Islamic Jihad Organization
Encyclopedia
The Islamic Jihad Organization – IJO ( | Harakat al-Jihad al-Islami) or Organisation du Jihad Islamique (OJI) in French
, but best known as ‘Islamic Jihad’ (Arabic: Jihad al-Islami) for short, was a fundamentalist Shia group known for its activities in the 1980s during the Lebanese Civil War
. They demanded the departure of all Americans from Lebanon and took responsibility for a number of kidnapping
s and bombings which killed several hundred people. Their deadliest attacks were in 1983, when they carried out bombing of the barracks
of French and U.S. MNF peacekeeping troops, and of the United States embassy in Beirut
.
Fatah
’s Force 17
, the IJO was not a militia but rather a typical underground urban guerrilla organization. Based at Baalbek
in the Beqaa valley
, the group alligned 200 Lebanese Shiite militants financed by Iran
and trained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ contingent previously sent by Ayatollah Khomeini to fight the June 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon
.
Whether this Islamic Jihad was a nom de guerre used by Hezbollah or a separate organization, is disputed.
has described it as "more of an information network for a variety of cells of movements", rather than a centralized organization. Not all of IJ's claims of responsibility were credible, as "in some cases, the callers seemed to be exploiting the activities of groups that had no apparent ties to Islamic Jihad," while working with some success to create "an aura of a single omnipotent force in the region."
Wright has compared Islamic Jihad to the Black September
wing of the Palestinian Fatah
, serving the function of providing its controlling organization, in this case Hezbollah, with some distance and plausible deniability from acts that might provoke retaliation or other problems.
Lebanese journalist Hala Jaber compared it to "a phony company which rents office space for a month and then vanishes," existing "only when it was committing an atrocity against its targets ..."
Adam Shatz of The Nation
magazine has described Islamic Jihad as "a precursor to Hezbollah, which did not yet officially exist" at the time of the bombings Islamic Jihad took credit for. Jeffrey Goldberg says
A 2003 decision by an American court named Islamic Jihad as the name used by Hezbollah for its attacks in Lebanon
, and parts of the Middle East, and Europe. Just as Hezbollah used another name Islamic Resistance, or al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya, for its attacks against Israel.
By the mid-1980s Hizbollah leaders are reported to have admitted their involvement in the attacks and the nominal nature of "Islamic Jihad" - that it was merely a `telephone organisation,` and
whose name was `used by those involved to disguise their true identity.`
Former CIA operative and author Robert Baer
describes it as the cover name used by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Pasdaran). Baer claims the order for 1983 US embassy bombing is widely believed to have originated high up in the Iranian Islamic Republic's hierarchy. According to Baer it is "a very distinct organization, which was separate from Hezbollah because you had the [Hezbollah] consultative council which only had a vague idea of what the hostage-takers were doing."
Hala Jaber calls it a name "deliberately contrived by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and their recruits to cast confusion." Wright is more circumspect, saying: "Islamic Jihad was clearly pro-Iranian in ideology, but some doubts existed among both Muslim moderates and Western diplomats about whether it was actually directed by Iran rather than home-grown."
using methods of intimidation. This fiasco, coupled by the pressure resulting from tighter security measures and joint anti-militia sweeps implemented by the Syrian Army
, the Lebanese Internal Security Forces
(ISF) and the Amal Movement
at the Shia quarters of West Beirut in 1987–88, brought a steady decline in the organization's activities in Lebanon for the rest of the civil war.
The last recorded attack claimed by the IJO as an independent group took place outside the Middle East
in March 1992, when the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires
, Argentina
, was blown up in retaliation for the death of Hezbollah's secretary-general Abbas al-Musawi
.
Some reports indicate that they merged with Hezbollah afterwards, with their leader Mughniyah appointed as head of that party's overseas security apparatus.
This organization is no longer active.
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, but best known as ‘Islamic Jihad’ (Arabic: Jihad al-Islami) for short, was a fundamentalist Shia group known for its activities in the 1980s during the Lebanese Civil War
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 to 230,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced. There was also a mass exodus of...
. They demanded the departure of all Americans from Lebanon and took responsibility for a number of kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
s and bombings which killed several hundred people. Their deadliest attacks were in 1983, when they carried out bombing of the barracks
1983 Beirut barracks bombing
The Beirut Barracks Bombing occurred during the Lebanese Civil War, when two truck bombs struck separate buildings housing United States and French military forces—members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon—killing 299 American and French servicemen...
of French and U.S. MNF peacekeeping troops, and of the United States embassy in Beirut
1983 United States Embassy bombing
The 1983 U.S. embassy bombing was a suicide bombing against the United States embassy in Beirut, Lebanon on April 18, 1983 that killed over 60 people, mostly embassy staff members and United States Marines and sailors. It was the deadliest attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission up to that time, and is...
