The success of Iran’s revolution in 1979 marked the success of a new global Islamist ideology with a key commitment to countering Western influence in the Muslim world. The Iranian constitution reinforces the global exportation of this ideology, citing the aim of representing “the earnest aspiration of the Islamic ummah [universal community of believers]…made explicit by the very nature of the great Islamic Revolution of Iran, as well as the course of the Muslim people’s struggle.” This commitment to combatting perceived Western dominance is characteristic of religious fundamentalist movements, which typically “form in reaction to, and in defense against the processes and consequences of secularization and modernization which have penetrated the larger religious community.” Since the late 1970s, Iran’s modus operandi has been to preserve the Shi’a Muslim minority worldwide and disseminate the Islamic revolution’s ideology in response to this perceived Western ideological threat.
This pan-Islamic resolve first succeeded in Lebanon. The Lebanon-based political and militant Shi’a group Hezbollah (“Party of God”) is not a proxy of Iran, but rather its strongest political partner. Birthed from the Israeli military’s seizure of southern Lebanon in 1982, the Shi’a Islamist party aspires to establish an Islamic state within Lebanon, resulting in the movement often being referred to as a “state within a state.” The organization is a hybrid political-militant movement with three legs (social, political, and military). Some 80 to 90% of its income comes from the Iranian government, which donates roughly $200 million annually. Hezbollah’s ties to Iran are visible in the party’s founding manifesto from 1985, which declared a pledge of loyalty to Iran’s “Supreme Leader.”
The export of the Iranian apparatus gained traction over the years in Western countries and is seen in the increasing number of Iranian agents apprehended in Europe. Parallels can also be drawn between the Iranian model of exporting Shi’a ideology and the Saudi Arabian infrastructure used to disseminate Wahhabism on a global scale. Key similarities to be discussed include state-sponsored financing mechanisms, da’wa (proselytization) infrastructure, investment in education, and a heavy reliance on pan-Islamism as religious and ideological justification.
A steady shift of these activities has been underway as seen in an increase in the activities of Iranian partners and proxies in West Africa. This is in addition to the critical outreach programs Iran and Hezbollah representatives conduct with the Lebanese Shi’a diaspora in the region. As the focus of the paper is West Africa, Nigeria and Sierra Leone will be analyzed as case studies. This is due to their large Lebanese diasporas and prominent Hezbollah activity, which capitalizes on weak governance as well as pre-existing international organized crime groups and smuggling routes. As this paper will convey, there is an urgent need for African countries and their partners to understand the nature and gravity of the threat posed by Iran-linked militant organizations.
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