Ribāṭ in Palestine: life on the frontier

ABSTRACT

This article examines the meaning of ribāṭ in the Palestinian context. The term ribāṭ has been attributed meanings that vary according to period and place. It has often been studied in relation to medieval structures around the Mediterranean coastline and is generally defined as connected to the defence of Muslim lands. However, my research, conducted in Israel-Palestine, indicates that the term also has a very contemporary existence and constitutes an intrinsic part of the Palestinian repertoire of resistance. By scrutinising the Palestinian ribāṭ, in this article I seek to contribute to the wider debate around the meanings attributed to the term, both by tracing its historical continuity and by demonstrating its regional specificity, as a practice imbued with a fundamental territorial dimension.

While Palestinians include many elements of the traditional meaning in their use of ribāṭ, such as the idea of defending the land, they have also adapted it to the regional context. For the Palestinians, ribāṭ is by definition linked to three embedded holy spaces – al-Aqsa, Jerusalem and Palestine – considered sacred for both religious and political reasons. This article engages with the dual process of territorialisation and bordering implied by the concept of ribāṭ in the Palestinian context, revealing how it brings together the idea of a life on the frontier.

KEYWORDS:

• Palestine
• Israel
• ribāṭ
• Islam
• border
• frontier
• territory

Acknowledgements

I wish to warmly thank all the individuals whom I interviewed for this article, for their availability and readiness to share parts of their lives, thoughts and knowledge. I especially thank Mohammad Halayka, director of the Yasser Arafat Museum, for his support during the research. My gratitude too to the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on a previous version of this text.

This research was made possible thanks to funding from several institutions: the French Research Centre in Jerusalem (CRFJ), the Bettencourt-Schueller Foundation, the French Institute for the Near-East (IFPO), the French Institute for the Near-East (IFPO), the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme (FMSH). Most of this article was written during my postdoctoral position at the University of Helsinki. I wish to thank all the above institutions for their support and for enabling the implementation and publication of this research.

Disclosure statement

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

Notes

1 Interview with a resident of Silwan, East Jerusalem, on October 31, 2012 [in English].

2 Fieldwork research in Gaza has not been possible due to the political and security situation there.

3 Ṣumūd designates a steadfast presence on the land, it is often translated as determination or stubbornness. See for example (Rijke and van Teefelen 2014, Lecoquierre 2022), pp. 91-94.

4 The fieldwork was initially carried out in the framework of a PhD dissertation (2010-2016), performed at the European University Institute (Florence, Italy), and titled Spatialities of resistance in Israel and Palestine, the cases of Hebron, Silwan and al-Araqib. Further research on the topic was carried out during my postdoctoral fieldwork in 2016-2019, with the generous support of the French Research Center in Jerusalem (CRFJ), the Bettencourt-Schueller Foundation, the French Institute for the Near-East (IFPO), the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme (FMSH).

5 Interviewees who have not given their express consent or do not wish to be identified are designated by a letter differing from the first letter of either their first name or surname.

6 Both Archbishop Theodosios of Sebastia (often referred to as Atallah Hanna) and Hanadi al-Halawani are public figures often interviewed in the media for their political and religious positions in defence of Palestine and al-Aqsa. See for example ‘Al-muṭarān ḥanā : al-ribāṭu fy al-qudsi wa-l-difāʿ ʿanhā wa-ājbun wa-ṭanyun wa-ʾākhlāqiy,’ Dunīā al-watan, September 21, 2020 [in Arabic]; ‘Al-muṭarān ʿaṭā allah ḥanā : sāsat al-ʿalim ʾāshbaʿūnā khiṭābāt al-salām wa-ʿalā al-ʾārḍi tastamiru muhājamat al-filasṭyniyyn wa-tatawāṣalu ʾīzdiwājiyat al-maʿāiyyr,’ Al-Quds, January 30, 2023 [in Arabic].

7 This section introduces elements presented earlier in a chapter published in Lecoquierre 2022, pp. 206-225.

8 Unless otherwise specified, the translations are made by the authors.

9 Dabiq n.3, 2014, p.11; Dabiq n.15, 2016, p. 71; see also Inspire n.13, 2014, p.49; Azan n.4, 2013, p.30.

10 Dabiq n. 12, 2016, p. 57.

11 Dabiq n. 7, 2015, p. 48.

12 Inspire n.8, 2011.

13 Inspire n. 13, 2014, see also (Ingram 2015, 2016, Long 2009, Mcgregor 2003).

14 See for example the mention in the Qu’ran, of ‘steeds of war’, or ‘ribāṭ al-khayl’, Sura VIII, 60.

15 Interview carried out in Dura, July 22, 2018 [in Arabic]. The Buraq is a mythical winged creature that bore the Prophet on his night-time journey from Mecca to Jerusalem.

16 Interview held on February 22, 2013 [in English].

17 Interview held on October 10, 2016 [in Arabic].

18 Yasser Arafat’s speech to the 7th Arab Summit in Rabat, October 26, 1974. Archives of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Palestine National Authority, from the Yasser Arafat Museum library, Ramallah, consulted between July 6 and 10, 2018.

19 Yasser Arafat’s speech to the Jerusalem Committee, Casablanca, July 29-30, 1998. Reproduction of a communication fax dated July 22, 1998, Archives of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Palestine National Authority, Yasser Arafat Museum library, Ramallah, consulted between July 6 and 10, 2018.

