Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
Cautious Calm in Ain el-Hilweh after Armed Groups Trade Fire |
2019-03-15 |
[AnNahar] Cautious calm was on Thursday afternoon engulfing the Paleostinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hellhole after an exchange of gunfire between two gangs, the National News Agency said. NNA said Youssef Orqoub, the son of notorious runaway Bilal Orqoub, was seriously maimed in the clash. It added that two other people were maimed, one of them Kamal al-Dawoudi, a bodyguard of the head of the Mujahid Islamic Movement Sheikh Jamal Khattab. Al-Jadeed television meanwhile reported that "intensive contacts" were underway to contain the situation. Earlier in the day, NNA said a group led by B.A. shot it out with members of the Islamist Usbat al-Ansar group after the Paleostinian Kh.Kh., who is loyal to Usbat al-Ansar, shot up Y.A., a son of the leader of the first group, wounding him in the stomach. Thursday's incidents are linked to the clash that erupted two days ago according to NNA. Two Paleostinian civilians were maimed in that incident. |
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
Grenade Explodes in Ain el-Hilweh after Islamists Clash over 'Firecrackers' |
2017-09-04 |
![]() kaboom!by accident at 8:00 am Sunday in the al-Briksat neighborhood of the Ein el-Hellhole Paleostinian refugee camp, causing no casualties, the National News Agency reported. The camp had witnessed violence overnight after a dispute over "children playing with firecrackers" escalated into an armed clash between the Islamist Usbat al-Ansar and Jund al-Sham groups. The clash in the camp’s al-Tawari neighborhood resulted in the wounding of a relative of a senior Usbat al-Ansar official after he was shot at the hands of Jund al-Sham member Hassan M., aka al-Shibel, the agency said. The restive camp had witnessed a week of deadly festivities last month between the secular Fatah Movement and small Islamist groups led by the Lions of Islam Bilal Badr and Bilal al-Orqoub. By longstanding convention, the Lebanese army does not enter Paleostinian refugee camps in Leb, leaving the Paleostinian factions themselves to handle security. Ein el-Hellhole -- the most densely populated Paleostinian camp in Leb -- is home to some 61,000 Paleostinians, including 6,000 who have fled the war in neighboring Syria. Several armed factions including hard boy groups have a foothold in the camp which has been plagued for years by intermittent festivities. |
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Arabia |
UAE blacklists 82 groups as 'terrorist' |
2014-11-16 |
![]() The list, published by the countryâs state-run WAM news agency, includes the Muslim Brotherhood, the groupâs local and regional affiliates, as well as Al-Qaeda-linked groups operating in different parts of the region. Several brigades fighting on both sides in the Syrian conflict along with Islamist groups in Libya, Tunisia, Mali, Pakistan, Nigeriaâs Boko Haram as well as Afghanistan's Taliban account for the bulk of the list. Shiite militants groups also figure in the list, including Shiite Hezbollah in the Gulf states and brigades with the same name in Iraq. Lebanonâs Iranian backed Hezbollah was not blacklisted. In late August, UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahayan enacted federal law number 7, which mandated the list to be published and circulated by the media to further âtransparencyâ and âincrease awarenessâ of terrorist threats. The move follows a similar step taken by Saudi Arabia in March. The groups blacklisted by the UAE were as follows: 1- UAEâs Muslim Brotherhood called Al-Islah 2- UAE terrorist cells 3- Karama organization 4- Uma Parties in the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula 5- Al-Qaeda Finally got around to it... 6- Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) They prefer to be known as The Islamic State or as The Caliphate... 7- Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) Formerly the aden-Abyan Islamic Army plus the Lions of the Arabian Peninsula 8- Yemenâs Ansar al-Sharia ... which sez they're not an al-Qaeda affiliate, otherwise they're indistinguishable from al-Qaeda. 9- Muslim Brotherhood, both the organization and movement I don't think the Moslem Brü can properly be called a terrorist organization; it's more a subversive organization. We saw what happened when they achieved power in Egypt: one man, one vote, one time. Their belief that Islam is the Answer, regardless of the question makes them look foolish, but they are Moslems and they behave like Moslems do when they can't get their way. 10- Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiyya in Egypt Zawahiri used to be the head of Gamaa al-Islamiya. I think they swore to non-violence to get their members out of jail. 11- Bait al-Maqdis group in Egypt Formerly just al-Qaeda in the Sinai Peninsula, now sworn to the Islamic State 12- Ajnad Misr (Soldiers of Egypt group) I think we've seen these guys once or maybe twice. 