Heaven Can't Wait

The Israeli and French retaliatory air strikes last week may have destroyed the headquarters of the Shi'ite Muslim militia called Islamic Amal, but the attacks could not hope to wipe out the group's suicidal zeal. For the followers of Shi'ite extremists, especially supporters of Iran's Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini, dying in a jihad, or "holy war," means martyrdom and a guaranteed place in heaven. With the recent suicide bombings of the U.S., French and Israeli headquarters in Lebanon, radical Shi'ite groups have become a small but potentially destabilizing force in Lebanon. Says an Israeli intelligence official: "We have the makings of a jihad on our borders."

Since the 7th century, when the death of the Prophet Muhammad precipitated the division of Islam between Sunnis and Shi'ites, the Shi'ites have stressed martyrdom as a way of atonement. About 20% of the world's 750 million Muslims are Shi'ites and they are the dominant majority in Iran. In Lebanon, Shi'ites outnumber Sunnis 3 to 2, but are overshadowed by the Sunnis in wealth and influence. Over the past few years, as the political situation in Lebanon deteriorated, the Shi'ite community grew susceptible to the radical religious politics of Iran's Khomeini. In the spring of 1982, Hussein Musawi, then the leader of the military wing of Amal, the country's dominant Shi'ite organization, accused the group's leader, Nabih Berri, of not adhering to the Ayatullah's edicts. The gaunt and bearded Musawi left Beirut with several hundred followers, mostly hard-core fighters. He promptly established the new faction of Islamic Amal in Baalbek, some 40 miles away in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley.

Musawi's headquarters soon attracted other zealots, including the Hizballah (Party of God), a group of fanatical pro-Khomeini Shi'ite clerics. During last year's Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon, Musawi was joined by 300 Iranian Revolutionary Guards who had entered the country through Syria with the avowed intention of battling the Israelis. Instead, the Guards stayed in Baalbek to help Musawi consolidate his grip. As the number of Guards grew to some 1,000 during the next few months, they transformed the city and its environs into a miniature Iranian state. They lectured the locals on Khomeini's Musawi under Khomeini's picture teachings, banned liquor and forced women to wear headscarfs and to don traditional, modest dresses. Posters of the Ayatullah sprouted everywhere.

The Iranians went even further than that, according to Israeli intelligence officials. At the camp destroyed by the Israelis last week, the Revolutionary Guards were instructing Lebanese Shi'ites in the use of small arms and explosives. The two groups, however, had separate chains of command. The Iranians were led by Ayatullah Fazlollah Mahallati, who kept an office in Tehran but often shuttled between Damascus and Baalbek, and Mohammed Kanaani, an Iranian military officer. The Lebanese Shi'ites were directed by Musawi and Iranian officers. Though neither the Iranians nor the Shi'ites were directly controlled by the Syrians, most of their activities were in fact coordinated with Damascus. Baalbek also boasted a workshop for building car bombs. The craftsmanship could be frighteningly professional: in one captured Mercedes, the seats, dashboard and floor were made of TNT and repainted to look like an ordinary interior.

Israeli intelligence officials believe that the attacks against the Americans, French and Israelis were carried out by Iranian drivers. The Syrians are said to have supplied intelligence about the targets and cleared the roads for the deadly vehicles. The Israelis, moreover, estimate that many Iranians are still in the triangle formed by Baalbek, Riyaq and Chtaura, and operate bases in the Bekaa. Says an Israeli antiterror expert: "They are all potential suicidal terrorists." This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.