Hezbollah Marshals the Young via Scout Troops ... to create a "Society of Resistance"...

In the New York Times, here

"...At a time of religious revival across the Islamic world, intense piety among the young is nothing unusual. But in Lebanon, Hezbollah — the name means the party of God — has marshaled these ambient energies for a highly political project: educating a younger generation to continue its military struggle against Israel. Hezbollah’s battlefield resilience has made it a model for other militant groups across the Middle East, including Hamas. And that success is due, in no small measure, to the party’s extraordinarily comprehensive array of religion-themed youth and recruitment programs....

But the Mahdi Scouts are different. They are much larger; with an estimated 60,000 children and scout leaders, they are six times the size of any other Lebanese scout group. Even their marching movements are more militaristic than the others, according to Mustafa Muhammad Abdel Rasoul, the head of the Lebanese Scouts’ Union . While the Scouts fall under the umbrella of the Lebanese union, they have no direct affiliation with the international Scouting body based in Switzerland. Because of the Scouts’ reputation as a feeder for Hezbollah’s armed militia, the party has become extremely protective of the Scouts and rarely grants outsiders access to them...

But there is a limit to Hezbollah’s flexibility. All young members and supporters are encouraged to develop a hiss amni, or security sense, and are warned to beware of curious outsiders, who may be spies...."