Islamic Movement in Israel

The Islamic Movement in Israel is a movement that aims to advocate Islam among Israeli Arabs. It operates on three levels: religious (Islamic education, religious service), social (welfare services) and nationalistic (opposition to the State of Israel and support for Palestinian terrorism). [cite web |url=http://www.tau.ac.il/jcss/sa/v2n4p5.html |title=The Islamic Movement in Israel |accessdate=2008-05-03 |author=Nachman Tal |date=February 2000 |publisher=Tel-Aviv University] The movement is split into two branches: the extreme northern branch, and the more moderate southern branch. [cite news |first=Yair |last=Atinger |title=A Surprising Ally for Sharon - the Islamic Movement (In Hebrew) |url=http://news.walla.co.il/?w=//616044 |work=Walla! News |date=2004-10-24 |accessdate=2008-05-03 ]

History

Before the Establishment of the Movement

The origins of the Islamic Movement can be traced back to the late years of the British mandate. Early organization began in the days of the 1936-1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, however, it only began gaining momentum after World War Two as a result of cooperation between the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Hajj Amin Al-Husseini and the Muslim Brotherhood, which is the parent movement of the Islamic Movement in Israel. [cite web |url=http://lib.cet.ac.il/Pages/item.asp?item=7192 |title=Religious Awakening, Radicalism and Religious Fundamentalism among Muslim Citizens of Israel (in Hebrew) |accessdate=2008-05-03 |author=Danny Rabinovich |publisher=Matach: The Center for Educational Technology]

During the Israeli War of Independence the movement cooperated with the Arab Higher Committee, much like the Egyptian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood which cooperated with the Egyptian military. As a result, it suffered a major setback following the war as all of its institutions in the newly formed Jewish state were shut down. During the period of martial law on Israeli Arabs between 1949 and 1966, the movement was suppressed and was unable to recover. The institutions which remained in the West Bank were put under the control of Jordanian authorities which controlled the West Bank, and though a mild recovery took place in the Gaza Strip during the 1950s under Egyptian rule, there too its influence steadily declined until 1967. [cite book |title=Muslim Fundamentalism in Israel |last=Yisraeli |first=Rafi |year=1993 |publisher=Brassey's |location=London |pages=pp. 18 as cited at: http://lib.cet.ac.il/Pages/item.asp?item=7192]

The Six Day War caused a resurgence of Palestinian support, both for the PLO which had transformed from a puppet organization to a militant movement, and for Islamic Palestinian movements, among them the Islamic Movement in Israel. The newly created contact between Israeli Arabs and the Palestinian Arabs in the territories occupied in 1967, in which the movement had managed to remain somewhat organized, also contributed to this resurgence. As part of this new contact, members of the Islamic Movement in Israel were sent to study in religious institutions in the occupied territories. [cite web |url=http://www.jcpa.org/jl/jl416.htm |title=The Islamic Movement in Israel |accessdate=2008-05-03 |author=Raphael Israeli |date=1999-10-15 |publisher=Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs] At the same time, the government of Saudi Arabia began to allow Israeli Arabs to perform the Hajj to Mecca.

Establishment to the First Intifada

In 1971 the Islamic Movement in Israel was founded by Abdullah Nimar Darwish after he had completed his religious studies in Nablus. [cite news |first=Amiram |last=Barkat |title=Founder of Islamic Movement in Israel slams Holocaust denial |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/824623.html |work=Ha'Aretz |date=2007-02-12 |accessdate=2008-05-03 ] During the 1970s the movement largely focused on establishing welfare services for the Muslim community parallel to those of the state. [Citation |title=Umnal-Fakhim – Leadership and Organization (MA Thesis) |last=Abu Raia |first=Isam |year=1991 |publisher=John Hopkins University as cited at: http://lib.cet.ac.il/Pages/item.asp?item=7192] Among its activities were provision of computers to schools, the establishment of an Islamic football league, marriage arrangement, charity and more.

Parallel to this charity work, several of the heads of the movement, lead by Darwish, established and organization called Osrat al-Jihad ("The Families of Jihad"), one of the first Islamic terrorist groups in Israel, with the goal of establishing "an Arab Islamic state in Palestine". The heads of the organization were arrested in 1979 following an attempted terrorist attack. [Nachman Tal, op. cit.] This caused the movement to, at least officially, abandon terrorism. However, there have since been accusations that the movement has engaged in terrorist activities (See relevant section of this article).

During the 1980s the movement experienced a rapid increase in support. [Raphael Israeli, op. cit.]

First Intifada to Al-Aqsa Intifada

With the outbreak of the First Intifada the movement established the 'Islamic Relief Committee', whose purpose was to assist those in need in the occupied territories, and particularly those which were harmed in some way by IDF operations.

In 1989 the movement decided to participate in elections for several Arab settlements, in which it won control of 6 city councils and made substantial gains in other settlements. The most significant victory was achieved by Sheikh Raed Salah in Umm El Fahm, which subsequently became the center of the movement.

