The effects of Islamization on Muslim-Christian relations within Israel’s Arab community before and after the ‘Arab Spring’

ABSTRACT

This article examines the effects of Islamisation processes among Israeli Muslim Arabs on their intercommunal relations with Christian Arabs before and after the ‘Arab Spring’, based on 45 in-depth interviews held prior to and after this momentous event. The findings show the complex role played by Islamisation in Muslim-Christian relations, causing tensions and distancing at times while promoting intercommunal cooperation on other instances. They also reveal that in addition to the Islamic Movement, three other main socio-religious subsets played a role in Islamisation: secular, traditional and Salafi. Finally, since the onset of the ‘Arab Spring’, the religious identity of Israeli Muslims has remained central but the power of Islamic segments seems to have declined. Under these circumstances, Muslims and Christians tended to grow socially distant from each other, though no substantial tensions were evident.

KEYWORDS:

• Israel
• Islamisation
• Muslims
• Christians
• Arabs
• ‘Arab Spring’

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Abbasi, “The Arab World,” 7–19; Roy, “The Transformation of the Arab World,” 5–18.

2. Chamkhi, “Neo-Islamism in the post-Arab spring,” 453–68.

3. Hazran, “Emigration of Christians from the Arab Middle East,” 189–210.

4. Rekhess, “Resurgent Islam in Israel,” 189–206; Tsimhoni, “The Christians in Israel,” 124–53; Farah, “Identity and Culture of Israeli Christians,” 138–58.

5. See, for example, Lapidus, A History of Islamic Societies.

6. Litvak, “The Islamization of the Palestinian‐Israeli Conflict,” 148–63; Arskal, Challenging the Secular State; Roff, “Patterns of Islamization in Malaysia,” 210–28; Zelkovitz, “Militancy and Religiosity in the Service of National Aspiration,” 683–4.

7. See for example: Israeli, Muslim Fundamentalism in Israel; Rekhess, “Resurgent Islam in Israel.”

8. This article chose not to focus on the Druze since they tend to live in separate communities, hence are less closely involved in Arab society. Moreover, their close ties to the state, including compulsory military service, greatly influence the Muslims’ disaffected attitude towards them.

9. Tsimhoni,“The Christians in Israel;” Haiduc-Dale, “Rejecting Sectarianism,” 75–88.‏

10. Tsimhoni, “The Shihab al-Din Mosque Affair in Nazareth,” 192–230; Israeli, Green Crescent over Nazareth.

11. Tsimhoni, “The Christians in Israel”; Farah, “Identity and Culture of Israeli Christians in the Face of Islamic Resurgence,” 138–58.

12. Abu-Nimer, “Religion, Dialogue, and Non-violent Actions in Palestinian-Israeli Conflict,” 491–511.

13. Emmet, Beyond the Basilica.

14. Freas, Muslim–Christian Relations in Late Ottoman Palestine.

15. Kramer, “Azoury: A Further Episode,” 351–8; Hourani, Minorities in the Arab World.

16. For the history of press in Palestine see Ayalon, Reading Palestine.

17. Haiduc Dale, Arab Christians in British Mandate Palestine, 130–62; Tsimhoni, “The status of the Arab Christians under the British Mandate in Palestine,” 166–92.‏

18. Lybarger, “For Church or Nation?,” 777–813.

19. Peled-Rubin, Debating Islam in the Jewish State, 127–30.

20. Dawisha, Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century, 39; Rosmer, “Resisting ‘Israelization’,” 325–58.

21. Peled-Rubin, Debating Islam in the Jewish State, 129.

22. See for example interviewees # 2, on 14.9.2008, #4, on 18.9.2008, #10, on 12.11.2008, #17, on 17.2.2009, #21, on 18.3.2009 and interviewees #7, on 27.10.2008, #14, on 15.1.2009, #19, on 23.2.2009, #33, 4.2.2017.

23. See for example Interviewees # 2, on 14.9.2008, #8, on 27.10.2008, #10, on 12.11.2008, #11, on 24.11.2008, #21, on 18.3.2009.

