Hizballah, the Shi'i Islamist movement whose militia is fighting the Israeli army in south Lebanon, has been cast misleadingly in much media coverage of the ongoing war. Much more than a militia, the movement is also a political party and a provider of social services. Not a creature of Iran and Syria, Hizballah arose to battle Israel's occupation of south Lebanon from 1982-2000 and, more broadly, to advocate for Lebanon's historically disenfranchised Shi'i Muslim community. While it has many political opponents in Lebanon, Hizballah is very much of Lebanon.
"Hizballah: A Primer," by Lara Deeb, is now available in Middle East Report Online: http://www.merip.org/mero/mero073106.html