13- Majlis Shura Al-Mujahedin Fi Aknaf Bayt Al-Maqdis (Mujahidin Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem, or MSC) 14- Yemenâs Houthi movement Aligned with Iran and with former President-for-Life Saleh. 15- Hezbollah party in Saudi Arabiaâs Hijaz 16- Hezbollah in the Gulf region 17- Al-Qaeda in Iran I believe this is the "protected" al-Qaeda that the Medes and the Persians keep on a tight leash. If I had a bunch of money I'd do some intensive investigation on this group. 18- Badr organization in Iraq 19- Asaâib Ahl al-Haq, also known as the Khazali Network in Iraq 20- Fath al-Islam in Lebanon This is our old friend, Fateh al-Islam. Probably they've been folded into al-Nusra or the Caliphate by now. 21- Osbat Al-Ansar or Asbat an-Ansar (League of the Partisans) in Lebanon I believe Usbat al-Ansar lives in Ein al-Hellhole. They're the place to go when you're on the run. Every once in awhile they shoot one of the local Fatah muckety-mucks. 22- Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) I think AQIM has lost a lot: their debacle in Mali, the ego versus ego contest between Mokhtar versus Droukdel, and the fact that half of them have pledged to the Islamic State. 23- Ansar Al-Sharia in Libya 24- Ansar Al-Sharia in Tunisia 25- Al-Shabab in Somalia 26- Boko Haram in Nigeria 27- Al-Murabitoon brigade in Mali That's Mokhtar Belmokhtar's mob... 28- Ansar Al-Din movement in Mali 29- Haqani network in Pakistan 30- Lashkar Taiba in Pakistan 31- Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement headquartered in Pakistan 32- Mohammed Army in Pakistan Jaish e-Muhammad... 33- Mohammed Army in India 34- Indian mujahideen in India/Kashmir 35- The Caucasus Emirate by Chechen militants 36- Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) 37- Abu Sayyaf Islamist group in the Philippines 38- Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Nailed that one. Not a terrorist organization, but fellow travelers. 39- Alleanza Islamic d'Italia or Islamic Alliance in Italy 40- Islamic Association in Finland 41- Islamic Association in Norway 42- Islamic Relief Organization in the UK 43- The Cordoba Foundation in Britain 44- International Islamic Relief Organization belonging to the international Muslim Brotherhood I think that's the one headed by bin Laden's brother-in-law or son-in-law... 45- Taliban movement in Pakistan Mullah Omar... 46- Abu Thur al-Fiqari battalion in Syria 47- Al-Tawheed and Iman battalion in Syria 48- The Green Battalion or Al-Khadraa battalion in Syria 49- Al-Tawhid Brigade in Syria 50- Abu Bakr brigade in Syria 51- Talha bin Ubaidallah in Syria 52- Al-Sarim Al-Batar brigade in Syria 53- Abdullah bin Mubarak brigade in Syria 54- Convoys of Martyrs brigade in Syria 55- Abu Omar brigade in Syria 56- Ahrar Shumar or Free Shumars brigade in Syria 57- Hezbollah brigades in Iraq 58- Brigade of Abu Al-Fadl al-Abbas in Syria 59- Brigades of Al-Yom Al-Mawood (Destined Day in Iraq) 60- Battalion of Omar bin Yasir in Syria 61- Ansar Al-Islam group in Iraq 62- Nusra Front in Syira 63- Harakat Ahrar ash-Sham Al Islami (Islamic Movement of the Free Men of the Levant) in Syria 64- Jaish Al-Islam (Islam Army) in Palestine 65- Abdullah Azzam Brigades I think they're being or have been absorbed by al-Nusra. 66- Kanvaz in Belgrade, Serbia 67- The Muslim American Society (MAS) 68- Union of Muslim Scholars 69- Union of Islamic Organizations in Europe 70- Union of Islamic Organizations of France 71- Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) 72- Islamic Society of Germany 73- Islamic Society in Denmark 74- Islamic Society in Belgium 75- Sariyat Al-Jabal brigade in Syria 76- Al-Shahbaa brigade in Syria 77- Al-QaâQaaâ in Syria 78- Sufian Al-Thawri (Revolutionary Sufian brigade) in Syria 79- Abdulraham brigade in Syria 80- Omar bin Al-Khatab brigade in Syria 81- Al-Shayma brigade in Syria 82- Al-Haq brigade in Syria |
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
UNIFIL, Egypt are targets of terrorist groups in Lebanon |
2009-02-03 |
Al-Balad newspaper reported on Sunday that a new faction in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp called Jihad Movement for Gaza Support was created by Jamal Hamad, a Palestinian, and Gandi al-Sahmarani, a Lebanese citizen. The Lebanese state authorities have issued numerous arrest warrants for Sahmarani for his involvement in terrorist activities. The paper added that members of Jund al-Sham and Usbat al-Ansar>Usbat al-Ansar, who were trained for using explosive devices and launching rockets, joined the new faction. According to Al-Balad, Jihad Movement for Gaza Support worked with members of the extremist group Fatah al-Islam such as Abdel Rahman Awad in an effort to operate against the interests of parties perceived to be