Sumaya Ali
Translated by Hussein Moghniyeh
On July 14, 2006, his voice thundered:
“The surprises I promised you will begin now. At sea, opposite Beirut, lies the Israeli warship that bombarded our infrastructure, our people’s homes, and our civilians. Look at it—burning and sinking, along with dozens of Zionist Israeli soldiers.”
That night, our hearts beat as one, and our throats chanted, as we always did in both victory and hardship: “At your service, O Nasrallah!”
Nineteen years later, we remember that historic moment—one among many—shaped by what the renowned Egyptian journalist Muhammad Hassanein Heikal once described as their “media value.” He made this observation in an interview with the martyred Hezbollah media relations official, Muhammad Afif.
Even the enemy acknowledged this power. In Newsweek (October 18, 2017), Colonel (res.) Gabi Siboni, director of the Military and Strategic Affairs Program at Israel’s INSS, wrote about the reality of “fighting against Israel without fire,” pointing to the impact of Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah’s words on perception—“a hallmark of his rhetoric.” Zvi Barel, Middle East commentator for Haaretz, noted: “In short, Hasan Nasrallah shattered a rule long accepted by the Israeli public and media: he is an Arab leader who does not boast, does not lie, and whose words are precise.”
It was this innate gift—the bond of honesty, love, and trust between His Eminence and the people—that allowed his words to transcend borders. His speeches carved themselves into collective memory, serving as the cornerstone of a resistance media apparatus that grew, adapted, and fought side by side with the military front in the eternal war of truth against falsehood.
________________________________________
The Beginning
“This is a channel that does not sway with every wind, nor croak with every croaker. It does not change its skin or shift a rifle from one shoulder to another. It is not for rent—to a state, a regime, or a financier. This is the channel of the sacrificial mujahideen, the families of martyrs, the wounded, the prisoners who endured. This is the channel of the afflicted in times of sacrifice, and the smiles of the victorious in times of triumph.”
—Speech of Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, June 8, 2021, on the 30th anniversary of Al-Manar TV
For thirty-two years, the Master of the Nation’s Martyrs embodied in politics, military action, culture, faith, and society the very spirit of Ashura. He reminded us that Imam Hussein’s stance (peace be upon him) would have been silenced had it not been carried forth by Lady Zainab and Imam Ali ibn al-Hussein (peace be upon them). Without their voices, Yazid’s lies would have buried the truth.
From the very beginning, he understood that resistance could never achieve full victory without a media outlet bearing Hezbollah’s identity, countering the vast resources of the enemy. Thus came Al-Ahed newspaper in the mid-1980s, Al-Nour Radio in 1988, and, despite scarce means, Al-Manar TV in 1991. By 2000, it reached the satellites—broadcasting, for the entire region to see, the liberation of the South.
________________________________________
Confrontation
“Today, we are called upon to innovate, to create, and to support each other intellectually. We need stronger arguments to win public opinion, given the power of the opposing media and the weakness of their logic.”
—Speech at the Arab Conference in Support of the Resistance, Bristol, March 30, 2006
Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah knew that the media battlefield was no less dangerous than the military one. He oversaw it directly, allocating resources and demanding credibility and unity above all.
By the early 2000s, Israel realized it had lost its monopoly over the conflict’s narrative. Abdullah Qassir, then general manager of Al-Manar, explained: “Before Al-Manar, Israel’s narrative dominated Arab and international media. But with our presence, the falsity of that narrative was exposed.”
During the July 2006 war, this credibility drew even Israelis away from their own media. Qassir recalled: “I received a remarkable report titled ‘Israelis Abandon Fox News and Follow Al-Manar,’ because they discovered the lies of their own outlets and the credibility of ours.”
Meanwhile, the Arab world’s streets fell silent during the Sayyed’s speeches. Cairo, Amman, Damascus—whole capitals froze to hear his words. These addresses were distilled into precise, visual messages, often backed with maps and coordinates. When he vowed to strike Haifa and beyond, the enemy trembled.
