CHOKING ON HEZBOLLAH
By Robert Klein Engler (08/05/06)
CHICAGO (6 August, '06)--Have you noticed the hard time members of the mainstream media have pronouncing and even spelling the Arabic word "Hezbollah?" Some put the accent on the last syllable, others put it on the middle syllable, and a few try to pronounce the pharyngeal "h" in the Arabic first syllable. What way is correct?
Although one version in English of the word is Hizb-ul-Allah, trying to pronounce or write that word might just make things even more complicated for a media that often wants to simplify events in the interest of political correctness.
I have a suggestion to end all this confusion. Because Hizb-ul-Allah means "The Party of God," why don't the talking heads of the mainstream media simply say that. Then, the headlines would be: "The Party of God Resumes Rocket Attacks on Northern Israel," or "The Party of God Has Thousands of Rockets." "Iran to Supply The Party of God with Missiles," makes a vivid point, too, even though the New York Times may be reluctant to print it.
This use of the English translation for Hezbollah may be hard to do for some in the secular mainstream media. They may find it hard to believe that anyone these days, especially the so-called victims of Western oppression, can be motivated by religion, let alone use religion as a motive to wipe out a country. A few of the media's talking heads may even choke on the word "god," but they should make a try at saying it, anyway.
By using "The Party of God" we get also an insight into how the enemies of Israel see themselves. The war in Lebanon is not just a secular conflict between nation states, but a war waged by "The Party of God" that truly wants to push the nation of Israel into the sea. In the mean time, we wait for "The Party of God" to get nuclear weapons.
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