Islamic Movement in Israel

The Islamic Movement in Israel (also known as the Islamic Movement in 48 Palestine) is an Islamist movement that aims to advocate Islam in Israel, particularly among Arabs and Circassians.

The movement was established and led by Abdullah Nimar Darwish from 1971 to 1991, when he was replaced by Ibrahim Sarsur. In 1996 the movement decided to participate in the Israeli parliamentary elections for the first time in history. The decision was controversial. The opposers of the participation, based in Umm el-Fahm branched off and were named the "Northern Branch" while the supporters, based in Kfar Qasim were named the "Southern Branch". The Southern Branch is considered more moderate, while the Northern Branch is considered more radical. The northern branch was banned by the Israeli government in November 2015 due to close ties with Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, although it has been speculated that it may resurface as an underground organization.

The origins of the Islamic Movement can be traced back to the late years of the Mandatory Palestine. Early organization began in the days of the 1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine, however, it only began gaining momentum after World War II as a result of cooperation between the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini and the Muslim Brotherhood, which is the parent movement of the Islamic Movement in Israel.

During the 1948 Palestine war, the movement cooperated with the Arab Higher Committee, much like the Egyptian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, which cooperated with the Egyptian military. As a result, it suffered a major setback following the war as all of its institutions in the newly formed Jewish state were shut down. During the period of martial law on Israeli Arabs between 1949 and 1966, the movement was suppressed and was unable to recover. The institutions that remained in the West Bank were put under the control of Jordanian authorities, who controlled the West Bank. Though a mild recovery took place in the Gaza Strip during the 1950s under Egyptian rule, there too its influence steadily declined until 1967.

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