Islamic terrorism

==== Lebanon ====
{{Overly detailed|section|date=August 2017}}
Hezbollah first emerged in 1982, as a militia during the [[1982 Lebanon War]].<ref name="HG20Ak02">{{cite web|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HG20Ak02.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060720154531/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HG20Ak02.html |url-status=unfit |archive-date=20 July 2006 |title=Hezbollah's transformation|last=Jamail|first=Dahr|date=20 July 2006|work=Asia Times |access-date=23 October 2007}}</ref><ref name="bbc-hi-me">{{cite news |title=Who are Hezbollah|work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4314423.stm  |date=21 May 2008 |access-date=15 August 2008}}</ref> Its leaders were inspired by the [[Ruhollah Khomeini|Ayatollah Khomeini]], and its forces were trained and organized by a contingent of Iran's [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]].<ref name="nybooks">{{cite web|url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17060 |title=In Search of Hezbollah|first=Adam|last=Shatz|work=[[The New York Review of Books]] |volume=51|issue=7|date=29 April 2004|access-date=14 August 2006 |url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040503005626/http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17060 |archive-date=3 May 2004}}</ref> Hezbollah's 1985 manifesto listed its three main goals as "putting an end to any [[colonialist]] entity" in Lebanon, bringing the [[Kataeb Party|Phalangists]] to justice for "the crimes they [had] perpetrated", and the establishment of an [[Islamic republic|Islamic regime]] in Lebanon.<ref name="The Hizballah Program">{{cite web|title=The Hizballah Program|url=http://www.standwithus.com/pdfs/flyers/hezbollah_program.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029000205/http://www.standwithus.com/pdfs/flyers/hezbollah_program.pdf|archive-date=29 October 2007|access-date=11 February 2022|publisher=[[StandWithUs]]}}</ref><ref name="Stalinsky">Stalinsky, Steven. [http://www.nysun.com/article/37184 "An Islamic Republic Is Hezbollah's Aim"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071110235519/http://www.nysun.com/article/37184 |date=10 November 2007 }}. ''[[The New York Sun]]''. 2 August 2006. 1 November 2007.</ref> Hezbollah leaders have also made numerous statements calling for the destruction of Israel, which they refer to as a "Zionist entity... built on lands wrested from their owners."<ref name="The Hizballah Program" /><ref name="Stalinsky" />

Hezbollah, which started with only a small militia, has grown to an organization with seats in the [[Lebanon|Lebanese]] government, a radio and a [[Al-Manar|satellite television-station]], and programs for [[Social change|social development]].<ref name="deeb-hzb-a-primer">{{cite magazine |last=Deeb |first=Lara  |date=31 July 2006 |title=Hizballah: A Primer |url=http://www.merip.org/mero/mero073106.html |access-date=31 July 2006 |magazine=[[Middle East Report]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620045425/http://merip.org/mero/mero073106.html |archive-date=20 June 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> They maintain strong support among Lebanon's Shi'a population, and gained a surge of support from Lebanon's broader population ([[Sunni]], [[Christians|Christian]], [[Druze]]) immediately following the [[2006 Lebanon War]],<ref name="Briefing">{{cite web |url=http://www.mideastmonitor.org/issues/0609/0609_6.htm |title=Briefing: Lebanese Public Opinion |date=September–October 2006  |access-date=8 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118214528/http://www.mideastmonitor.org/issues/0609/0609_6.htm |archive-date=18 January 2012}}</ref> and are able to mobilize demonstrations of hundreds of thousands.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4329201.stm "Huge Beirut protest backs Syria"]. [[BBC News]]. 8 March 2005. 7 February 2007.</ref> Hezbollah along with some other groups began the [[2006–2008 Lebanese political protests]] in opposition to the government of Prime Minister [[Fouad Siniora]].<ref name="Ghattas">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6200804.stm|title=Political ferment in Lebanon |first=Kim |last=Ghattas |publisher=BBC News  |date=1 December 2006 |access-date=15 August 2008}}</ref> A later dispute over Hezbollah preservation of its telecoms network led to [[2008 conflict in Lebanon|clashes]] and Hezbollah-led opposition fighters seized control of several [[West Beirut]] neighborhoods from [[Future Movement]] militiamen loyal to Fouad Siniora. These areas were then handed over to the [[Lebanese Army]].<ref name="Haaretz1">{{cite web|title=Lebanese army moves into W. Beirut after Hezbollah takeover |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/981696.html |work=[[Haaretz]]  |access-date=10 May 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512082543/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/981696.html |archive-date=12 May 2008}}</ref>

