Hizbut-Tahrir in Lebanon and the Arab world. (c2014)

Abstract

This is a study of one Islamic party: Hizbut-Tahrir, Wilayat Lubnan (hereafter Hizbut-Tahrir). It aims to shed light on the history, ideology, and recent stances of this important, albeit little researched, player. Founded in Jerusalem in the late 1940s, Hizbut-Tahrir established itself on the Lebanese scene in 1953, when its founder – the Palestinian Sheikh Taqiuddin al-Nabhani (b.1909 – d.1977) – was evicted by the Jordanian authorities and forced to resettle in Lebanon. The study involves a review of primary and secondary sources in English and Arabic on Hizbut-Tahrir and Islamic movements; as well as interviews with academics, specialists, state officials, and Hizbut-Tahrir activists. What gives this study pertinence and currency is that Hizbut-Tahrir’s recent activism and stances raised many question marks and concerns in Lebanon, as well as regionally and internationally. Following the end of the Pax-Syriana in Lebanon, Hizbut-Tahrir became more active on the Lebanese scene, especially in the poor populated suburbs in Tripoli. This study is prompted by at least three considerations. The party, despite its activism and presence in several countries, has received scant attention in the burgeoning academic literature on Islamic movements. Second, Hizbut-Tahrir has heightened its presence and activities in Lebanon, particularly in northern Lebanon, after 2005. Third, the party has benefited from the weakening of state controls in several Arab countries, in the wake of the Arab Spring, in order to play a larger role in the unfolding events, while adhering to its ideology that emphasizes the restoration of the Islamic Caliphate and its renunciation of violence.