.
Origins
Possibly formed in early 1983 and reportedly led by Imad Mughniyah, a former Lebanese Shiite member of PalestinianPalestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
’s Force 17
Force 17
Force 17 was a commando and special operations terror unit of the Palestinian Fatah movement and later of the Office of the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority. It was formed in the early 1970s by Ali Hassan Salameh ....
, the IJO was not a militia but rather a typical underground urban guerrilla organization. Based at Baalbek
Baalbek
Baalbek is a town in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon, altitude , situated east of the Litani River. It is famous for its exquisitely detailed yet monumentally scaled temple ruins of the Roman period, when Baalbek, then known as Heliopolis, was one of the largest sanctuaries in the Empire...
in the Beqaa valley
Beqaa Valley
The Beqaa Valley is a fertile valley in east Lebanon. For the Romans, the Beqaa Valley was a major agricultural source, and today it remains Lebanon’s most important farming region...
, the group alligned 200 Lebanese Shiite militants financed by Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and trained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ contingent previously sent by Ayatollah Khomeini to fight the June 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon
Israeli invasion of Lebanon
The Israeli invasion of Lebanon could refer to:*The Israeli invasion of Lebanon in the 1978 South Lebanon conflict;*The Israeli invasion of Lebanon in the 1982 Lebanon War;*The Israeli invasion of Lebanon in the 1993 Lebanon War;...
.
Whether this Islamic Jihad was a nom de guerre used by Hezbollah or a separate organization, is disputed.
Existence
Initially the group was described as "a mysterious group about which virtually nothing was known," one whose "only members" seemed to be the "anonymous callers" taking credit for the bombings, or one that simply didn't exist. After the MNF bombing, the New York Times reported that "Lebanese police sources, Western intelligence sources, Israeli Government sources and leading Shi'ite Moslem religious leaders in Beirut are all convinced that there is no such thing as Islamic Jihad," as an organization, no membership, no writings, etc. Journalist Robin WrightRobin Wright (author)
Robin B. Wright is an American foreign affairs analyst, and an award-winning journalist and author.A graduate of the University of Michigan, she lives in Washington D.C.-Career:...
has described it as "more of an information network for a variety of cells of movements", rather than a centralized organization. Not all of IJ's claims of responsibility were credible, as "in some cases, the callers seemed to be exploiting the activities of groups that had no apparent ties to Islamic Jihad," while working with some success to create "an aura of a single omnipotent force in the region."
Wright has compared Islamic Jihad to the Black September
Black September (group)
The Black September Organization was a Palestinian paramilitary group, founded in 1970. It was responsible for the kidnapping and murder of eleven Israeli athletes and officials, and fatal shooting of a West German policeman, during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, their most publicized event...
wing of the Palestinian Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
, serving the function of providing its controlling organization, in this case Hezbollah, with some distance and plausible deniability from acts that might provoke retaliation or other problems.
Lebanese journalist Hala Jaber compared it to "a phony company which rents office space for a month and then vanishes," existing "only when it was committing an atrocity against its targets ..."
Adam Shatz of The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
magazine has described Islamic Jihad as "a precursor to Hezbollah, which did not yet officially exist" at the time of the bombings Islamic Jihad took credit for. Jeffrey Goldberg says
Using various names, including the Islamic Jihad Organization and the Organization of the Oppressed on Earth, Hezbollah remained underground until 1985, when it published a manifesto condemning the West, and proclaiming, “.... Allah is behind us supporting and protecting us while instilling fear in the hearts of our enemies.”
A 2003 decision by an American court named Islamic Jihad as the name used by Hezbollah for its attacks in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, and parts of the Middle East, and Europe. Just as Hezbollah used another name Islamic Resistance, or al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya, for its attacks against Israel.
By the mid-1980s Hizbollah leaders are reported to have admitted their involvement in the attacks and the nominal nature of "Islamic Jihad" - that it was merely a `telephone organisation,` and
whose name was `used by those involved to disguise their true identity.`
Former CIA operative and author Robert Baer
Robert Baer
Robert "Bob" Booker Baer is an American author and a former CIA case officer assigned to the Middle East. He is TIME.com's intelligence columnist and has contributed to Vanity Fair, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. Baer is a frequent commentator and author about issues related to...
describes it as the cover name used by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Pasdaran). Baer claims the order for 1983 US embassy bombing is widely believed to have originated high up in the Iranian Islamic Republic's hierarchy. According to Baer it is "a very distinct organization, which was separate from Hezbollah because you had the [Hezbollah] consultative council which only had a vague idea of what the hostage-takers were doing."
