Ribāṭ in Palestine: life on the frontier

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines the meaning of ribāṭ in the Palestinian context. The term ribāṭ has been attributed meanings that vary according to period and place. It has often been studied in relation to medieval structures around the Mediterranean coastline and is generally defined as connected to the defence of Muslim lands. However, my research, conducted in Israel-Palestine, indicates that the term also has a very contemporary existence and constitutes an intrinsic part of the Palestinian repertoire of resistance. By scrutinising the Palestinian ribāṭ, in this article I seek to contribute to the wider debate around the meanings attributed to the term, both by tracing its historical continuity and by demonstrating its regional specificity, as a practice imbued with a fundamental territorial dimension. While Palestinians include many elements of the traditional meaning in their use of ribāṭ, such as the idea of defending the land, they have also adapted it to the regional context. For the Palestinians, ribāṭ is by definition linked to three embedded holy spaces – al-Aqsa, Jerusalem and Palestine – considered sacred for both religious and political reasons. This article engages with the dual process of territorialisation and bordering implied by the concept of ribāṭ in the Palestinian context, revealing how it brings together the idea of a life on the frontier.