Shi'ite politician challenging Hezbollah in Lebanon

A U.S.-educated Shi'ite politician is making a rare challenge to Iranian-backed Hezbollah for Shiite votes in Lebanon's election this weekend. In return, his party has been targeted by death threats and arson attacks.

Ahmad El-Assaad, 46, hails from a prominent Shi'ite family. His father, Kamel, served as speaker of parliament in the 1970s and 1980s and his grandfather was a prominent feudal leader in South Lebanon. While he is not expected to influence the outcome of Sunday's election, he is hoping to break the militant Hezbollah's hold on Shiites and reduce Iran's influence on the community in future contests.

Hezbollah and its ally Amal have had political control over Lebanon's 1.2-million Shiites, believed to be the largest sect, since the 1980s. The two parties fought bloody battles in the late 1980s but have since shared control and together have eliminated any political challenge from the traditional families that once held sway with the community.

"It is essential to break the monopoly of Hezbollah on the Shiite community," El-Assaad told The Associated Press Monday from the comparative safety of his office in a Christian suburb of Beirut.

The Shiite alliance of Hzbollah and the Amal movement of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, together with a major Christian faction led by former army commander Michel Aoun, stand a good chance of unseating the Western-backed coalition that now dominates government. They must win a majority of 128 seats in the legislature in the election.

Hezbollah, heavily armed and considered a terrorist organization by the United States, is set to sweep most of the 27 seats allotted to Shi'ites under Lebanon's sectarian-based political system.

Critics have dismissed el-Assaad as nothing but a pawn in the power play between Saudi Arabia and Iran in Lebanon. The two nations compete for influence across the Middle East and are funding rival political factions in Lebanon.

El-Assaad says he receives support from the international community but would not confirm media reports that he had received some $40 million from Saudi Arabia to finance his anti-Hezbollah campaign.

El-Assaad believes that offering Shiites an alternative to Hezbollah could in the long run strip the militant group of its popular power base. That's why he is fielding a dozen candidates in the election.

As a result, his Lebanese Option party has been hit by arson attacks, intimidation and death threats in the run up to the vote. Campaign workers have had 34 cars torched and a third of his staff quit because they got threatening phone calls. Hezbollah denies involvement.

Al-Assaad's running in such a polarized election should be recorded as an act of courage that gives hope to people that perhaps in the future there will be an alternative to Hezbollah, said Edmond Saab, executive editor of the leading An-Nahar newspaper.