Amal Movement

The movement's current name was originally used by the Deprived Movement's militia, the "Lebanese Resistance Regiments" (). This name, when abbreviated, created the acronym "Amal", which is Arabic for "hope". ==Origins==

Harakat al-Mahrumin / Movement of the Deprived Harakat al-Mahrumin ( meaning The Movement of the Deprived or The Movement of the Dispossessed or The Movement of the Disinherited) was established by Imam Musa al-Sadr and member of parliament Hussein el-Husseini in 1974, as an attempt to reform the Lebanese system, although the beginnings can be traced to 1969 in declarations by the Imam al-Sadr calling upon peace and equality among all Lebanese confessions and religions, so that no one confession would remain "deprived" in any region in Lebanon, noting that the Shia community in Lebanon remained the poorest and most neglected by the Lebanese government. While acknowledging its support base to be the "traditionally under-represented politically and economically disadvantaged" Shi'a community, it aimed, according to Palmer-Harik, to seek social justice for all deprived Lebanese. Although influenced by Islamic ideas, it was a secular movement trying to unite people along communal rather than religious or ideological lines. The movement was absorbed in 1975 into what is now called the Amal Movement. Lebanese Resistance Regiments On January 20, 1975, the 'Lebanese Resistance Regiments' ( | Afwaj al-Muqawama al-Lubnaniyya), also designated variously as the 'Lebanese Resistance Battalions', 'The Battalions of the Lebanese Resistance', 'Lebanese Resistance Detachments' and 'Battalions de la Resistance Libanaise (BRL)' in French were formed as the military wing of Harakat al-Mahrumin under the leadership of al-Sadr, and came to be popularly known as Amal (in Arabic أمل) from the acronym Afwaj al-Mouqawma Al-Lubnaniyya. ==Amal Movement==

Amal became one of the most important Shi'a Muslim militias during the Lebanese Civil War. It grew strong with the support of, and through its ties with, Syria and the 300,000 Shi'a internal refugees from southern Lebanon after the Israeli bombings in the early 1980s. Amal's practical objectives were to gain greater respect for Lebanon's Shi'ite population and the allocation of a larger share of governmental resources for the Shi'ite-dominated southern part of the country. At its zenith, the militia had 14,000 troops. Amal fought a long campaign against Palestinian refugees during the Lebanese Civil War, called the War of the Camps. After the War of the Camps, Amal fought a bloody battle against rival Shi'a group Hezbollah for control of Beirut, which provoked Syrian military intervention. Hezbollah itself was formed by religious members of Amal who had left after Nabih Berri's assumption of full control and the subsequent resignation of most of Amal's earliest members. Timeline On January 20, 1975 T5, the Lebanese Resistance Detachments, also called 'The Battalions of the Lebanese Resistance' in English, is formed as a military wing of The Movement of the Disinherited under the leadership of al-Sadr. In 1978 the founder Al-Sadr disappears in mysterious circumstances while visiting Libya. He was succeeded by Hussein el-Husseini as leader of Amal. In 1980, Palestinian guerrillas attempt to assassinate then-Secretary General Hussein el-Husseini by launching missiles into his home, outside Beirut. El-Husseini had refused, despite Syrian pressure, to get involved in the Lebanese Civil War and fight alongside the PLO or any other faction. Subsequently, in 1980, el-Husseini resigned from the leadership of Amal and was replaced by Nabih Berri, marking the entry of Amal in the Lebanese Civil War. In the summer of 1982 Husayn Al-Musawi, deputy head and official spokesman of Amal, broke away to form the Islamist Islamic Amal Movement. In May 1985, heavy fighting erupted between Amal and Palestinian camp militias for the control of the Sabra, Shatila and Burj el-Barajneh camps in Beirut, sparking the so-called "War of the Camps" which lasted until 1987. In December 1985, Nabih Berri of Amal, Walid Jumblatt of the Druze Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), and Elie Hobeika of the Lebanese Forces signed the Tripartite Accord in Damascus which is supposed to give strong influence to Damascus regarding Lebanese matters. The agreement never came into effect due to Hobeika's ousting. Two months later Amal militiamen were driven out of West Beirut by their Communist (PLA) and Druze (PSP) rivals in a week of street fighting, artillery exchanges and looting which led to the Syrian army returning to Beirut on 22 February after an absence of three and a half years. On February 17, 1988, the American Chief of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) observer group in Lebanon, Lt. Col. William R. Higgins, was abducted and later killed after meeting with Amal's political leader of southern Lebanon. Amal responded by launching a campaign against Hezbollah in the south, It was believed that Hezbollah abducted him. Hezbollah to this day denies it and insists that it was done to create problems between them and the Amal movement. In April 1988 Amal launched an all-out assault on Hezbollah positions in south Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut. Early in May 1988 Hezbollah gained control of 80% of the Shi'ite suburbs of Beirut through well-timed assaults. In 1989, Amal accepted the Taif agreement (mainly authored by el-Husseini) in order to end the civil war. In September 1991, with background in the Syrian controlled end of the Lebanese Civil War in October 1990, 2,800 Amal troops joined the Lebanese army. ==Lebanese Civil War==