Hala Jaber calls it a name "deliberately contrived by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and their recruits to cast confusion." Wright is more circumspect, saying: "Islamic Jihad was clearly pro-Iranian in ideology, but some doubts existed among both Muslim moderates and Western diplomats about whether it was actually directed by Iran rather than home-grown."
Bombings and assassinations
- 24 May 1982. Car bomb attack on French Embassy in Beirut killing 12 and wounding 27. Islam Jihad is one of several groups taking responsibility. Anger over France's providing of arms to Iran's enemy IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
is thought to be the motivating factor.
- 18 April 1983. Bombing of U.S. Embassy in Beirut. Detonated in a delivery van driven by a suicide bomber, carrying about 2000 pounds of explosives. The bomb killed 63 people, 17 of them Americans, including 9 CIA agents in Beirut for a meeting.
- 23 October 1983. MNF barracks bombing in Beirut1983 Beirut barracks bombingThe Beirut Barracks Bombing occurred during the Lebanese Civil War, when two truck bombs struck separate buildings housing United States and French military forces—members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon—killing 299 American and French servicemen...
. Two truck bombs struck buildings in Beirut housing U.S. and French members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon, killing 241 American servicemen and 58 French paratroopers. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility in a statement to Agence France Presse: "We are the soldiers of God, ... We are neither Iranians, Syrian nor Palestinians, but Muslims who follow the precepts of the Koran ... We said after that [April embassy bombing] that we would strike more violently still. Now they understand with what they are dealing. Violence will remain our only way."
- 12 December 1983. 1983 Kuwait bombings1983 Kuwait bombingsThe 1983 Kuwait bombings were attacks on six key foreign and Kuwaiti installations on December 12, 1983, two months after the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing. The 90-minute coordinated attack on two embassies, the country's main airport and petro-chemical plant, was more notable for the damage it was...
. Two months after the Beirut barracks bombing. The 90-minute coordinated attack of six key foreign and Kuwaiti installations including two embassies, the airport and the countries main petro-chemical plant, was more notable for the damage it might have caused than what was actually destroyed. What might have been "the worst terrorist episode of the twentieth century in the Middle East," succeeding in killing only six people because of the bombs faulty rigging.
- 18 January 1984. Malcolm Kerr, president of the American University in Beirut (AUB), assassinated near his office. Had replaced AUB president David Dodge, who was kidnapped six months earlier. A telephone message claiming to represent Islamic Jihad proclaimed: "We are responsible of the assassination of the president of AUB ... We also vow that not a single American or French will remain on this soil. We shall take no different course. And we shall not waver."
- 20 September 1984. American Embassy Annex in Christian East Beirut is bombed by suicide van bomber with 3000 pounds of explosives. 14 were killed, including 2 Americans, dozens are injured. Embassy had moved to a "quiet residential suburb of hillside villas and luxury apartments" after the 1983 bombing. Ambassador Reginald Bartholomew and visiting British Ambassador David Miers are buried under rubble but rescued with only minor injuries. Islamic Jihad takes credit in an anonymous phone call vowing, "The operation comes to prove that we will carry out our previous promise not to allow a single American to remain on Lebanese soil. ... we mean every inch of Lebanese territory. ..."
- 12 April 1985. 1985 El Descanso bombing1985 El Descanso bombingThe 1985 El Descanso bombing was a bomb attack against the El Descanso restaurant just outside Madrid, Spain, late on April 12, 1985. The explosion killed 18 Spaniards and injured 82 others, including 11 American servicemen, who were believed to be the target of the attack...
. The IJO claims a bombing of a Spanish restaurant aimed at American military personnel. The bomb killed 18 Spaniards and injured 82 others, including 11 American servicemen.
- 25 May 1985. Attempted assassination of Kuwaiti ruler (Emir) Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-SabahJaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-SabahJaber III al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, GCB , GCMG of the al-Sabah dynasty, was the Emir and thirteenth Sheikh of Kuwait, serving from December 31, 1977 until his death on January 15, 2006...
, by suicide car bomber attack of the Emir's motorcade. Two bodyguards and a passerby are killed. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility and again demands the terrorists release.
