Islamic Group الجماعة الإسلامية‎
Abbreviation	JI
Leader	Sheikh Mohammed Takkoush
Founder	Faysal Mawlawi, Fathi Yakan
Founded	1964; 62 years ago (1964)
Headquarters	Beirut
Armed wing	Al-Fajr Forces
Ideology	Sunni Islamism Pan-Islamism Social conservatism Anti-Zionism
Religion	Sunni Islam
International affiliation	Muslim Brotherhood
Designated as a terrorist group by	Argentina[1] United States[2]
Parliament of Lebanon	1 / 128
Website
al-jamaa.org
Politics of Lebanon Political parties Elections

The Islamic Group (Arabic: الجماعة الإسلامية Al-Jama'ah Al-Islamiyah), abbreviated as the acronym JI, is a Sunni Islamist political party in Lebanon. Jamaa Islamiya was founded in 1964 as the Lebanese branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. In fact, it was established by young members of 'Ibad al Rahman (or the Worshipers of the Merciful). Its origins, as documented by Nizar Hamzeh, go back to the height of Gamal Abdel Nasser's efforts at Arab unity in the mid-1960s.^[3] It supports the idea of establishing a legal order in Lebanon that is based on Islamic shari'a. As a local branch it closely follows the doctrines of the Muslim Brotherhood.^[3] Fathi Yakan was the group's grandfather and main ideologue who is a veteran Islamist scholar and preacher from Tripoli.^[3]

Its ex-leader is Ibrahim Al-Masri, who succeeded its former leader Faisal Mawlawi due to sickness. The party entered the 2009 Lebanese general election beside the Future Movement in Beirut's 3rd electoral district. Currently they have 1 seat in the Lebanese Parliament.^[4][5][6]

Established in Beirut during the 1960s as part of the Muslim Brotherhood’s expansion into Lebanon, The Islamic Group (Jamaa Islamiya) emphasized the Brotherhood’s ideology of Islamically rooted social and political activism.^[7]

In 1964, the Islamic Group officially emerged, opening its headquarters in Beirut and launching its magazine, Al-Shihab, on January 1, 1966. The group's first Secretary-General was Fathi Yakan, in addition to the other founders: Fayez I'ali, Muhammad Karima, Muhammad Drai'i, and Ibrahim al-Masri. The group published a series of pamphlets explaining its mission, the most prominent of which was "The Islamic Group: Principles and Objectives," which stated:

“Among the justifications for the establishment of the Islamic Group is the Muslims’ ignorance of Islam, their estrangement from it, and their abandonment of its leadership, thus leading them to embrace materialistic trends and secular ideologies. This has resulted in their countries and societies falling under non-Islamic leadership, leading to the deterioration of their political situations, the decline of their economic lives, and the proliferation of vices and deviations… Furthermore, anyone observing the current state of Islamic activism will notice that individual efforts not linked to a structured movement—such as those exerted by preachers and guides—are destined to fail… As for individual attempts at reform, they will fail due to their inability to confront the challenges of the age and the demands of the struggle that Islam is currently facing…” The group’s objectives included the following:

First: Conveying the message of Islam to people in a pure and clear manner, relevant to the times and its problems.

Secondly: Organizing those who responded to the call to Islam, educating them about it, and preparing them to be the vanguard.

Third: Confronting the challenge of Western civilization.

Fourth: Striving to build a new society in which Islam is the standard for the actions of individuals.

Fifth: Striving to unite the Islamic schools of thought by returning to the Islamic principles.^[8][9][10]

At this stage, the group focused on consolidating its missionary work in addition to expanding its reach. By the early 1970s, the group was widespread in various Sunni Muslim areas of Lebanon. It also concentrated on building its organizational structure, establishing central offices to oversee local branches. However, the group's focus on missionary work did not mean it neglected political affairs. It followed political issues—both Lebanese and international—through educating its members and via its media outlets, but it limited itself to political stances without engaging in day-to-day activities or participating in elections.^[11][12]

The group paid particular attention to official Islamic institutions such as the Supreme Islamic Sharia Council and the Islamic endowments departments. In 1966, the group nominated three of its members for membership in the Tripoli Endowments Council: lawyer Muhammad Ali Dhanawi, engineer Ismat Awida, and engineer Abd al-Fattah Ziyada. Engineer Ismat Awida won a seat on the council.^[13][14] In 1967, the group nominated two of its members for membership in the Supreme Islamic Council: Sheikh Saeed Shaaban and lawyer Muhammad Ali Dhanawi. The nomination was repeated in 1971 for membership in the council, and lawyer Muhammad Ali Dhanawi won membership. After that, the nomination was repeated as well, and engineer Abdullah Babti won membership. The Islamic Group played a prominent role in organizing the Grand Islamic Conference, which was held in the hall of the Grand Mansouri Mosque, and from which the (Islamic Assembly) emerged on the 18th of Ramadan 1392, corresponding to October 25, 1972. Then came the formation of the (Islamic Gathering) in the North, which had a tangible role in mobilizing official and popular Islamic forces and activities in all Lebanese regions, and in the establishment of the Executive Committee of Islamic Bodies in Beirut and the presentation of Islamic demands.^[15][14][16]

When the Lebanese Civil War broke out in 1975, the group formed a military structure to defend Muslim areas through the "Mujahideen" organization. This organization had a military presence in Tripoli and the North, then in Beirut, and in Sidon in late 1976. In the North, the group operated the "Voice of the Mujahideen" radio station and continued publishing the magazine "Al-Shihab" to cover Lebanese events. After the end of the two-year war, the group handed over its centers and heavy weapons in the North and east of Sidon to the Arab Deterrent Forces , and closed its military centers in Beirut. The group continued its security coordination within the framework of the "Political Council" and similar institutions that emerged during the war in various Lebanese regions.^[17][18]

