Islamic Unification Movement

The Islamic Unification Movement ("Harakat al-Tawheed al-Islami") ("arabic":حركة التوحيد الإسلامي) is a Lebanese political party, founded in Tripoli in 1982 by sunni sheikh Said Shaaban, a former leader in the Lebanese Islamic Group. [ [http://meria.biu.ac.il/journal/1997/issue3/jv1n3a2.html Islamism In Lebanon ] ]

Sheikh Said formed the movement during the Lebanese Civil War after splitting with the Islamic Group. Sheikh Said believed that force is a good solution in politics, while the leaders of the Islamic Group found it better to opt for a peaceful political life. However, the two sides have always been in a good relationship, especially with Sheikh Fathi Yakan, founder of the Islamic Group. The movement worked as a Sunni militia during the Lebanese Civil War, and mainly fought the Syrian presence in North Lebanon and the pro-Syrian Alawite Arab Democratic Party in Tripoli. [ [http://www.meib.org/articles/0009_l3.htm "Hashem Minqara: Free at Last" (September 2000) ] ]

The movement's current secretary general is Sheikh Hashem Minqara.

The movement is pro-Syrian today and belongs to the March 8 Alliance. [http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:u1dAVhkue4oJ:www.stratfor.com/analysis/lebanon_militia_buildup_tripoli+stratfor+tawhid+al+islami&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1] It is friendly towards the Shia group Hizballah. [http://www.brookings.edu/views/papers/saabriedel_20070223.pdf]

In 2005, the movement joined the Islamic Labor Front, an alliance between several Islamic parties and personalities in Lebanon.

References

External links

* [http://www.attawhed.org/ Islamic Unification official site]
* [http://www.daawa.net/ Islamic Labor frong]