The Independent Nasserite Movement – INM () or simply Al-Murabitoun ( lit. The Steadfast), also termed variously Independent Nasserite Organization (INO) or Movement of Independent Nasserists (MIN), is a Nasserist political party in Lebanon.
Name Initially, the Movement of Independent Nasserists was the name of the political organization, whilst "al-Murabitoun" designated their militia forces. However, this distinction between political and military wings became blurred over time (and the militia has been subsequently abolished), "the Sentinels", but also meaning "Guardians" or "Saviours" – carries historical Islamic connotations (see Almoravids).
Origins Founded in 1957 at Beirut by a group of Lebanese Nasserite activists led by Ibrahim Kulaylat who opposed the pro-Western policies of President Camille Chamoun, the INM came to prominence at the height of the 1958 Civil War. The Movement’s own 2,000-strong militia, ‘The Sentinels’ (Arabic: Al-Murabitun, al-murabitûn or al-Mourabitoun), clashed with the Lebanese Army and pro-government Christian militias in northern Lebanon and Beirut.
Despite experiencing a temporary decline in the years immediately after the 1958 crisis, the INM remained an active force in Lebanese politics throughout the 1960s and 1970s. At the beginning of the 1970s, the Movement re-emerged as a major political faction within the Sunni Muslim community, forging alliances with other anti-establishment leftist parties such as the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) led by Kamal Jumblatt and the Lebanese Communist Party (LCP). In 1969 the INM became a member of the "Front for Progressive Parties and National Forces" (FPPNF), later reorganized in 1972 as the Lebanese National Movement (LNM). Consistent with its Pan-Arab ideals, the radical INM was a staunch advocate of the Palestinian cause in Lebanon since the late 1960s, cultivating close political and military ties with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in the immediate pre-war years.
Political beliefs As its name implies, the INM espoused the ideals of the late Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasser, a blend of Socialism and secular pan-Arab nationalism, expressed on his party slogan 'Freedom – Unity – Socialism' (Arabic: الحرية - الوحدة - الاشتراكية | al-Hurriyat – al-Wahdat – al-Aishtirakia). Being radically opposed to the Christian Maronite-dominated political order in Lebanon, the political goals of al-Murabitoun were to preserve the Arab and secular character of Lebanon and, in the long-term, establish a socialist political and economic system.Mroueh Kerim; Sabbagh Samir. "Lebanon is Where the US and Israel will Settle Accounts with the Palestinians" in MERIP Reports, No. 77. (May 1979), pp. 12-15+26. The INM presented itself as being pragmatic in ideological terms however, and that its doctrine was based upon a fusion between materialist Marxist and liberal idealist theories.Hafez, Ziad. "Independent Nasserite Movement: Interview with Ziad Hafez " in MERIP Reports, No. 61. (October, 1977), pp. 9–14. In 1979, leading party cadre Samir Sabbagh described the INM as particularly close to the Lebanese Communist Party (LCP).
Following Although the INM claimed to be a secular, non-sectarian movement, its membership has always been overwhelmingly Muslim, being perceived within Lebanon as a predominantly Sunni organization. During the Movement's resurgence in the early 1970s, it drew its support largely from working class’ and impoverished petty bourgeoisie Sunnis,Barbee, Lynne. Interviews with the Lebanese National Movement: Introduction in MERIP Reports, No. 61. (October, 1977), pp. 3-5. but this did not prevent them of attracting followers from other sects. Indeed, a 1987 report used by the U.S. Library of Congress study on Lebanon estimated the INM membership since the mid-1970s to be about 45% Sunni, 45% Shia and 10% Druze, although other unconfirmed sources present the remaining 40% as Christians. Geographically, the movement had its epicentre in the Sunni areas of Beirut.
