Islamic Radicalism and Political Violence: The Templars of Islam and Sheikh Ra'id Salah

by Raphael Israeli

The Islamic movement in Israel, headed by Sheikh Ra'id Salah, has turned into a templar-like organization which cultivates the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem (the Temple) as its symbol and rallying point. Ra'id combines spiritual authority with political appeal, religious concerns with organizational wheeling and dealing, and local popularity with international salience. In 2004, he was arrested in Israel and accused of channeling funds to Hamas, and the author was an 'expert witness' for the prosecution at the trial. After first considering the nexus between religion and politics, the Islamic Movement in Israel and Sheikh Ra'id, the second half of the book examines the trial and its consequences.

175 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Raphael Israeli (Hebrew: רפאל ישראלי) is an Israeli historian and writer. He is a professor emeritus of Middle Eastern, Islamic and Chinese history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, as well as a research fellow at the Truman Institute for the Advancement of Peace and the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.

Israeli was born in Fes, Morocco and emigrated to the new state of Israel at the age of fourteen. For twelve years he was a career officer in the Israeli Defence Force in Military Intelligence, whereafter he switched to Academia.

He received a degree in Arabic and History from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and then studied at the University of California at Berkeley, where he earned a Ph.D in Chinese and Islamic History. He has taught for 30 years at the Hebrew University and was a visiting professor at universities in the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and Europe. He is the author of over 50 research books and some 100 scholarly articles on the Modern Middle East, Islamic radicalism, Islam in China, Asia and Europe.