The Oslo Accords caused a split in the movement whereby the northern branch opposed the agreement (similarly to the position of Hamas), and the southern branch supported the agreement. In 1994 the activity of the movement was felt in the Jewish public when Sheikh Salah attempted to mediate between Israel and Hamas on the issue of the captured Israeli soldier Nakhshon Waxman.

In 1995 the Israeli Shin Bet closed down the 'Islamic Relief Committee' after it was found that the body had been granting financial assistance to the families of Hamas members. It was quickly reopened under the name 'The Humanitarian Rescue Committee', whose objectives were almost identical. In 1997 the committee was closed a second time (though only for a short period), and subsequently restrictions were placed upon it.

In 1996 the movement decided to run for the Knesset, following three previous rejections of the idea. The decision cemented the divisions between the northern and southern branches of the movement, the former, led by Raed Salah, arguing that elections should be boycotted. The southern branch, led by Sheikh Ibrahim Sarsur, ran for elections together with the Arab Democratic Party, and since 2000 it runs independently under the name United Arab List.

Al-Aqsa Intifada to Present Day

Ahead of Ariel Sharon's visit at the Temple Mount, the movement stirred agitation among Israeli Arabs. After the visit, both branches of the movement continued to incite their followers to violence in order to "protect the mountain." According to the Or Commission, these calls for violence contributed significantly to the heated spirits of the Arab public and caused a severe worsening in the October 2000 events. Among the individuals specifically warned by the commission were MK Abed Al Malek Dahamshe and Raed Salah, which were found by the commission to be guilty of incitement. Despite this, however, no legal action was taken against them.

In 2002 the 'Humanitarian Rescue Committee' was shut down, and after a short period 'The Organization of the Humanitarian Rescue Committee' was established in its stead. In the same year Eli Yishai, then Interior Minister, decided to close the newspaper of the northern branch, though the decision was never implemented. The decision came following anti-semitic publications in the paper which referred to Jews as "the germs of all time" and referred to Israel as "a louse which nests in the body of the Arab world and sucks its blood and resources... and allowed the flea Rabbis to harm Al-Aqsa", as well as publications which praised suicide bombers and their actions.

In 2003 the heads of the northern branch of the movement were arrested under suspicion of aiding Hamas, of which two-thirds were released almost immediately. The remaining suspects were detained, but most were released during 2005 after signing a plea bargain. Both the arrests and the plea bargain stirred opposition from both the left wing and right wing camps of Israeli politics. The main offenses of which those detained were accused were financial offenses such as tax evasion, but also contact with a foreign agent and contact with a terrorist group. Ultimately, only the economic offenses were proved true.

These two events, as well as the history of incitement by the movement, have been defining factors in the group's image among the Jewish public, most of which views it as a terrorist organization, and to this day there are calls to ban the movement.

In 2008 two youths from Arab villages in the Western Galilee told an Israeli reporter for the newspaper "Israel Today" that activists from the northern branch of the Islamic Movement had paid them money to stone cars passing in the area. A senior member of the movement confirmed the report, saying "we help these kids with their pocket money", and further added, "We want autonomy like the Catalonians and Basques in Spain, while all means are valid on the path to this goal, especially encouraging uprisings such as the First Intifada in The Territories.]

Goals of the Islamic Movement

The goals of the Islamic Movement are similar, in essence, to those of all other modern Islamic movements, and its ideology is closely related to that of its mother organization - the Muslim Brotherhood. The differences that exist in ideology between the Islamic Movement and the Muslim Brotherhood are largely the result of the circumstances in which the former operates - namely, the fact that the movement exists within a country whose population is mostly Jewish.

The differences between the branches are mostly in relation to the State of Israel, while differences on other issues are largely negligible.

The general aims of the movement are:

* To encourage observance of Sharia law
* Cultivating Islamic culture
* Islamic education
* To carry out social welfare programs
* Protection and cultivation of Islamic holy sites
* Assistance to Palestinians in the Palestinian Territories.

The positions regarding Israel vary depending on the branch:

* Northern branch - No recognition of the State of Israel's right to exist, with the ultimate goal of it being replaced by an Islamic state. Readiness to make use of its institutions to satisfy immediate needs.
* Southern branch - No recognition of the State if Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, readiness to take part in the political process and influence decision-making from within the framework of the state's institutions.

Activities

The activities of the movement are organized separately between the two branches, though they are extremely similar. Among the activities of the movement are:

* Providing religious education
* Arranging prayers
* Encouraging observance of the Sharia laws
* Organizing Islamic summer camps and holidays
* Repairing and renovating abandoned mosques.
* Preserving existing mosques
* Collection and distribution of charity
* Providing assistance to needy families in the Palestinian territories
* Family Assistance (e.g. marriage counseling)
* Organizing a football league
* Publication of newspapers
* Protecting the honor of the Muslim faith
* War on traffic accidents
* War on the infiltration of Western culture (e.g. bars, feminism, etc.) into the lives of Israeli Arabs
* Handling of municipal problems
* Maintaining contact with other Islamic movements

ee also

*Arab citizens of Israel
*Islamism

References