The Jewish Issue in Islamic Radicalism: historicity, impact and evolutions

This article focuses on the long‐term ideological vision of Jews and Israel in radical Islam. By examining, on the one hand, the animosity towards Judeo‐Israelis in the spawning and bolstering of Islamist, Salafist and Jihadist movements, and on the other hand, the sociological composition of Jihadist elites related to the Israeli‐Palestinian conflict, I show the centrality of the Judeophobic discourse in the world of radical Islam as well as the importance of Israel in its reinforcement. By trying to historicize this discourse, as well as political and strategic movements linked with the State of Israel, I also question the nature of the hostility towards Judaism, and more specifically the role of the Israeli issue in the development and evolution of the most radical and violent forms of Muslim identity over nearly a century.