NCJ Number
225421
Date Published
2007
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This chapter compares three key Islamist movements--Hamas in Palestine, Hizbullah in Lebanon, and the Islamic Action Front in Jordan--with reference to reform, revolution, democracy, and terrorism.
Abstract
These three Islamist movements share a common Islamist ideology. They all believe that secularism has intruded far too much into regional political life and that secular regimes have diminished the cultural and religious heritage of Islam and become too allied with and beholden to Western imperial powers. All three groups have called for a state rooted in the tenets and practices of Islamic Sharia law. Despite these common perspectives, however, the three movements have emerged in different contexts and made different choices regarding both means and ends. Unlike more radical Islamist movements, most of the Islamist movement in Jordan has been rooted in the mainstream politics of the Muslim Brotherhood. In the occupied Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza, however, another offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, i.e., Hamas rose to challenge not only Israel but also the secular nationalist leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). In Lebanon, meanwhile, the Hizbullah movement emerged in the early 1980s with the goals of reasserting Shia rights within Lebanese politics, pursuing an Islamic state in Lebanon, and resisting and reversing Israeli occupation of the largely Shia south. This chapter provides details on the history and pattern of Hamas in Palestinian politics, the practices of Hizbullah in Lebanese politics, and the Islamist movement in Jordanian politics. The Islamic Action Front (IAF) in Jordan is distinct from the other two organizations in its operation within a fully sovereign country, without the shadow of occupation or war with Israel. Most importantly, unlike Hamas and Hizbullah, the IAF has no militant or terrorist wing. 21 references