Claims of bombing
- 12 December 1985. Arrow Air Flight 1285Arrow Air Flight 1285Arrow Air Flight 1285 was a McDonnell Douglas DC-8-63CF jetliner, registered N950JW, which operated as an international charter flight carrying U.S. troops from Cairo, Egypt, to their home base in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, via Cologne, Germany and Gander, Newfoundland...
taking off from Gander, Newfoundland, crashes and burns about half a mile from the runway, killing all 256 passengers and crew on board. In an anonymous caller to a French news agency in Beirut, Islamic Jihad claims it destroyed the plane to prove "our ability to strike at the Americans anywhere." However an investigation by the Canadian Aviation Safety Board (CASB) found that the crash was most likely an accident.
Kidnappings
- 16 March 1984. William Francis BuckleyWilliam Francis BuckleyWilliam Francis Buckley was a United States Army officer and a Paramilitary Operations Officer in the Special Activities Division of the CIA. He died on or around June 3, 1985 while in the custody of Hezbollah...
,Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Beirut chief of station, was abducted on this date. Islamic Jihad claims to have killed him on 3 October 1985, and later released to a Beirut newspaper a photograph purporting to depict his corpse. Press reports stated that Buckley had been transferred to Iran, where he was tortured and killed.
- May 1984. Presbyterian minister Benjamin WeirBenjamin WeirBenjamin Weir was an American hostage in Lebanon during the Iran-Contra Affair .Weir, who with his wife Carol served as missionaries in Lebanon with the Presbyterian Church for nearly 30 years, was kidnapped off the streets of Beirut in May 1984. The kidnapping was done by an Islamic...
is kidnapped by three armed men. Weir may have thought he was safe from harm from Muslims because he had lived in Lebanon since 1958. He lived in Shiite West Beirut working "closely with various Muslim-oriented charity and relief groups". Two days after his abduction, a telephone message allegedly from Islamic Jihad, claiming responsibility for the abduction "in order to renew our acceptance of Reagan's challenge and to confirm our commitment of the statement ... that we will not leave any American on Lebanese soil."
- 10 February 1986. Islamic Jihad released a photograph that claimed to show the (dead) body of French citizen Michel Seurat, who had been kidnapped earlier.
Decline and demise 1986–1992
The IJO suffered a setback in 1986 when a temporary abduction of four Soviet diplomats ended up in the assassination of one hostage, an affair promptly regulated by the KGBKGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
using methods of intimidation. This fiasco, coupled by the pressure resulting from tighter security measures and joint anti-militia sweeps implemented by the Syrian Army
Syrian Army
The Syrian Army, officially called the Syrian Arab Army, is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It is the dominant military service of the four uniformed services, controlling the senior most posts in the armed forces, and has the greatest manpower, approximately 80 percent of the...
, the Lebanese Internal Security Forces
Internal Security Forces
The Internal Security Forces – ISF or Forces de Sécurité Intérieure in French, are the national police and security force of Lebanon. Modern police were established in Lebanon in 1861, with creation of the Gendarmerie...
(ISF) and the Amal Movement
Amal Movement
Amal Movement is short for the Lebanese Resistance Detachments the acronym for which, in Arabic, is "amal", meaning "hope."Amal was founded in 1975 as the militia wing of the Movement of the Disinherited, a Shi'a political movement founded by Musa...
at the Shia quarters of West Beirut in 1987–88, brought a steady decline in the organization's activities in Lebanon for the rest of the civil war.
The last recorded attack claimed by the IJO as an independent group took place outside the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
in March 1992, when the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, was blown up in retaliation for the death of Hezbollah's secretary-general Abbas al-Musawi
Abbas al-Musawi
Abbas al-Musawi was an influential Shia cleric and co-founder and Secretary General of Hezbollah. He was killed by Israeli forces in 1992.Al-Musawi was born in the village of al-Nabi Shayth in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon....
.
Some reports indicate that they merged with Hezbollah afterwards, with their leader Mughniyah appointed as head of that party's overseas security apparatus.
This organization is no longer active.
See also
- Hezbollah
- Islamic Terrorism
- Imad Mughniyah
- JihadJihadJihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
- Lebanese Civil WarLebanese Civil WarThe Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 to 230,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced. There was also a mass exodus of...
- 1983 Beirut barracks bombing1983 Beirut barracks bombingThe Beirut Barracks Bombing occurred during the Lebanese Civil War, when two truck bombs struck separate buildings housing United States and French military forces—members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon—killing 299 American and French servicemen...