20 See for example Al-Hayat al-Jadida, May 13, 2021; June 22, 2021.

21 Interview with Jawad Siyam, Director of the Wadi Hilwe Information Center, Silwan, on October 15, 2016 [in English].

22 Interview held on July 12, 2016 [in English].

23 Interview held in Silwan on October 31, 2012 [in English].

24 Interview held on February 2, 2013 [in Arabic].

25 Interview held with Zliha Muhtaseb, old city of Hebron, on March 15, 2013 [in English].

26 Interview held on July 12, 2016 ­[in English].

27 Interview with S., October 19, 2016.

28 Interview held with Najeh Bkerat, director of the Islamic waqf in Al-Aqsa, on October 18, 2016 [in Arabic].

29 Field notes, November 28, 2016.

30 The Haram al-Ibrahimi is presented by some Palestinians as the fourth holiest place in Islam. This is however contested by others, as the Qurʾān only mentions three holy places, Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem.

31 Interview held on March 15, 2013 [in English].

32 Interviews held with T., resident of Wadi Hilwe, member of the Wadi Hilwe Committee, February 18, 2013; M., Sharīʿa Department at the Hebron University, November 27, 2016 [in Arabic].

33 Interview held on October 20, 2016 [in Arabic].

34 Interview held with F. on July 29, 2016 [in French].

35 Interview held on November 27, 2012 [in English].

36 Interview with Yusuf Natsheh, held on June 18, 2016 [in English].

37 Often called Atallah Hanna in the media and amongst the Palestinian public.

38 Interview held on July 23, 2018 [in Arabic].

39 Field notes, October 12, 2013.

40 Interview held on October 19, 2016 [in English].

41 Two of the remaining ribāṭs, ribāṭ al-Mansouri and ribāṭ ‘ala al-Din, are now home to the Afro-Palestinian community of the Old City. If the structures themselves do not have a defensive purpose, their inhabitants retain an attachment to the mosque and a sense of duty regarding its protection, as Palestinians, Muslims, and also because members of the community had functioned as security guards for al-Aqsa for many decades after their arrival in 1915-1920. The two buildings were granted in usufruct to the Afro-Palestinian community after one of its members protected the Mufti Hajj Amin al-Husseini from an attack. Interviews with members of the Afro-Palestinian community, Eid Qous, July 12, 2016; Ali Jiddah, July 28, 2016; Mousa Qous, November 11, 2016 [in English].

42 Interview held with S., October 10, 2016 [in English].

43 Interview held with S., murābiṭa from Silwan, October 10, 2016 [in English]; with Hanadi al-Halawani, murābiṭa from the old city of Jerusalem, November 27, 2018 [in Arabic].

44 Originally united within a single movement, founded by Shaykh ʿAbdullah Nimr Darwish in 1972 with the aim of waging jihad against Israel, the Islamic Movement in Israel separated into two factions in 1996. The rift crystallised around participation in the Israeli elections, with the members of what became the southern branch arguing in favour of participating in political life. See Aburaiya 2004.

45 Interview held on December 13, 2018 [in Arabic].

46 Interview with Ghazi Issa, held on December 13, 2018 [in Arabic].

47 Interview held on November 27, 2018 [in Arabic].

48 Interview held on July 20, 2016 [in Arabic].

49 Interview held on July 2, 2016 [in Arabic].

50 Interview with M. on November 27, 2016 [in Arabic].

51 See for example Ikrima Sabri, preacher at al-Aqsa and head of the Islamic Council, in ‘Iftar in al-Aqsa mosque, another kind of ribāṭ,’ Al-Aqsa Society, June 21, 2017, https://tinyurl.com/5nurh7b6 [in Arabic].

52 Interview with Hanadi al-Halawani, November 27, 2018.

53 Interview with Jawad Siyam, resident of Wadi-Hilwe and director of the Wadi Hilwe Information Centre, on November 27, 2012 [in English]; and Sahar al-Abassi, resident of Wadi Hilwe, employed at the Maada community centre, February 11, 2013 [in English]. See also Lecoquierre 2022, p. 216.

54 Interview with T., resident of Wadi Hilwe, Silwan, February 18, 2013 [in Arabic].

55 Interview with S., October 10, 2016 [in English].

56 Recorded speech and field notes, al-Bustan tent, February 15, 2013 [in Arabic].

57 Interview held on February 18, 2013 [in Arabic].

58 Interview with M., November 27, 2016 [in Arabic].

59 Friday sermon by Sheikh Raed Salah, entitled ‘The Virtue of Ribat,’ May 1, 2015, Q Press, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5Kpn2Bk6D8&t=613s [in Arabic].

60 Ibid.

61 Ibid.

62 It should be noted that the land ‘from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates’ is also mentioned in the Bible as the limits of the land given to the descendants of Abraham (Genesis 15:18), and as such is sometimes invoked to define the limits of Eretz Israel. The ‘river of Egypt’ is interpreted as designating Wadi al-Arish or the Nile.

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Marion Lecoquierre

Marion Lecoquierre is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki (Finland). She holds a PhD in Political and Social Science from the European University Institute (Florence, Italy). Her research interests are in political and social geography, and she specialises in Israel-Palestine. Her past work has focused chiefly on practices and representations of resistance, the production of space in a settler colonial setting, and religious territorialities. She published in 2022 Emplaced Resistance in Palestine and Israel, The Cases of Hebron, Silwan and al-Araqib (Routledge). She serves in the editorial board of the French journal Carnets de géographes.