Palestinian Islamic Jihad: Islamist Writings on Resistance and Religion

Description

Founded in 1981, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) is one of the most important yet least understood Palestinian armed factions, both in terms of its history and ideology. Yet no in-depth translation of its ideological corpus exists. This book is the first to provide a comprehensive account of the ideology of PIJ in the movement's own words. Based on the author's extensive fieldwork and archival research in the occupied Palestinian territories and Lebanon, the book comprises the PIJ's written texts produced since 1979, translated here into English for the first time. In addition to the primary texts, the book includes expert commentary from the author for each source to help explain the context and the broader significance of the documents. The key contention of the book is that although PIJ employs Islamic signifiers and symbolism, its ideology is strikingly similar to the anti-colonialism of the PLO in the 1960s, and in stark contrast to Hamas. A comprehensive resource on the PIJ, it covers: · PIJ beliefs about the Palestinian problem · what type of Islamism the PIJ espouses · how the PIJ regards Shiites and Iran · how it can be understood as an Islamist organization · what it envisions for Palestinian society in the future This is the only sourcebook available on the PIJ. Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Acknowledgments Notes on Transliteration Introduction Part I: Facts and Stances Chapter 1: What Is Palestinian Islamic Jihad? Chapter 2: Excerpts from Facts and Stances Chapter 3: Political Document of Palestinian Islamic Jihad Chapter 4: Islamic Principles and Concepts Part II: PIJ, Colonialism, and the Palestinian Cause Chapter 5: Why History? Chapter 6: The Palestinian Cause Is the Central Cause of the Islamic Movement . . . Why? Chapter 7: Excerpts from “Afghanistan The Roots of the Conflict . . . The Revolution . . . The Future . . . Is It a New Resurgence of the Crusaders?” Chapter 8: The Centrality of Palestine and the Contemporary Islamic Project Chapter 9: Palestine Is on a Collision Course with the Western Colonial Project Part III: Iran and the Shiites Chapter 10: Excerpts from Khomeini: The Islamic Solution and Alternative Chapter 11: The Sunni and the Shiite: A Fabricated and Regrettable Pandemonium Chapter 12: Excerpts from Facts and Stances Part IV: State, Violence, and Civil Society Chapter 13: Restructuring the PLO : The View of Palestinian Islamic Jihad Chapter 14: Principal Notes on the Issue of a Palestinian State Chapter 15: Fundamentalism and Secularism Chapter 16: Excerpts from “The Islamic Movements and the developments of the Palestinian Cause” Chapter 17: Creedal and Intellectual Foundations for the “Culture of Resistance” Chapter 18: The Philosophy of Martyrdom Chapter 19: Excerpt from The Jihadist March of Palestinian Islamic Jihad Chapter 20: Anwar Abu Taha on the Arab Spring and PIJ’s Position Bibliography Index