The 1980s were marked by a broad launch of the Islamic movement, and three major events contributed to this launch:

The first of these was the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the establishment of the Republic in 1979, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan at the end of 1979, along with the accompanying Islamic jihadist revival movement, and the transformation of the Islamic movement in Palestine from educational and social advocacy work to the formation of the “ Islamic Resistance Movement - Hamas ” and the Islamic Jihad Movement, after the release of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in the prisoner exchange in 1985, which paved the way for the outbreak of the First Intifada at the end of 1987.^[19][20][21]

When the Israeli invasion of Lebanon began in 1982, the political project of the Islamic Group had matured, its political structure was complete, and the cohesion of the southern Lebanese Islamic forces in the face of the occupation had a clear impact on launching its political project. Perhaps the first armed clash, waged by two young members of the group in Sidon (Salim Hijazi and Bilal Azzam) against a patrol of collaborators on September 15, 1982, ignited public sentiment and led to a series of confrontations with the occupying forces.^[20]

Although the Islamic Resistance Movement in Palestine had not yet been launched, the conflict with Israel had become a fundamental element in the group's literature, political thought, and activities on the ground. The participation of the group's members in Islamic resistance operations, even after the enemy forces withdrew from Sidon, was prominent, whether in coordination with the Islamic Resistance framework in the south or with the new fronts that formed after the Israeli withdrawal in the Kfar Falous area east of Sidon, where the group controlled a number of liberated positions and villages in the face of the South Lebanon Army forces.^[22]

The Islamic Resistance, Fajr Forces – the resistance wing of the Islamic Group in Lebanon – was launched in 1982 following the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, which resulted in the occupation of many Lebanese areas and the enemy's advance to the Lebanese capital, Beirut. Therefore, it was natural for the resistance to arise as a reaction to this occupation, and it was equally natural that among those who rose up at that time were the youth of the Islamic Group, who adopted the name of the Islamic Resistance under the leadership of the martyred commander Jamal al-Habbal and a group of dear brothers and virtuous mujahideen who embarked with him on this victorious jihadist experience. The operations of Fajr Forces – the resistance wing of the Islamic Group – were primarily concentrated in Sidon and its surrounding areas, where the occupation had established its most important bases and camps in the capital of southern Lebanon. Furthermore, the members of Fajr Forces and the leaders who launched the Islamic Resistance were from the youth of the Islamic Group in Sidon. Thus, the demographics, the military reality, and the circumstances at that time dictated that every Muslim mujahid should fight in his own region, as he knew it better than anyone else. This was the beginning of the “Lebanese uprising” since 1982, and this eventful history continued, albeit at a pace that sometimes escalated and sometimes broke off, until Israel’s withdrawal in 2000.^[23][7]

The armed wing of the Islamic Group, Fajr Forces , launched rockets at Israel during the 2023 Lebanese-Israeli border clashes, in what The National described as a "comeback... after nearly 20 years of relative inactivity." Bassem Hammoud, deputy head of the Islamic Group's political bureau, clarified that his party "is not in complete agreement with Hezbollah ... but we are with them in resisting Israel."^[24] On March 10, 2024, three members of the Islamic Group were killed in an Israeli strike on the town of Arqoub. On April 26, an Israeli airstrike on a car in the village of Midoun killed two members of the Islamic Group, including senior commander Musab Khalaf.^[25][26][27]

On June 22, 2024, the Israeli army targeted a four-wheel drive vehicle at the intersection of the town of Al-Khiyara in the Western Bekaa, eastern Lebanon, which was carrying Islamic Group leader Ayman Ghatma, resulting in his death.^{[23][26][27][28]}

On February 9 2026 it was reported that Israeli forces performed an overnight operation detaining a senior member of the organization.^[29][30]

During the Lebanese Civil War, the group became convinced of the necessity of establishing specialized institutions to oversee non-political Islamic activities. Based on this conviction, the group established specialized associations and institutions across Lebanon to meet the needs of the people in the absence of the state and its services, and to complement the group's broader project encompassing all aspects of human life. In line with this approach, the group established educational institutions, institutes, kindergartens, and medical and social centers focused on public services and disaster relief. It also established numerous clinics and medical centers, a Muslim Students' Association with its own magazine and activities, a women's social association, a media organization, and several charitable societies throughout Lebanon.^[31][32]

The Islamic Group's armed wing, the al-Fajr Forces (Arabic: قوات الفجر), launched missiles into Israel during the 2023 Israel-Lebanon border clashes,^[33][34] in what The National called a "resurgence... after almost 20 years of relative inactivity."^[35] Bassem Hammoud, the deputy head of the Islamic Group's political bureau, clarified that his party was "not in complete alignment with Hezbollah... [b]ut we are with them in terms of resistance against Israel."^[35] On 10 March 2024, three members of the Islamic Group were killed after an Israeli strike on the town of Aqroub.^[36] On April 26, an Israeli drone strike on a car in Meidoun killed two Islamic Group members, including senior commander Mosab Khalaf.^[37][38] On 18 July 2024, an IDF strike on a car in Ghazzeh, eastern Lebanon killed Mohammad Hamed Gebara, an Islamic Group commander who planned and conducted attacks in collaboration with Hamas.^[39] Commander Hussein Atoui was assassinated in Damour during an Israeli airstrike against a vehicle in April 2025.^[40]

In 2008, members of the Islamic Group formed al Fajr Radio which offers educational and religious programs. It is equally shared by multiple members of the party.^[41]

• List of Islamic political parties
• Hezbollah
• Lebanese Civil War
• Islamic Unification Movement
• Al-Fajr Forces

• Islamic Group official site