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REVISTA IEEE 9

Javier Lion Bustillo The Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra; new actors in... 295 HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL BASES OF SUNNI JIHADISM IN LEBANON The commitments that gave rise to the independence of Lebanon led to a confessional system that left the bulk of administrative and political activity in the hands of the Maronites2. Political representation of the Sunni (primarily present on the coast, but also in the north of the country and in some parts of Bekaa) was exercised by the zu´ama or local figures who established a system of clientelism, whereby the Sunni electorate was granted a number of services or advantages in exchange for its vote. Economic and social changes in the 1950s and ‘60s led to increased political instability, while the tension created by the Cold War and the Arab-Israeli conflict was also felt on Lebanese soil (including the influx of Palestinian refugees), thus upsetting the existing balance of power. This led to the outbreak of a protracted civil war (1975-1990), during which the Sunni tended to join the existing left-wing or Pan-Arab organisations, although some of them later turned to religion as a means of political mobilisation3. The shift towards Islamism was more pronounced in the north of the country, particularly in the city of Tripoli, which became a refuge for Syrian fighters opposed to President Hafez al-Assad. Here they made contact with local political and religious leaders, taking advantage of the Sunni majority in the area, within which Salafi movements had already begun to emerge4. This is how the Harakat al-Tawhid al- Islami organisation came about in 1982, led by Sheikh Shaaban, who sought to impose a strict legal system and social customs. The city also provided a refuge for the PLO fighters, given the proximity to Nahr al-Bared and al-Beddawi refugee camps which were being harassed by Syrian troops. Following the departure of the PLO from Tripoli in December 1983, the Islamists filled the power vacuum it left, and the Alawite Arab Democratic Party and Syrian Social Nationalist Party (allies of Assad) responded by taking up arms. The ensuing clashes became quite intense at the junction where the neighbourhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh (largely Islamic militants) and Jabal Mohsen (a stronghold of the Alawite Arab Democratic Party) meet. Indeed, al-Tawhid gained control of most of the city for more than a year, expelling or shooting residents who did not share the organisation’s principles. The instability ultimately led to 2  These commitments stem from the National Pact of 1943 and the Constitution of 1926, and their subsequent reform. 3  GILMOUR, David, “Lebanon: The Fractured Country”, Oxford: Martin Robertson, 1983, pp. 34- 49. WINSLOW, Charles, “Lebanon: War and Politics in a Fragmented Society”, London: Routledge, 2005, pp. 159-264. 4  Tripoli, the home of Rashid Rida, Muḥammad Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī and, most especially, Salim al-Shahal, has historically been the cradle of Lebanese Salafism. http://revista.ieee.es/index.php/ieee

REVISTA IEEE 9
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