, and we will follow up on the issue with all the leaders handling the problem politically.

NQ: The recent events have proved what we had predicted. We expected that Syria will not fall; and today Syria has survived the crisis and elected a president and the armed groups are being crushed and fighting each other. We also expected that bringing the takfiris from around the world to Syria will cause their expansion and intensify their threat. This is what happened with erasing the border between Syria and Iraq and occupying Mosul. We also expected that the takfiris will target Lebanon with chaos, explosions and attacks and this turned out to be true. The Lebanese army has stood to stop the tampering with national security.

We have told “14 March” repeatedly to stop justifying the takfiris. If you think your cover will tame them, so you can use them to your project, you are wrong. And the facts have proved that these takfiris do not follow or recognize anybody. They even turn against those who cover them.

We said previously and we say today, the right option is to sit together and agree on a mechanism to tackle the issues. Insults do not produce solutions and spewing poison in the media does not change the situation or get you anywhere. The only way is to recognize the truth; Lebanon is a pluralistic country that can only be ruled by all of its children without excluding or isolating anybody.

NQ: Barrack Obama has declared clearly that he wants to contain, not finish, ISIS.

NQ: Obama’s talk is clear. The containment he spoke of means limiting the threats and disabling some of ISIS’ goals, with keeping the function of this terrorist group in using it to scare the states in the region and pushing for a new formula in Iraq that would benefit the U.S. At the same time, ISIS would remain a sharp sword against Syria until a solution is reached. Hence, the Americans do not mind ISIS in our region, but are trying to prevent it from expanding to their soil. They do not want to wipe out ISIS.

NQ: Gulf countries started feeling the threat of takfiris and these governments have clear reports about sleeping terrorist cells and fundamentalist scholars and individuals close to the ruling families who promote and support takfiri ideology… Gulf countries are in danger. As I said, these terrorists have their own project and if it benefits anybody, it’s temporary. Eventually they serve themselves only.