Supporters of Jamaa Islamiya demonstrate in support of Palestine in downtown Beirut, on Oct. 29, 2023. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/Archives L'Orient-le Jour)
Jamaa Islamiya, the Lebanese Islamist party affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, is steadily expanding its influence.Locally, the group has gained some prestige after joining the “support front” for Hamas in Gaza between 2023 and 2024. It is also taking advantage of the absence of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the main leader of the community, to position itself as an alternative.The regional picture may look even more promising, with the rise of an Islamist-backed government in Syria and Turkey's expanding role in the Near East. The Brotherhood-affiliated party therefore intends to use the (supposedly) upcoming parliamentary elections in May as an opportunity to establish itself as a Sunni force not to be underestimated on the Lebanese scene. But this bet is far from certain, and Jamaa's calculations may be flawed.At...
Jamaa Islamiya, the Lebanese Islamist party affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, is steadily expanding its influence.Locally, the group has gained some prestige after joining the “support front” for Hamas in Gaza between 2023 and 2024. It is also taking advantage of the absence of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the main leader of the community, to position itself as an alternative.The regional picture may look even more promising, with the rise of an Islamist-backed government in Syria and Turkey's expanding role in the Near East. The Brotherhood-affiliated party therefore intends to use the (supposedly) upcoming parliamentary elections in May as an opportunity to establish itself as a Sunni force not to be underestimated on the Lebanese scene. But this bet is far from certain, and Jamaa's calculations may be...
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