A [[Lebanese government of July 2008|national unity government]] was formed in 2008, in Lebanon, giving Hezbollah and its opposition allies control of 11 of 30 cabinets seats; effectively veto power.<ref name="CFR">{{cite web|url=http://www.cfr.org/publication/9155/hezbollah.html?breadcrumb=%2F|title=Hezbollah (a.k.a. Hizbollah, Hizbu'llah)|publisher=[[Council on Foreign Relations]]  |date=13 September 2008|access-date=15 September 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913091527/http://www.cfr.org/publication/9155/hezbollah.html?breadcrumb=%2F|archive-date=13 September 2008}}</ref> Hezbollah receives its financial support from the governments of Iran and Syria, as well as donations from Lebanese people and foreign Shi'as.<ref name="irinnews52494">{{cite web|url=http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=52494&SelectRegion=Middle_East |title=Lebanon: The many hands and faces of Hezbollah  |date=29 March 2006|author=UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |access-date=17 August 2006}}</ref><ref name="Haaretz 746631">{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=746631|title=Iranian official admits Tehran supplied missiles to Hezbollah|date=4 August 2006 |work=Haaretz |access-date=7 January 2015}}</ref> It has also gained significantly in military strength in the 2000s.<ref name="met">{{cite news |url=http://www.metimes.com/International/2008/08/29/mideast_powers_proxies_and_paymasters_bluster_and_rearm/5485/ |title=Mideast Powers, Proxies and Paymasters Bluster and Rearm |last=Frykberg|first=Mel |date=29 August 2008|work=[[Middle East Times]]|quote=And if there is one thing that ideologically and diametrically opposed Hezbollah and Israel agree on, it is Hezbollah's growing military strength.  |access-date=29 August 2008|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080902080503/http://www.metimes.com/International/2008/08/29/mideast_powers_proxies_and_paymasters_bluster_and_rearm/5485/ |archive-date=2 September 2008}}</ref> Despite a June 2008 certification by the [[United Nations]] that Israel had withdrawn from all Lebanese territory,<ref name="SC/6878">{{cite web |date=18 June 2000 |publisher=United Nations Security Council |title=Security council endorses secretary-general's conclusion on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon as of 16 June |url=https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2000/20000618.sc6878.doc.html  |access-date=29 September 2006}}</ref> in August, Lebanon's new Cabinet unanimously approved a draft policy statement which secures Hezbollah's existence as an armed organization and guarantees its right to "liberate or recover [[Shebaa farms|occupied lands]]". Since 1992, the organization has been headed by [[Hassan Nasrallah]], its [[Secretary-General]]. The United States, Canada, Israel, Bahrain,<ref name="JPostBahrain">{{cite news|url=http://www.jpost.com/International/Bahrains-parliament-declares-Hezbollah-a-terrorist-group-307806|title=Bahrain's parliament declares Hezbollah a terrorist group |date=26 March 2013|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref><ref name="bahrain">{{cite news|last=Spangler|first=Timothy|url=http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=213829 |title=Bahrain complains over Hezbollah comments on protests|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|date=25 March 2011 |access-date=22 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bahrain-bombs-hezbollah-idUSBRE8A512A20121106 |title=Bahrain arrests bombing suspects and blames Hezbollah |work=Reuters |date=6 November 2012 |access-date=1 July 2017 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924171823/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/06/us-bahrain-bombs-hezbollah-idUSBRE8A512A20121106 |url-status=live }}</ref> France,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/04/04/jewish-leaders-applaud-hezbollah-terror-designation-by-france |title=Jewish Leaders Applaud Hezbollah Terror Designation by France &#124; Jewish & Israel News |publisher=Algemeiner.com  |date=4 April 2013 |access-date=18 August 2014}}</ref> [[Gulf Cooperation Council]],<ref name="GCC">{{cite web |url=http://www.arabnews.com/news/453834 |title=GCC: Hezbollah terror group |work=Arab News |date=3 June 2013 |access-date=3 June 2013}}</ref> and the Netherlands regard Hezbollah as a [[terrorism|terrorist]] organization, while