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ON THE NET...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=pij

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SNIPPET - QUOTE:
http://www.tkb.org/Group.jsp?groupID=82
GROUP PROFILE

Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
Mothertongue Name:
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Aliases: Harakat al-Jihad al-Islami Fi Filastin

Base of Operation: Israel; Syria; West Bank/Gaza

Founding Philosophy: The Palestinian Islamic Jihad is a violent offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni, Islamist, religious movement that originated in Egypt and seeks broad social, moral, and political reforms based upon Islam. The PIJ is one faction within a loosely organized, highly secretive group of Islamic Jihad movements that span the Middle East.

The PIJ was founded in the late 1970s by a group of radical Palestinian activists living in Egypt. This group of activists, led by Fathi Shaqaqi, believed that the Muslim Brotherhood movement had become too moderate and had abandoned the Palestinian cause. Inspired by the Shi'a Islamic revolution in Iran, the PIJ blended Palestinian nationalism, Sunni Islamic fundamentalism, and Shi'a revolutionary thought into its ideological agenda, which stressed that Islamic unity could not be achieved until Israel was utterly annihilated and all of Palestine liberated.

The PIJ initially operated out of Egypt, but after the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat by Egyptian radicals, the PIJ leadership was exiled to the Gaza Strip, where it continued to engage in anti-Israel activities. During the first Palestinian intifada, the PIJ leadership was exiled to Lebanon where it fostered its close ties to Hezbollah and Iran. While several other Islamic Jihad factions emerged in the Palestinian Territories during the 1980s, the group founded by Shaqaqi has remained the dominant faction.

Current Goals: PIJ is dedicated to the violent destruction of Israel. PIJ's radical ideology views its armed struggle against Israel as one battle in a larger worldwide holy war, pitting Islam against all non-believers. PIJ has thus violently opposed the peace process and has actively used suicide bombings against Israeli targets to derail the process. Unlike Hamas, which has built a network of social services, PIJ has focused almost exclusively on violent activities.

The PIJ remains a comparatively small organization with a limited base of support. The PIJ's prominence has fallen since 1995, when Fathi Shaqaqi was gunned down in Malta, purportedly by Israeli Mossad agents. Ramadan Shallah, who replaced Shaqaqi as PIJ's leader, lacks the charisma of the former leader. The PIJ's worldwide activities have further been hampered by a series of arrests and indictments in the United States following the September 11 attacks.

The PIJ has announced that it does not intend to participate in the Palestinian legislative elections scheduled for July 2005. The group has pledged, however, that it is not officially boycotting the elections nor is it asking its members not to participate. The PIJ asserts that “We will not participate so long as the occupation controls the entire electoral process.”

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Note: The following text is a quote:
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http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/2006/08/012775print.html

August 19, 2006

Jihad backer sentenced in Chicago for fraud

The jihad takes many forms. From AP:

A former grocery store owner already facing three years in prison for aiding a terrorist group got 14 months tacked onto his sentence Friday for swindling a government social welfare program out of $1.4 million (€1.1 million).
Hatem Fariz, 33, must serve a total of 51 months in federal prison under the sentence handed down by US District Judge Milton I. Shadur.

Fariz, who now lives in Spring Hill, Florida, also was ordered to repay the money he siphoned off by swapping cash for government food stamp vouchers.

At the same time, Fariz pleaded guilty in a federal court in Tampa to conspiring to provide financial aid to Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which has been designated by the US government as a terrorist organization.

Posted at August 19, 2006 06:54 AM