Between Jabal ʿAmil, Karbala and Jerusalem

ISBN-13: 9783031384493 / Angielski / Twarda / 2023

Gidon Windecker

Opis

This book tells the story of the Lebanese Shi’a and their development from a marginalized, discriminated minority to a highly politicized community that has given birth to Hezbollah, one of the most powerful paramilitary forces in the contemporary Middle East. It explores the Arab-Israeli conflict through the lens of Shi’a intellectuals and scholars from South Lebanon, and chronologically reflects on trending perceptions of Palestine, the Zionist movement, and the Jewish community in Lebanon.

The monograph illustrates how Zionism and the establishment of Israel played a decisive role in the intellectual revival of early Muslim perceptions of Jews. It demonstrates how political conflicts after 1948 have impacted the work of scholars such as Musa as-Sadr and Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, and have triggered the formation of social and Islamist movements. It also shows how Hezbollah’s leaders have used religious sources and Western anti-Jewish narratives to construct a deep-rooted ideology to support their struggle for South Lebanon and Palestine. The combination of social needs, religious beliefs and political interests forms the core of the analysis. This text appeals to students and researchers working within the convergence of politics and Middle Eastern religions. 

Spis treści

Preface v

Acknowledgements vii

About this Book viii

About the Author xiii

Notes on Transliteration xiv

List of figures xv

Chapter 1: Introduction: The Shi‘a and the Power of Ideology 1

1.1. Origins: Traditional Shi‘i Narratives of Jews 5

1.2. Between the Frontlines: The Lebanese Shi‘a and Their Search for Identity 11

1.3. Ancient Tales and Modern Challenges: Islamist Narratives about Jews and Zionism 14

1.4. About this Book 19

References 21

Chapter 2. Lebanese Shi’i Scholars and the Rise of Zionism 26

2.1. Shi‘i Intellectual Life in Jabal ‘Āmil 26

2.2. Early Perceptions of the Jewish Community 31

2.3. The Emergence of Zionism 38

2.4. From the 1936-39 Revolt to the Division of Palestine 46

2.5. The Years of the Great War 51

2.6. The Challenges of the 1948 “Catastrophe” 57

2.6.1. Publications about the Nakba 58

2.6.2. Perceptions of Jews and Judaism 61

2.7. Orientation After the Nakba 67

References 73

Chapter 3. Mūsā aṣ-Ṣadr: Palestine and the Struggle for South Lebanon 77

3.1.Ṣadr and the Challenges of Jabal ‘Āmil 77

3.2.Pursuing Christian-Muslim Unity 81

3.3.The Palestinian Cause as a Lebanese Concern 84

3.4.Addressing a Non-Arab Audience 87

3.5. The Dilemma of the Palestinian Resistance 90

3.6. Shi‘i Doctrines as a Tool for Social Mobilization 93

3.7. The 1975-1976 War and the Rise of Amal 98

3.8. The Struggle to Save the South 101

3.9. Facing the First Israeli Invasion 105

References 110

Chapter 4. Faḍlallah’s Discourse between Dialogue and Jihad 112

4.1. The Shi‘i Framework of the Struggle for Social Justice 112

4.2. Dialogue with the “People of the Book” 117

4.3. On Early Muslim-Jewish Relations 122

4.4. Jewish History Revisited 128

4.5. Jihad and the Struggle for Palestine 132

4.6. Israel and the West 137

4.7. From Karbala to Palestine 140

References 144

Chapter 5. Naṣrallah and the Power of Martyrdom 147

5.1. The Birth of the Islamic Resistance 147

5.2. The Israeli Invasion and Shi‘i Reactions 155

5.3. The Ideological Foundation of the Islamic Movement 158

5.4. Ḥusayn in Palestine: Naṣrallah’s Ideological Approach to Anti-Zionism 163

5.5. Merging Anti-Zionism and Anti-Jewish Thought 169

5.6. A Strategy of Adaptation 174

5.7. The May 2000 “Victory” and its Consequences 181

5.8. Playing with Fire: Towards the 2006 War 190

5.9. Risking the Future of Lebanon 197

5.10. Hezbollah’s Game of Deterrence 203

5.11. Saving the “Shi‘i axis” – Naṣrallah and the War in Syria 210

References 216

Conclusions: Anti-Jewish Narratives in the Service of Political Agendas 222

Index 231

O autorze

Dr. Gidon Windecker is a social scientist and development consultant who combines his academic skills with his proficiency in non-profit and government consultation. He lived and worked in the Middle East for seventeen years, mainly in the Levant and the Gulf. He was the head of the Regional Office for the Gulf States of the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation, a renowned German Think Tank, and has many years of experience as a researcher and advisor on human rights and civil society development in Palestine, Israel and Lebanon. His areas of expertise are Middle Eastern politics and society, international relations, and conflict transformation. He is a speaker and published author of several research papers. He currently works for the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.