Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East

by Kim Ghattas

But everyone knew. Hezbollah recruited and organized: many joined willingly, others were rounded up. The more men fought in battle against the Israelis, the more there were martyrs, and the more martyrs there were, the more families became indebted to a system of patronage that looked after widows and orphans, ensuring loyalty to Hezbollah. Posters announcing the death of those who had died fighting the occupation began to look different: gone were the smiling faces of young women or clean-shaven men with sideburns who had died for the nation. The battle was now fought in the name of Islam; the men had beards, and the colors were black for mourning and green for Islam—signed: “Islamic Resistance.” Many of the posters were exact copies of those on the walls in Iran—designed with the help of artists who had come specially from Tehran to help train local artists to produce public obituaries that were also used as propaganda.