War of the Camps The War of the Camps was a series of controversial battles in the mid-1980s between Amal and Palestinian groups. The Druze-oriented Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), the leftists, and also Hezbollah supported the Palestinians, while the Syrian government backed Amal. First battle (May 1985) Although most of the Palestinian guerrillas were expelled during the 1982 Israeli invasion, Palestinian militias began to regain their footing after the Israeli withdrawal from first Beirut, then Sidon and Tyre. Syria viewed this revival with some anxiety: though in the same ideological camp, Damascus had little control over most Palestinians organizations and was afraid that the build-up of Palestinian forces could lead to a new Israeli invasion. In Lebanon, Shia–Palestinian relations had been very tense since the late 1960s. After the multinational force withdrew from Beirut in February 1984, Amal and the PSP took control of west Beirut and Amal built a number of outposts around the camps, in Beirut and the south. On April 15, 1985, Amal and the PSP attacked Al-Murabitun, the main Lebanese Sunni militia and the closest ally of the PLO in Lebanon. Al-Murabitun were vanquished and their leader, Ibrahim Kulaylat was sent into exile. On May 19, 1985, heavy fighting erupted between Amal and the Palestinians for the control of the Sabra, Shatila and Burj el-Barajneh camps, all in Beirut. By May, Amal had suffered major losses, its members were defecting to Hezbollah, and by June, Syria had to intervene militarily to rescue Amal from defeat. ==Amal after the war==

Amal was a strong supporter of Syria after 1990 and endorsed Syria's military presence in Lebanon. After Rafik Hariri's assassination in 2005, Amal opposed the Syrian withdrawal and did not take part in the Cedar Revolution. Since 1992, the party has been represented in the Lebanese parliament and the government. Amal's enemies often criticize it for corruption among its semi-major leaders. Nabih Berri was elected speaker of parliament in 1992, 1996, 2000, 2005, 2009 and 2016. Following the 2018 Lebanese general election, Amal has had 17 representatives in the 128-seat Lebanese parliament. This was an increase from the 13 representatives at the 2009 election, 14 at the 2005 election, 10 at the 2000 election, 8 at the 1996 election and 5 at the 1992 election. According to Amal officials, the party's militants "have been involved in every major battle since fighting began" during the 2006 Lebanon War, and at least 8 members were reported to have been killed. one of its members was later killed by Israeli shelling of the town of Rab Thalathine. Another fighter was killed in August by an Israeli strike on a car in the town of Khiam. Two fighters from the Al-Abbas Force (elite unit of the Amal Movement), were killed in battles against Israeli forces invading Lebanon in October 2024. In February 2025, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced his government, which consists of 24 ministers; the Amal movement controls three portofolios: the Finance Ministry, headed by Yassine Jaber, the Environment Ministry, headed by Tamara Al-Zein, and the Ministry of Administrative Development, under Fadi Maki. The last was appointed by the Prime Minister but is close to Amal. == General election summary ==