Amal Movement

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For other uses of Amal, see the disambiguation page.

Amal (Arabic: afwâju l-muqâwamati l-lubnâniya) is short for the Lebanese Resistance Detachments. Amal is the popular name, meaning "hope" in Arabic. Amal became one of the most important Shi'ite Muslim militias during the Lebanese Civil War. Amal grew strong through its close ties with the Islamic regime of Iran, and the 300,000 Shi'i internal refugees from southern Lebanon after the Israeli bombings in the early 1980s. At its greatest the militia had 14,000 troops.

Unlike Hizbullah, Amal does not call for an Islamic state in Lebanon. Amal's historical objectives are to achieve respect for Lebanon's long-alienated Shiite population and a fairer distribution of resources for the South.

Amal fought a long campaign against Palestinian refugees in the Lebanese Civil War called the War of the Camps. After the War of the Camps Amal fought a bloody battle against its fellow Shi'a group Hizbullah for Beirut. This battle ended with massive Syrian intervention.

History

1974: The Movement of the Disinherited is formed by the Shi'i leader Imam Moussa Sader.

20 January 1975: The Lebanese Resistance Detachments are formed as a military wing of The Movement of the Disinherited, and came to be popularly known as Amal (from the acronym Afwaj al-Mouqawma Al-Lubnaniyya).

1982: Nabih Berri becomes one of the leaders of Amal. He was a Shi'i layman, but maintained close relations with Syria.

1985: Amal begins its long bloody siege of the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.

1987: Amal ends its siege of the camps.

September 1991: With background in the Syrian controlled end of the Lebanese Civil War in October 1990, 2,800 Amal troops joined the Lebanese army.

Currently Amal has 9 deputies in the parliament and its president Nabih Berri is the president of the parliament.fr:Amal