Hezbollah’s Imam al-Mahdi scouts

On January 6, Hezbollah’s “Imam al-Mahdi Scouts” in the Sidon sector concluded a training camp titled “Nahj Ali” (“The Path of Ali”). As part of the camp, a “First-Level Instructors Course” was held with the participation of 45 trainees from several scout battalions. The course, which is part of the training program for instructors in Hezbollah’s Scouts, lasted about a week and included skills workshops and scouting routines alongside administrative, educational, social, and religious content, under the guidance of senior instructors from the al-Mahdi Scouts. The graduation ceremony was also attended by Hezbollah’s Sidon sector officer, Sheikh Ziad Daher, who emphasized in his remarks the importance of training and certification for “serving generations and society.” The al-Mahdi Scouts function as a Shiite educational framework and as a mechanism for instilling a militant religious ideology. The scouts also serve as a recruitment platform: outstanding trainees are “marked” and enter a direct recruitment track to Hezbollah’s military units from the age of 16–17. This process ensures a steady flow of young, ideologically driven manpower aligned with the values of the “resistance society.” This is a very important process for Hezbollah, especially at this time, in light of the recruitment efforts and training of new operatives currently taking place as part of the organization’s rehabilitation.