Robert G. Rabil

Twitter: @robertgrabil

Dr. Robert G. Rabil is a professor of political science at Florida Atlantic University.^[1] He received his doctorate in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University.^[2] His area of studies and expertise include Political/Radical Islam, Transnational and Revivalist movements, Salafism, US-Arab Relations, Arab-Israeli Conflict, Terrorism and Contemporary Middle East Politics in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Israel, Turkey, Iran and Saudi Arabia. .^[3]

Rabil served as the Chief of Emergency for the Red Cross in Baabda district, Beirut during Lebanon's civil war, and was project manager of the U.S. State Department funded Iraq Research and Documentation project.^[4] Rabil was awarded the LLS Distinguished Professorship in Current Events, and in May 2012 was conferred an honorary Doctorate in Humanities from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

Rabil’s frequent speaking engagements include appearances at major universities He participates in round table discussions and forums sponsored by the U.S. Government, including the U.S. Army and National Intelligence Council. He appears on media outlets such as ABC, CBS, BBC, FOX, MSNBC and C-SPAN.^[5]

Books

Views

Salafi Jihadism and the West

Rabil maintains that the war against Islamist extremism is a war against a triumphalist religious ideology that cloaks itself in the sanctity of the sacred and the history of authentic Islam.^[12]

In his book Salafism in Lebanon Rabil asserts that central to Salafism is the forthcoming fateful battle between Muslim believers and nonbelievers, in which only the "saved" sect of Islam (Salafists) will emerge victorious, and the denunciation of the weakness of the Muslim Ummah (community of believers) as a result of Muslims' deviation from their faith.

In review, Joseph Alagha concludes, "Rabil provides an excellent introduction to the history of Salafism in which he explains the doctrine as well as its disputes with Shi‘a Islam. He also provides key historical background that helps explain what made the northern city of Tripoli the citadel of Salafism in Lebanon. In the first chapter, Rabil chronicles Salafist ideology and socio-political changes in order to contextualize the major developments and transformations that shape this transnational movement. He elucidates, in excellent detail, Salafism’s three schools: quietist, Haraki (activist) and Salafi-Jihadi, as embraced, respectively, by Sheikh Sa‘d al-Din al- Kibbi, Sheikh Zakariya al-Masri and ‘Usbat al-Ansar. Though they share in common the principle of creating a society grounded in the emulation of the methodology (manhaj) of the pious ancestors (al-salaf al-salih), these schools disagree over how to bring about the ideal society or the best political order. In exposing the ideological underpinnings of the three schools, Rabil meticulously underscores the basic principles of Salafism as well as the tensions, incongruities and divergences inherent in the movement, especially in regard to its approach to politics. His insights into the intellectual fusion of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political culture and Wahhabist doctrine that occurred in Saudi Arabia’s universities underscores the politicization of Wahhabi-Salafists".

Rabil concludes the book on a cautionary note, underscoring that ‘although Salafists share basic principles but have divergent and even contradictory ideologies and tendencies, they share a collective identity based on creed and a mission to purge Islam from foreign accretions and to create an ideal Islamic community. Regardless as to whether they are quietist, activist or Salafi-Jihadi, they have collectively consolidated a Salafi identity, increasing the emotional distance between them and the rest of the population’ (244). As such, the book demonstrates why Salafism poses an ideological as well as a concrete threat to both Lebanon’s plural society and the rest of the region.

Rabil argues that authoritarian or totalitarian Muslim rulers have rarely challenged this triumphalist ideology, for fear of being further delegitimized as impious Muslims. He goes on to say that "the problem for the West in its relationship with a large part of the Muslim world is that this triumphalist religious ideology is more or less left unchallenged by Muslim rulers".^[12] Many wonder if this triumphalist mindset, which abhors the power and belief system of the West, can peacefully coexist with Western nations. Rabil concludes that Western political leaders have blighted themselves by misconceiving the very nature of the threat and turning a blind eye to some Muslim allies whose fight against Islamist extremism is a mere façade.

Affiliations

• Affiliate in Research, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 1999–present.
• Member of the Board of Directors, Iraq Institute for Strategic Studies, Inc., Beirut, Baghdad, London, Washington, DC, 2004–present.
• Advisory Board, Florida Society for Middle East Studies, Boca Raton, Florida, 2004–present.
• Adjunct Scholar, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Washington, DC, 2005-2009.
• Academic Adviser, American Lebanese Coalition and World Lebanese Cultural Union, 2003–present.
• Academic Adviser, Central Naval Analysis,2006–present.
• Academic Adviser, Middle East and National Security Organization, an FAU student club which promotes awareness of Middle East and US national security issues.

References