24. See for example Christian interviewees # 4, on 18.9.2008, #9, on 12.11.2008, #14, on 15.1.2009, #20, on 18.3.2009, #33, on 4.12.2017.

25. Al-Atawna, Islam in Israel, 102.

26. Nasasra, “The politics of claiming and representation,” 48–78.

27. Rosmer, “Resisting ‘Israelization’.”

28. See for example Interviewees #3, on 18.9.2008, #9, on 12.11.2008, #21, on 18.3.2009.

29. See for example Interviewees #5, on 27.10.2008, #8, on 27.10.2008, #14, on 15.1.2009.

30. Throughout Muslim history, there has been widespread conversion to Islam in the Middle East but that largely ended in the nineteenth century. Conversion still occurs today but is very limited. Actively addressing Christians on this matter clearly ignores contemporary social reality.

31. Huri, “Three Arab Israelis were convicted in the murder of taxi driver Yafim Vinstien,” Haaretz, 29 November 2012 (Hebrew).

32. See for example Interviewees #32, on 21.11.2017, #37, on 20.12.2017, #40, on 22.11.2018, #42, on 14.2.2018.

33. This observation was shared by Interviewees #31, on 6.11.2017, #34, on 4.12.2017, #35, on 12.12.2017, #38, on 16.1.2018, #39, on 16.1.2018, #42, on 14.2.2018.

34. Al-Atawneh, Islam in Israel, 25–32.

35. Roy, “The Transformation of the Arab World.”

36. Some Arabs in Israel have supported ISIS and a few dozen have even joined its fighting in Syria and Iraq. Yet they were a tiny minority that was generally rejected by the mainstream.

37. See for example Interviewees #30, on 6.11.2017, #31, on 6.11.2017, #35, on 12.12.2017, #39, on 16.1.2018, #41, on 14.2.2018, #42, on 14.2.2018.

38. Hitman, “Together we stand,” 284–99.

39. In the last decade and a half, Israel’s governmental policy towards the Arab minority has changed significantly to economic inclusion and reduction of gaps, including the investment of billions of dollars and the establishment of an authority aimed at their economic development (based on government resolution 1204 of 15 December 2017 and two five-year plans – govt. resolution 1539 of 21 March 2010 and govt. resolution 922 of 29 December 2015).

40. One of the most prominent examples for the persistence of Islamism in this context is the Murabitun and Murabitat organisations aimed at protecting al-Aqsa Mosque by preventing Jewish presence in the Temple Mount. These organisations have also been declared illegal in 2015 as part of the Islamic Movement.

41. Tsimhoni, “The Christians in Israel.”

42. Hazran, “Emigration of Christians from the Arab Middle East,” 189–210.

43. As reflected in Interviewees #3, on 18.9.2008, #9, on 12.11.2008, #18, on 23.2.2009, #35, on 12.12.2017,, #36, on 12.12.2017, #42, on 14.2.2018.

44. McGahern, Palestinian Christians in Israel.

45. See for example Interviewees #5, on 27.10.2008, #16, on 17.2.2009, #28, on 2.2.2010, #30, on 6.11.2017.

46. See for example Interviewees #9, on 12.11.2008, #15, on 15.1.2009, #22, on 7.5.2009.

47. See for example Interviewees #7, on 27.10.2008, #15, on 15.1.2009, #25, on 2.2.2010, #33, on 4.12.2017.

48. Nosset, “Free Exercise After the Arab Spring,” 1653–89; Wessels, Arab and Christian?

49. Khashan, “Arab Uprisings May Doom Middle East Christians,” 1–9.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ilan Shdema

Ilan Shdema is a lecturer of Middle East Studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and at the Max Stern Yezreel Valley College.

Ido Zelkovitz

Ido Zelkovitz is Head of Middle East Studies at the Max Stern Yezreel Valley College and a Research Fellow at the Ezri Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies at the University of Haifa.

Moshe Sharabi

Moshe Sharabi is Head of MA Studies in Organizational Development and Consulting, the Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, Israel.