How Hezbollah Uses Dreams to Inspire Jihad and Sanctify Martyrdom

Previous research has shown that Sunni jihadist groups regard dreams as revelatory devices and thus consider them a key source of inspiration for their followers. This article broadens the existing literature by demonstrating that a similar phenomenon holds true for a different category of jihadists: the Shia jihadist group Lebanese Hezbollah. Using evidence drawn from pro-Hezbollah websites, I examine the ways in which the group’s online media apparatus strategically wields dream accounts to serve organizational goals. I contend that Hezbollah dream accounts serve primarily to reinforce one critical element of the group’s ideology: a belief in martyrdom.