Islamic Unification Movement
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The Islamic Unification Movement – IUM (
Origins
The IUM was founded in
At the height of its power in 1985, the IUM splintered, when dissident leaders Khalil Akkawi and Kanaan Naji left the Movement to set up their own groups,[2][3] the Mosques' Committee (Arabic: لجنة المساجد | Al-Lajnat al-Masajid) and the Islamic Committee (Arabic: اللجنة الاسلامية | Al-Lajnat al-Islamia), respectively. Involved in imposing an Islamic administration on Tripoli during the 1980s, these latter two groups formed together with the IUM an umbrella organization, the Islamic Gathering (Arabic: اللقاء الإسلامي | Al-Liqa' al-Islami).
Political beliefs
Known to be anti-Syrian in policy and
The Movement allegedly enjoyed since the mid-1980s close political ties with
Military structure and organization
Controlled by the IUM's Military Command Council (
Its fighters consolidated their control over Tripoli in 1983–1984 by temporarily defeating a number of their secular left-wing and
The IUM/Tawheed operated mainly on northern Lebanon, at Tripoli and its environs, though its militants were also active at the Sunni quarters of
Weapons and equipment
Besides
Small-arms
IUM fighters were provided with a variety of small arms, comprising
Squad weapons consisted of
Grenade launchers and portable anti-tank weapons included
Vehicles
The IUM militia was also able to raise a mechanized force made of ex-PLO
Artillery
Its artillery branch fielded ZPU (ZPU-1, ZPU-2, ZPU-4) 14.5mm autocannons and M1939 (61-K) 37mm anti-aircraft guns (mounted on technicals and Gun trucks),[18] plus Palestinian-manufactured improvised short-range rockets fired from adapted ZPU-4 AA gun mounts installed on Unimog light trucks,[19] and RL-21 (Sakr-36) 122mm (Egyptian 30-tube version of the BM-11) multiple rocket launchers (MBRL) mounted on Soviet-manufactured ZIL-157 general-purpose trucks.[20]
Illegal activities and controversy
The IUM has its main strongholds at the predominantly Sunni district of
Fanatical and ruthless fighters, Tawheed militiamen were responsible for several acts of violence in Tripoli against the local cells of the
The IUM also run its own radio and television stations – the "Voice of Right" (Arabic: Sawt al-Haq) and the "Crescent" (Arabic: al-Hilal), respectively – which continued to operate in the post-war period, until being forcibly closed down on 21 September 1997 by the Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF) during a nationwide crack-down on Sunni religious extremists. One member of IUM was killed and several wounded during the operation.[24]
A former member,
"Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad", the former name for Zarqawi's group, translates as the "movement for monotheism and struggle".The Tawheed in the Lebanese Civil War
Tripoli 1982–86
On August 1984, violent clashes erupted between the IUM/Tawheed and the
In the fall of 1985 the Syrian Army entered the city and crushed the Tawheed militia, though it permitted Sha'ban to maintain leadership of his now unarmed movement.[28] However, intermittent clashes occurred again in the Tripoli area during the Spring and Summer of 1986, this time between the IUM/Tawheed and the pro-Syrian faction of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), until Syrian troops finally moved in to enforce a truce at the request of local community leaders.[29]
Violence flared up again on December 18, 1986 when the Tawheed commander Samir al-Hassan was arrested by the Syrians and his men responded by killing 15 Syrian soldiers at a checkpoint, which brought the wrath of the Syrians on the Tawheed. Aided by a coalition of ADP, SSNP, Lebanese Communist Party/Popular Guard, and Baath Party militias, the Syrians managed to defeat decisively the Tawheed in another round of brutal fighting on the streets of Tripoli, killing many of its fighters, arresting others and scattered the remainder.[30]
South Lebanon 1988–2000
The defeat at the battle of Tripoli in December 1986 did not meant the end of IUM/Tawheed military activities at Beirut, Sidon, and southern Lebanon. Underground guerrilla cells continued to operate in these areas until the end of the civil war, and afterwards. From 1988 to 2000, the Movement's guerrillas at the
The post-war years
Upon the end of the war in October 1990, IUM militia forces operating in the Tripoli area, West Beirut and Sidon, were ordered by the Lebanese Government on 28 March 1991 to disband and surrender their heavy weaponry by 30 April as stipulated by the Taif Agreement to the Syrian Army and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).[31]
Aside from rare instances of mild criticism, Sheikh Shaaban and the IUM were careful not to antagonize the Syrian authorities, particularly after Syria defeated their militia in late 1986. He spoke favorably of the Syrian military presence in Lebanon as a framework for unified, armed action against Israel,[32] a policy which was continued by its successors in the 1990s.
The Movement remains politically active, led by the Secretary-General
See also
- Hezbollah
- Lebanese Civil War
- List of weapons of the Lebanese Civil War
- Lebanese Islamic Group
- Islamic Labor Front
- Internal Security Forces
- Popular Guard
- 2nd Infantry Brigade (Lebanon)
Footnotes
- ^ Islamism In Lebanon Archived 2008-05-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Al-Harakat al-Islamiya fi Lubnan (no date), pp. 93–141.
- ^ Deeb, Militant Islamic Movements in Lebanon (1986), pp. 7–8.
- ^ a b Ad-Diyar (Beirut), August 31, 1989.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-11-01. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b Al-Massira (Beirut), February 10, 1992.