After 2006, Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah pushed the resistance media into new realms, encouraging drama productions such as Al-Ghaliboun. He urged that the struggles of the South be told not just through news, but through culture and art. He also championed the establishment of the Union of Islamic Radios and Channels in 2008, which grew into a hub for training, program exchange, and joint initiatives.
________________________________________
A Different Kind of Confrontation
The so-called “Arab Spring” brought new plots against the resistance. Al-Manar faced bans on Arabsat (2015), Nilesat (2016), and earlier on European satellites (2005).
Yet our beloved Sayyed had long foreseen this. On September 17, 2003, at a media conference in support of the Palestinian Intifada, he warned against U.S. attempts to intimidate Arab outlets: “Stand firm. Do not submit to American pressure labeling resistance channels as those that incite terrorism.”
________________________________________
The Threat that Became an Opportunity
“Today, the most dangerous and important thing is social media. It is both a threat and an opportunity. We must not fall prey to the threat but rather turn it into an opportunity—use it, and not waste it.”
—Speech at the Central Ashura Commemoration, August 11, 2021
By 2010, social media had transformed the media landscape. His Eminence Sayyed Nasrallah recognized it as a double-edged sword: controlled by the West, yet a weapon for the oppressed to reach the world. He insisted on carrying into this new space the same principles that guided his entire media philosophy: clarity, truthfulness, evidence, and respect, even for adversaries.
Ali Hajj Youssef, Hezbollah’s social media manager, recounted how our Sayyed demanded discipline: “He wanted every activist to inform, explain, and prove—with honesty, without slander, and using the latest tools. He believed every man, woman, and child of the resistance should be capable of analyzing events as leaders do.”
Qassir described how meetings were held with hundreds of influencers, guided by senior Hezbollah figures, to ensure this arena never descended into chaos. Reports from his office tracked online trends daily, often reviewed directly by His Eminence.
At the 2021 Media Discourse Renewal Conference, he declared: “This is a great opportunity where every individual, not just elites or intellectuals, can transform into a messenger to the entire world—conveying images, facts, and positions.”
________________________________________
The Cornerstone
“The battle for awareness rages fiercely between Israeli propaganda and Hezbollah’s media wizard, Hassan Nasrallah. This war involves no bombs or fighter planes—it is fought on Twitter.”
—Hebrew Channel 10, July 25, 2021
The Master of the Nation’s Martyrs, Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah knew the enemy’s material superiority in both arms and media. Yet, he wielded what could not be bought: truth, sincerity, and the love of his people. Even Netanyahu, who labeled him “the axis of the axis,” failed to silence him with 80 tons of explosive ordinance.
His very presence became a media constitution—his speeches the architecture of resistance media. Journalist Ghassan Ben Jeddou recalled: “He enters with one cameraman, one director, one sound engineer. Smiling, calm, radiant. He doesn’t care for his own image—only that his message honors the people and respects the viewer.”
His meticulous care extended to all details. Hajj Qassir remembered how he would call Al-Manar to correct spelling errors on the news ticker. Ali Hajj Youssef recounted his playful demand to swap an official photo for a “more beautiful one” during a broadcast, to which he replied:
“All your photos are beautiful, Sayyed.”
________________________________________
A Voice Etched in History
Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah was not only the commander of a resistance, but also the poet of its soul. His voice carried the weight of history, stitching together sacrifice and victory, grief and triumph. He stood like his grandfather Imam Hussein (peace be upon him) at Karbala, knowing that truth must be spoken even if the world stands ready to silence it; either with swords and spears, or bombs and bullets.
His speeches were not mere words but living testaments—etched into memory, carried in the tears of martyrs’ mothers and the pride of the victorious. Even now, after his departure, his voice does not fade; it flows like a river through the veins of the resistance, whispering guidance, fortitude, and faith.
And so, when history writes of our time, it will say that a man stood before the might of armies and empires, armed only with truth and the love of his people, and he prevailed.
Source: Al-Manar English Website
