Muslim and Jewish Radicalization in the Middle East

Abstract

Recent decades have witnessed manifestations of radicalization in various world regions, most notably the Middle East. Embedded in the religious-nationalistic and political attitudes, these processes have had historical, social, cultural, and psychological impacts. Furthermore, they have been enhanced by nationalistic education, indoctrination carried out by political and religious leaders, the media, and social networks. The major events that have driven these radicalization processes in the Middle East span the June 1967 Arab-Israeli War, the 1979 Islamic-Shi’i Revolution in Iran, the 2003 U.S. occupation of Iraq and the Arab Spring uprisings, which began in 2011 and manifest themselves, inter alia, in radicalization among Sunni Muslims in the region. Our case study examines the most radicalized Arab-Israeli and Muslim-Jewish currents, particularly religious and nationalist, stemming largely from the conflict over the Temple Mount/al-Haram al-Sharif and East Jerusalem/al-Quds al-Sharif, which has remained unresolved since June 1967.