- ^ An-Nahar al-Arabi wad-Duwali, September 18–24, 1989.
- ^ Deeb, Militant Islamic Movements in Lebanon (1986), pp. 8–9.
- ^ Al-Ahd (Beirut), June 5, 1992.
- ^ News, Taghrib (2021-02-18). "Lebanese cleric: Uprooting Israeli regime harsh response to assassination of Gen. Soleimani". abna24.com. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ Popenker, Maxim (27 October 2010). "Sa. 23". Modern Firearms.
- ^ Shotgun News.
- ^ Sex & Abi-Chahine, Modern Conflicts 2 – The Lebanese Civil War, From 1975 to 1991 and Beyond (2021), p. 209.
- ^ Sex & Abi-Chahine, Modern Conflicts 2 – The Lebanese Civil War, From 1975 to 1991 and Beyond (2021), p. 209.
- ^ Sex & Abi-Chahine, Modern Conflicts 2 – The Lebanese Civil War, From 1975 to 1991 and Beyond (2021), p. 209.
- ^ Sex & Abi-Chahine, Modern Conflicts 2 – The Lebanese Civil War, From 1975 to 1991 and Beyond (2021), p. 209.
- ^ Sex & Abi-Chahine, Modern Conflicts 2 – The Lebanese Civil War, From 1975 to 1991 and Beyond (2021), p. 210.
- ^ Sex & Abi-Chahine, Modern Conflicts 2 – The Lebanese Civil War, From 1975 to 1991 and Beyond (2021), p. 160.
- ^ Sex & Abi-Chahine, Modern Conflicts 2 – The Lebanese Civil War, From 1975 to 1991 and Beyond (2021), p. 211.
- ^ Sex & Abi-Chahine, Modern Conflicts 2 – The Lebanese Civil War, From 1975 to 1991 and Beyond (2021), pp. 210-211.
- ^ Traboulsi, Identités et solidarités croisées dans les conflits du Liban contemporain; Chapitre 12: L'économie politique des milices: le phénomène mafieux (2007), parte III.
- ^ Hijaz, Ihsan A. (4 March 1987). "Communist party in Lebanon hurt". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 May 2008.
- ^ O'Ballance, Civil War in Lebanon (1998), p. 171.
- ^ Middle East International No 559, 26 September 1997; Publishers Lord Mayhew, Dennis Walters MP; Michael Jansen pp.10-11
- ^ Al-Qaeda-Iraq link being investigated in Germany, report says, Drudge Report, February 5, 2003,
- ^ Terrorists with German Passports, Der Spiegel, October 27, 2005
- ^ O'Ballance, Civil War in Lebanon (1998), pp. 146–147.
- ^ Al-Jumhuriya (Cairo), September 19, 1985.
- ^ O'Ballance, Civil War in Lebanon (1998), p. 168.
- ^ O'Ballance, Civil War in Lebanon (1998), p. 171.
- ^ Barak, The Lebanese Army: A National institution in a divided society (2009), p. 173.
- ^ An-Nahar (Beirut), May 12, 1992.
- ^ "Lebanese army arrests 75 in Tripoli in government-backed crackdown".
See also
References
- A. Nizar Hamzeh, Islamism in Lebanon: A Guide to the Groups, Middle East Quarterly, September 1997.
- Al-Harakat al-Islamiya fi Lubnan, Beirut: Ash-Shira, no date. (in Arabic)
- ISBN 0-333-72975-7
- Fawwaz Traboulsi, Identités et solidarités croisées dans les conflits du Liban contemporain; Chapitre 12: L'économie politique des milices: le phénomène mafieux, Thèse de Doctorat d'Histoire – 1993, Université de Paris VIII, 2007. (in French) – [1]
- Marius Deeb, Militant Islamic Movements in Lebanon: Origins, Social Basis and Ideologies, Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, Washington, D.C. 1986.
- Moustafa El-Assad, Civil Wars Volume 1: The Gun Trucks, Blue Steel books, Sidon 2008. ISBN 9953-0-1256-8
- Oren Barak, The Lebanese Army: A National Institution in a Divided Society, State University of New York Press, Albany 2009. ISBN 978-0-7914-9345-8 – [2]
- Rex Brynen, Sanctuary and Survival: the PLO in Lebanon, Boulder: Westview Press, Oxford 1990. ISBN 0 86187 123 5 – [3]
- Samer Kassis, 30 Years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon, Beirut: Elite Group, 2003. ISBN 9953-0-0705-5
- Zachary Sex & Bassel Abi-Chahine, Modern Conflicts 2 – The Lebanese Civil War, From 1975 to 1991 and Beyond, Modern Conflicts Profile Guide Volume II, AK Interactive, 2021. EAN 8435568306073
Further reading
- Denise Ammoun, Histoire du Liban contemporain: Tome 2 1943-1990, Éditions Fayard, Paris 2005.
- Fawwaz Traboulsi, A History of Modern Lebanon: Second Edition, Pluto Press, London 2012. ISBN 978-0745332741
- ISBN 0-19-280130-9
- William W. Harris, Faces of Lebanon: Sects, Wars, and Global Extensions, Princeton Series on the Middle East, Markus Wiener Publishers, Princeton 1997. ISBN 978-1558761155, 1-55876-115-2