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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Lebanon
Index
The Independent Nasserite Movement (INM) was the oldest of
several organizations in Lebanon that embraced the ideas of the
late Egyptian president, Gamal Abdul Nasser. Despite its claims of
nonsectarianism, the membership of the INM has been overwhelmingly
Muslim; 1987 reports estimated it to be about 45-percent Sunni, 45-
percent Shia, and 10- percent Druze. Its ideology was reflected by
its motto: "Liberty, Socialism, and Unity."
The INM came to prominence in the 1958 Civil War and remained
a strong force throughout the 1970s. At the height of the 1958
conflict, its militia, the Murabitun (Sentinels), clashed with the
forces of pro-Western president Shamun. Consistent with its panArab ideals, the INM was a firm supporter of the Palestinian
movement in Lebanon in the late 1960s. During this time, it
reenforced the Murabitun. When the 1975 Civil War began, it was
well positioned to play an active part. The Murabitun engaged
Phalangist fighters in the most severe combat during the early
stages of the war, and absorbed many casualties
(see Appendix B).
In the 1980s, the INM weathered difficult times. It fought with
the Palestinians against the Israelis during the invasion of 1982
and with the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) against the Lebanese
Army in the Shuf Mountains in 1983. Its alliance with the PSP was
short lived, however. In 1985 a joint PSP-Amal campaign virtually
eliminated the Murabitun as an important actor in Lebanon and
forced INM leader, Ibrahim Kulaylat, into exile.
Data as of December 1987
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