Islamism, Nationalism and Modernization: The Case of the Islamic Movement in Israel

Abstract

ABSTRACTSince its establishment in the late 1970s, the Islamic Movement (Alharaka al-Islamiyya, subsequently referred to as IM) in Israel, has had to deal with many challenges and contradictions. There is a unique aspect to this Islamist movement's rising power: how it has adapted to the challenges of operating within not simply a non-Muslim state, but as a minority within a Jewish state. Furthermore, the IM has had to deal with some Palestinian secular parties that accuse it of being regressive politically and socially. Ideological and internal political divisions, mainly as a consequence of facing these challenges, caused the IM to split into two factions: the so-called Southern faction and a Northern faction. I argue that the power of the IM in Israel stems from its ability to adapt to different situations, reconcile with the complex reality of a minority in a Jewish state by adopting modernism, and reconcile with the state structure and basic democratic values that have long been debated to clash with Islamism. While doing so, the IM continues to emphasize religiosity and binds religiosity to the national political struggle and identity of the Palestinian minority in Israel.