Hizbullah’s ʿAshura Posters (2007–2020)

Abstract

This article examines Hizbullah’s annual ʿAshura posters. It focuses on the campaigns created between 2007 and 2020 and places them against a backdrop of contemporary political events to demonstrate how the posters act as a significant site of political contestation and nationalist manifestation. By linking ʿAshura to contemporary politics in an ongoing reinterpretation of Imam Husayn’s martyrdom, Hizbullah places the Karbala battle at the center of its ideological identity, political actions and resistance activities, ultimately elevating its own fighters to Husayn’s position during Karbala. While Husayn is a figure mostly venerated within Shiʿa Islam, the article also demonstrates how Hizbullah utilizes the ʿAshura narrative to elevate Husayn—and ultimately the party’s fighters—to a transnational context by transforming the Karbala battle into a model for global resistance and victory. This is manifested in the posters’ meanings but also within the visual transformations whereby aesthetic changes reveal Hizbullah’s attempts at broadening its reach to a wider audience.