connected with Israel in Lebanon and abroad. The paper mentioned that the Egyptian embassy in the Bir Hassan area was one of the faction's targets. Al-Balad also reported that a Palestinian faction with "a jihadist and ideological" connection to al-Qaeda was preparing to target UNFIL troops. The paper reported that al-Qaeda official Abdullah Liyani al-Hassan arrived in Ain al-Hilweh in December 2008 to meet with Usbat al Ansar official Abu Obeida and Iraqi insurgent Khodr Ibrahim al-Naouchi. Al-Balad wrote that Palestinian-Syrian Mahmud Ali As-Saghir and Palestinian-Lebanese Khamis Omar Ahmad, who are trained for launching rockets, were among those chosen to perpetrate the attack on UNIFIL, in addition to Bekaa refugee camp residents Imad al-Hajj Ali, Jamil Omar, Iyad al-Basbass and Wahid al-Hajj. |
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |
Two killed in clashes in Ein el-Hellhole | |
2008-07-20 | |
![]() One man was shot while trying to intervene to halt the clash at Ein al-Hilweh camp between Fatah and Jund al-Sham, a small al Qaeda-inspired Islamist group. The second dead man was a member of the group. Another Jund al-Sham fighter was seriously wounded in the fighting at the camp, which is near the city of Sidon in southern Lebanon. Sunni Islamist groups have substantial influence in the camp, which is off limits to Lebanese security forces.
Jund al-Sham's name refers to the ancient Islamic term of Bilad al-Sham, a region which covers Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories. Its members are mostly Lebanese, many of whom fought against the army during an Islamist rebellion that broke out on New Year's Eve in 1999 in the predominantly Sunni area of Dinnieh in north Lebanon and left 45 people dead. The Sunni group also includes Palestinians, mostly dissidents of the fundamentalist Usbat al-Ansar (Band of Supporters) which was outlawed by Lebanese authorities in 1995 for murdering a rival cleric. Jund al-Sham, which has no clear hierarchy or particular leader, is believed to have about 50 militants armed with assault rifles, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades. | |
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |
Lebanon indicts 56 Islamists accusing them of terrorism | |
2008-02-19 | |
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The nationalities of the accused include Lebanese, Syrians, Palestinians , Jordanians and Saudi Arabians . 9 were sentenced in absentia , 18 were detained by the authorities and the rest are of unknown identity. At least 446 people, including 168 soldiers and 226 Fatah al Islam militants, had been killed in the fighting between the army and the Islamist militants during the 105-day siege of the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp. Between 400 and 500 soldiers had been wounded and more than 215 militants had been captured. | |
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |||||||||||||||
Evacuated families of terrorists unwelcome at Ein el-Hellhole | |||||||||||||||
2007-08-31 | |||||||||||||||
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
Lebanons army advances into camp, military toll 100 |
2007-07-16 |
![]() Quagmire! Lebanese and army flags were seen flying over two or three devastated buildings inside Nahr Al Bared as the battle for the north Lebanon camp between the military and Fatah al-Islam fighters entered its ninth week. The advance marked a major step for the army in the battle to crush the militants and a rare venture by troops into a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon in four decades. A 1969 Arab agreement banned Lebanese security forces from entering Palestinian camps. The agreement was annulled by the Lebanese parliament in the mid-1980s but the accord effectively stayed in place. So much for national sovereignty. Security sources said at least two soldiers died in the latest fighting, bringing the military death toll to 100. A total of 221 people, including at least 80 militants, have been killed since the fighting began on May 20, making it Lebanons worst internal violence since the 1975-1990 civil war. The toll includes those killed in limited clashes in other areas of the country. Fatah al-Islam is made up of a few hundred mainly Arab fighters who admit admiration of Al Qaeda but claim no organisational links. Some of the fighters have fought in or were on their way to fight in Iraq. Soldiers exchanged automatic rifle fire and grenades with militants at buildings and alleyways leading to the centre of Nahr Al Bared while army artillery and tanks pounded other areas. Fatah al-Islam fighters hit back, firing a dozen Katyusha rockets at surrounding Lebanese villages. The sources said troops pulled out alive two commandos who had been buried under the rubble of a booby-trapped building that blew up on Saturday. The military has increased its bombardment of the besieged camp since Thursday, anxious not to get sucked into a war of attrition with the well-trained and well-armed militants. But the militants have responded fiercely, killing 13 soldiers and wounding 53. In south Lebanon, unknown gunmen shot dead Dharrar Rifai at Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp. Rifai was a member of the now defunct Jund al-Sham group. Jund al-Sham was dissolved last month after clashes with the Lebanese army. Two groups dominate Ain al-Hilweh, Lebanons largest Palestinian refugee camp: Fatah and Al Qaeda-linked Usbat al-Ansar. The violence has further undermined stability in Lebanon, where a |
