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Conceptions of Disability in Contemporary Shi'i Lebanon: Fadlallah and Hizbullah's Al-Jarha Association
Abstract
This paper attempts to contribute to the growing literature in both disability studies and the study of disability and Islam by discussing Shi'i conceptions of disability in contemporary Lebanon through the works of the late Sayyid Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah and Hizbullah's programmatic and political approach towards its wounded veterans through the al-Jarha association. Fadlallah and al-Jarha will be analyzed because they have been two of the most influential Shi'i forces in Lebanon for the past few decades, and the paper does not assume a direct link between the two. The paper begins with contemporary definitions of and terms used to describe disability in disability studies literary and among practitioners. The paper will then continue with an exploration of fatwas, speeches, and writings produced by Fadlallah in order to understand how he interpreted disability, and how these interpretations affect his understanding of the disabled person's responsibilities or requirements within society. This exploration will include a number of topics pertaining to modified religious obligations required from the disabled. Next, the paper will discuss al-Jarha's general approach and specific programs for Hizbullah's wounded, which includes education, vocational training, and monetary support for the disabled. Both examples show that in theory and in political and social behaviors, the main actors addressing disability in Lebanese Shi'i community have adopted and shaped their behavior based on a social definition of disability, in which disability is defined as any obstacle, including but not limited to physical or mental impairments, that inhibits a person from exists 'normally' in his society, political, economically, or socially.
Discipline
Political Science
Geographic Area
Lebanon
Sub Area
Identity/Representation