Boy band praises Nasrallah

Hezbollah leader gets tribute song

The Lebanese guerrilla leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah is the subject of a song that is being circulated widely in Palestine. A five-piece wedding band, Firkat Ishaman, rewrote lyrics to an existing song to praise the man that has become a folk hero in many parts of the Middle East following the conflict between his party Hezbollah and Israel. The song title translates as “The Hawk of Lebanon”.

According to Associated Press, the lyrics are a chant that repeat: “Hey, you, hawk of Lebanon. Hey, you, Nasrallah. Your men are from Hezbollah and victory is yours with God’s help.” Many in the Arab world considered Hezbollah’s opposition to Israeli forces as a victory in itself.

Palestine is still under Israeli control, and the authorities there are seemingly not amused. Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said the song is considered inflammatory and that tapes and CDs containing it will be confiscated. Not having read the full lyrics it’s difficult to comment, but it would be interesting to see if they break any laws or are simply guilty of being in poor taste (see also: “Hadji Girl“).