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
Jund el-Sham activist killed in s. Lebanon as battles rage in north |
2007-07-16 |
![]() Security sources said unknown gunmen shot dead Dharrar Rifai at Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in south Lebanon. Rifai was a member of the now defunct Jund al-Sham group. Jund al-Sham was dissolved last month after clashes with the Lebanese army. Two groups dominate Ain al-Hilweh, Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp: Fatah and al Qaeda-linked Usbat al-Ansar. In north Lebanon, soldiers exchanged automatic rifle fire and grenades with militants at building and alleyways leading to the centre of Nahr al-Bared camp while army artillery pounded other areas. Fatah al-Islam militants hit back, firing a dozen Katyusha rockets at surrounding Lebanese villages. The fighting, which entered its ninth week on Sunday, has killed at least 219 people, including 98 soldiers, making it the worst internal violence since Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war. Security sources said troops pulled out alive two commandos who had been buried under the rubble of a booby-trapped building that blew up on Saturday. The military has increased its bombardment of the besieged camp since Thursday, anxious not to get sucked into a war of attrition with the well-trained and well-armed militants. But the militants have responded fiercely, killing 11 soldiers and wounding 53. |
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |
Clashes in Ein el-Hellhole between army and Syrian sock puppets | |
2007-06-04 | |
![]() This camp is known for trouble and several fights have taken place in recent months between the various militant factions. Jund al-Sham is based in Syria and is another militant group that Syria funds and trains according to sources that are familiar with this group. According to NBN , a local TV station, many civilians have started fleeing Ein el-Hilweh, but did not say where to. The latest reports were somehow conflicting but say Fatah mainstream has joined the army in its fight against Usbat-al-Ansar and Jund al-Sham. Update 9:40 PM Withdrawal of Usbat-al-Ansar and Jund al-Sham militants from the streets of Ein el-Helweh refugee camp continues. A committee from Fatah and Hamas was formed to end the fighting and withdraw the militants. According to sources from the camp the army has suffered 5 injuries. Usbat-al-Ansar and Jund al-Sham militants suffered many casualties but no exact number was given. The civilians of the Ein el-Helweh camp continue to flee to safety. PLO Sec General, Sultan Aboul Ainain has just left the Rashidya camp and headed to Ein el Helweh to supervise in person the ending of the fighting. Update: 9:20 PM Fighting at Ein el-Hilweh has subsided when the Jund al-Sham militants were removed from the streets by the Fatah mainstream group as Sultan Aboul Ainain has promised Update: 9: 00 PM Beirut time Sultan Aboul Ainain the PLO Secretary General at the refugee camps said the attack on the army by the militant groups at Ein el-Hilwe refugee camp will soon be ended by Fatah mainstream Abbas Zaki, PLO ambassador in Lebanon said all the militant groups will be finished off in Lebanon within 6 months, as he intends to get rid of them. Zaki has on several occasions issued statements of support to the Lebanese army , since the clashes started and said Fatah al-Islam has no connection whatsoever with Fatah , the Palestinians nor Islam.Usbat-al-Ansar is a well known terrorist group. It is a Lebanon-based, Sunni extremist group, composed primarily of Palestinians and associated with Al Qaeda. The group follows an extremist interpretation of Islam that justifies violence against civilian targets to achieve political ends. Some of those goals include overthrowing the Lebanese Government. Usbat-al-Ansar has carried out multiple terrorist attacks in Lebanon since it first emerged in the early 1990s. The group assassinated Lebanese religious leaders and bombed nightclubs, theaters, and liquor stores in the mid-1990s. The group raised its operational profile in 2000 with two attacks against Lebanese and international targets. It was involved in clashes in northern Lebanon in December 1999 and carried out a rocket-propelled