the United Kingdom, the European Union<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/23/world/middleeast/european-union-adds-hezbollah-wing-to-terror-list.html|work=The New York Times |first1=James |last1=Kanter |first2=Jodi |last2=Rudoren |title=European Union Adds Military Wing of Hezbollah to List of Terrorist Organizations |date=22 July 2013}}</ref> and Australia consider only Hezbollah's military wing or its external security organization to be a terrorist organization. Many consider it, or a part of it, to be a terrorist group<ref>Roy, Olivier, ''The Failure of Political Islam'', Harvard University Press, (1994), p. 115</ref><ref>Pape, Robert, ''Dying to Win'', Random House, 2005, p. 129</ref> responsible for [[1983 United States Embassy bombing|blowing up the American embassy]]<ref>Ranstorp, Magnus, ''Hizb'allah in Lebanon'', St. Martins Press, 1997 pp. 89–90</ref> and later its [[1984 United States embassy annex bombing|annex]], as well as the [[1983 Beirut barracks bombing|barracks of American and French peacekeeping troops]] and [[Lebanon hostage crisis|dozens of kidnappings of foreigners in Beirut]].<ref name="autogenerated2">Ranstorp, Magnus, ''Hizb'allah in Lebanon'', St. Martins Press, 1997, p. 54</ref><ref name="autogenerated3">Kepel, Gilles, ''Jihad'', (2002), p. 129</ref> It is also accused of being the recipient of massive aid from Iran,<ref>Ranstorp, Magnus, ''Hizb'allah in Lebanon'', St. Martins Press, 1997, p. 127</ref> and of serving "Iranian foreign policy calculations and interests",<ref name="autogenerated2" /> or serving as a "subcontractor of Iranian initiatives"<ref name="autogenerated3" /> Hezbollah denies any involvement or dependence on Iran.<ref>Ranstorp, Magnus, ''Hizb'allah in Lebanon: The Politics of the Western Hostage Crisis,'' p. 60</ref> In 2006, in the most of the Arab and Muslim worlds, Hezbollah was regarded as a legitimate resistance movement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HG20Ak02.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060720154531/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HG20Ak02.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=20 July 2006|title=Middle East News – Hezbollah's transformation|date=20 July 2006|publisher=Asia Times Online Atimes.com|access-date=25 April 2010}}</ref> In 2005, the Lebanese Prime Minister said of Hezbollah, it "is not a militia. It's a resistance."<ref name="cnn-2005-05-07">{{cite news |publisher=CNN |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/05/06/lebanon.report/index.html |title=Hezbollah disarmament unclear|date=7 May 2005 |access-date=5 August 2006}}</ref>

[[Fatah al-Islam]] is an Islamist group operating out of the [[Nahr al-Bared]] refugee camp in northern Lebanon. It was formed in November 2006, by fighters who broke off from the pro-[[Syria]]n [[Fatah al-Intifada]], itself a splinter group of the Palestinian [[Fatah]] movement, and is led by a Palestinian fugitive militant named [[Shaker al-Abssi]].<ref name="IHT_20070315">''International Herald Tribune'' (15 March 2007). [http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/15/news/lebanon.php] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515071626/http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/15/news/lebanon.php|date=15 May 2008}}</ref> The group's members have been described as militant [[jihad]]ists,<ref name="Figaro_20070416">''Le Figaro'' (16 April 2007). [http://www.lefigaro.fr/english/20070416.WWW000000477_fatah_al_islam_the_new_terrorist_threat_hanging_over_lebanon.html "Fatah Al-Islam: the new terrorist threat hanging over Lebanon"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070606101014/http://www.lefigaro.fr/english/20070416.WWW000000477_fatah_al_islam_the_new_terrorist_threat_hanging_over_lebanon.html |date=6 June 2007 }}. Retrieved 20 May 2007.</ref> and the group itself has been described as a terrorist movement that draws inspiration from [[al-Qaeda]].<ref name="IHT_20070315" /><ref name="Figaro_20070416" /><ref name="Reuters_20070519">{{Cite web|url=http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?storyID=2007-05-20T031424Z_01_L20250509_RTRUKOC_0_US-LEBANON-CAMP-FIGHTING.xml|title=Lebanon Camp Fighting|website=Reuters.com}}{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Its stated goal is to reform the Palestinian refugee camps under [[Sharia|Islamic sharia law]],<ref name="Reuters_FactBox">Reuters (20 May 2007). [http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L20400320.htm "Facts about militant group Fatah al-Islam"]. Retrieved 20 May 2007.</ref> and its primary targets are the Lebanese authorities, Israel and the United States.<ref name="IHT_20070315" />