grenade attack on the Russian Embassy in Beirut in January 2000. Asbat al-Ansars leader, Abu Muhjin, remains at large despite being sentenced to death in absentia for the murder in 1994 of a Muslim cleric. In 2003, suspected Usbat al-Ansar elements were responsible for the attempt in April to use a car bomb against a McDonalds in a Beirut suburb. By October, Lebanese security forces arrested Ibn al-Shahid, who is believed to be associated with this terrorist organzation , and charged him with masterminding the bombing of three fast food restaurants in 2002 and the attempted attack in April 2003 on the McDonalds. Usbat-al-Ansar were also involved in other violence in Lebanon in 2003, including clashes with members of Yasser Arafats Fatah mainstream movement in the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp and a rocket attack in June on the Future TV building in Beirut, which is owned by the slain PM Rafik Hariri. Unfortunately for the Lebanese government it cannot enter the 12 Palestinian refugee camps to pursue these terrorists because of a stupid law that is called the 'Cairo accord' which prohibits the Lebanese army from entering the camp. The idea then was that the Palestinians themselves should be able to police themselves, but this has not happened . According to reliable sources familiar with Usbat-al-Ansar , this group receives support also from Iran and Syria. | |
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Good morning... |
2006-10-08 |
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
Salafi-Jihadists a new force in Lebanon |
2006-04-06 |
Some believe the infiltration of militant Islamic ideology in Lebanon comes not only from outside sources, but from social conditions of the area as well. By Murad Al-Shishani for The Jamestown Foundation (6/4/06) In July 2005, French scholar Olivier Roy argued that Iraq and Palestine are not factors in the prevalence of the Salafi-Jihadist movement. He based his argument on the fact that there are no Iraqi or Palestinian members in the Salafi-Jihadist organizations. Now, however, this argument must be reconsidered. Afghan authorities have expressed their concern over the "hordes of Iraqi suicide bombers" following the arrest of Noman Eddin Majid, aged 35 years, from Diyala governorate as he was trying to sneak into Afghanistan (al-Hayat, 3 February). In addition, the perpetrators of the Amman bombing on 9 November 2005, and most of those in the recent disbanded terrorist cell in Amman as well, were Iraqis (Terrorism Focus, 7 March). As for the Palestinians, the attention is becoming increasingly focused on Lebanon with its Palestinian refugee camps, particularly Ain El-Hilweh, instead of the West Bank. (Approximately 400,000 Palestinian refugees live in Lebanon.) While the recruitment of Salafi-Jihadists in Lebanon is not restricted to Palestinians and includes some Lebanese nationals, young men from refugee camps are more fertile material for recruitment. Following the news of the arrest of Salafi-Jihadists in Lebanon and the announcement made by the movement of its responsibility for blowing up a location for the Lebanese army on February 1 (the movement delivered the threat through a phone call to the Sada al-Balad newspaper a day before, according to the paper), Lebanese authorities arrested 31 suspected jihadists. In light of this claim of responsibility and the arrests, it is important to examine the forms of recruitment that the Salafi-Jihadists use in Lebanon (al-Watan, 8 February). It seems that the activities of the Salafi-Jihadist movement focus on the poor Lebanese and Palestinian communities. The increasing connection with the Iraq factor is due to two reasons: the unattractiveness of the secular Palestinian organizations in the refugee camps compared to the increasing attraction of the Islamist groups, and the waning control of the Future/Hariri Party over the Sunni community. Palestinian refugee camps Ain El-Hilweh refugee camp was the base for Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in the 1980s. The camp was a stronghold for the "Palestinian revolution" organizations, and it remains to this day under the power of Palestinians to the extent that the Lebanese army does not venture inside it (al-Hayat, 26 February). The power of the secular organizations, however, is moving to the Islamist organizations, especially since the secular organizations have been implicated in cases of corruption and have not met the demands of the Palestinians. The commander of Fatah's militias in Lebanon, Colonel Mounir Maqdah, proposed "forming a Lebanese-Palestinian military force to eradicate this fundamental group [from Ain El-Hilweh]." This clearly indicates the increase in the power of Islamist groups and the Palestinian organizations' fear of losing their control, especially when newspaper sources talk of "returnees from Iraq" who aim at declaring "Lebanon's loyalty" to the "Foundation of Jihad in Iraq" (al-Sharq al-Awsat, 4 February). An indication of the spread of the influence of the Salafi-Jihadist movements amidst Palestinians in Lebanon, promoted by the "returnees from Iraq," is what Hazem Amin in al-Hayat calls the "al-Qaida terminology." The volunteers in Iraq are in touch with their parents in a way that connects the parents with information about jihad activities. This terminology is so widespread that Shiites are now described as "heretics" (al-Hayat, 25 January), which is a new feature in the Lebanese sectarian system. In addition, death threats were made by the al-Qaida organization in Bilad al-Sham to Shiite Lebanese figures (al-Sharq al-Awsat, 27 July 2005). While this is the situation of Palestinians in Lebanon, the influence of the Salafi-Jihadist movement is not restricted to them. There are Sunni Lebanese nationals who have headed to Iraq to volunteer in fighting the Americans (al-Hayat, 26 January). Likewise, there was a transformation in the village of Majdal Anjar, which used to be the stronghold of "traditional Salafism," since the arrival of Abu Muhammad al-Lubnani, who later became a close companion of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi after he reached Iraq with his 16-year-old son, and where they both later died. Abu Muhammad al-Lubnani was Mustafa Ramadan. He began to spread his jihadist ideas since his return from Denmark around 2003 (al-Hayat, 26 January), and was able to form a nucleus for the jihadist movement. The influence of those ideas applies to the Sunnis in Lebanon - not just to the Palestinians. Sunni Lebanese Lebanon-based Addiyar newspaper indicated on 7 February, following the burning of the Danish Embassy and the riots in Beirut, that Saad Hariri is losing control over the Sunni scene by eliminating the subsidies for the poor among the Sunnis and making the al-Mustaqbal movement exclusive for the rich and powerful. As a result, Salafi-Jihadist movements (al-Qaida, Usbat al-Ansar, Jund al-Sham) and the Islamic Liberation Party are, according to Addiyar, now controlling 90 percent of the Sunni scene (Addiyar, 7 February). Despite the reliability of the 90 per cent figure, the Salafi-Jihadist movement is attracting a host of poor Sunnis who were badly affected after the death of Rafiq Hariri. The media always spoke of the role Hariri played in restoring the balance between the Sunnis and the other sects in Lebanon. This becomes evident if we review the backgrounds of the people who volunteered in or returned from Iraq; they were mostly poor who did odd jobs like selling coffee and steamed beans in the street, or were unemployed in the first place. Hezbollah's role The developments related to the Salafi-Jihadist presence in Lebanon show that those influenced by the ideology will begin to move out of the Palestinian refugee camps and into southern Lebanon. This development means that Hezbollah will be threatened in its historically-controlled region. For Hezbollah, this development comes at a time when the party is under pressure to disarm and to end ties with Syria. This means that Hezbollah will not allow the Salafi-Jihadists to extend into their influenced region. While Salafi-Jihadists consider Shiites as infidels, on 23 February Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah listed, for the first time, the "Jama'at al-Takfeer" (Excommunication Groups, which is how officials in Arab governments describe Salafi-Jihadists), as one of the three beneficiaries of the bombings of Shiite shrines in Iraq, along with the United States and Israel. Conclusion The above factors show that the Salafi-Jihadist presence and movement into Lebanon is facing many obstacles, but is also becoming a new force in the country. At the same time, however, the socio-political developments in Lebanon are creating the conditions for that presence. While Sunnis in Lebanon were historically led by old families like al-Huss, Karami and al-Sulh, from the 1990s until his assassination in 2005, Rafiq al-Hariri became the most prominent leader of Sunnis and enjoyed their support. That is why he was described as the "most Sunni personality" (al-Jazeera, 13 February). One of the most important factors in the popularity of Hariri among Sunnis was his concentration on the grassroots level by helping poor Lebanese. Among the implications of the assassination was that Sunnis have become prone to polarization by different ideologies, among which is the Salafi-Jihadist ideology. Due to the positions of the above-mentioned political forces - such as the Palestinian organizations and Hezbollah - there will be conflict between them and Salafi-Jihadists. The result will be that the spread of the Salafi-Jihadist ideology in Lebanon will become a destabilizing factor in the country. |
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