Military structure and organization
Quietly re-formed in early 1975, their "Sentinels" militia, now known as the Al-Mourabitoun Forces (Arabic: قوات المرابطون | Quwwat al-Murabitun), started with just 150–200 poorly armed militants,El-Khazen, The Breakdown of the State in Lebanon (2000), p. 303. but it subsequently grew to 3,000–5,000 men and women drawn from the Muslim quarters of West Beirut placed under the command of Kulaylat himself.McGowan, Roberts, Abu Khalil, and Scott Mason, Lebanon: a country study (1989), pp. 242-243.Makdisi and Sadaka, The Lebanese Civil War, 1975-1990 (2003), p. 44, Table 1: War Period Militias. Headquartered at the Tarik al-Jadida quarter of the Corniche El-Mazraa commercial district in West Beirut, the INM/al-Mourabitoun in the early 1980s numbered some 1,000 regular fighters and 2,000 reservists secretly trained by the Palestinian factions (Fatah,Documents and Source Material: Arab Documents on Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict in Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 5, No. 3/4. (Spring - Summer, 1976), pp. 252-287. PFLP and As-Saiqa) and later by Lieutenant Ahmed Al-Khatib's Lebanese Arab Army.Jureidini, McLaurin, and Price, Military operations in selected Lebanese built-up areas (1979), p. 6. Since its foundation the militia quickly attained a 'regular' outlook, attested by the high discipline and organization of its 3,000 uniformed militiamen into conventional branches of Armor, Infantry and Artillery, backed by Medical, Signals and Military Police support units. Whilst Druze, Sunni and Shia Muslims filled the rank-and-file, its officer corps was staffed mostly by Sunnis and a few Christians trained in Libya and Iraq.El-Assad, Civil Wars Volume 1: The Gun Trucks (2008), p. 7.
Units the "Hawks of az-Zeidaniyya" (Arabic: صقور الزيدانية | Suqūr az-Zaydānīya)Jureidini, McLaurin, and Price, Military operations in selected Lebanese built-up areas (1979), pp. 5; 8. the "Maarouf Saad Units and the Determination brigade" (Arabic: وحدات معروف سعد ولواء تقرير | Merouf Maeruf Wahadat wa Liwa' Taqrir)
List of Al-Mourabitoun Forces commanders Ibrahim Kulaylat Shawqi Majed
Weapons and equipment Most of the INM/Al-Mourabitoun's own weapons and equipment were provided by the PLO, Libya,El-Khazen, The Breakdown of the State in Lebanon (2000), pp. 332-333. Egypt, Iraq and Syria or pilfered from Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) barracks and Internal Security Forces (ISF) police stations. Additional weaponry, vehicles and other, non-lethal military equipments were procured in the international black market.
Small-arms Al-Mourabitoun militiamen were provided with a variety of small-arms, including MAS-36, Lee–Enfield SMLE Mk III, Mosin–Nagant and Mauser Karabiner 98k bolt-action rifles, MAT-49, Sa 25/26 and Crvena Zastava Automat M56 submachine guns, M2 carbines, M1 Garand (or its Italian-produced copy, the Beretta Model 1952), Beretta BM 59 and SKSEl-Assad, Civil Wars Volume 1: The Gun Trucks (2008), p. 91. semi-automatic rifles, FN FAL, M16A1, Heckler & Koch G3,Katz, Russel, and Volstad, Armies in Lebanon (1985), p. 44, Plate G2.Thompson, The G3 Battle Rifle (2019), p. 29. Vz. 58, AK-47 and AKM assault rifles (other variants included the Zastava M70,Kassis, Véhicules Militaires au Liban/Military Vehicles in Lebanon (2012), p. 41. Chinese Type 56,Kassis, Véhicules Militaires au Liban/Military Vehicles in Lebanon (2012), p. 53. Romanian Pistol Mitralieră model 1963/1965, Bulgarian AKK/AKKS and former East German MPi-KMS-72 assault rifles).
Several models of handguns were also used, including Colt Single Action Army second generation revolvers, Tokarev TT-33, Makarov PM, CZ 75, M1911A1, FN P35 and MAB PA-15 pistols. Squad weapons consisted of DP-28, Chatellerault FM Mle 1924/29, MG 34,Kassis, Invasion of Lebanon 1982 (2019), p. 199. M1918A2 BAR, Bren, AA-52, RPK, RPD,Kassis, Véhicules Militaires au Liban/Military Vehicles in Lebanon (2012), p. 47. PK/PKM, FN MAG and M60 light machine guns, with heavier Browning M1919A4 .30 Cal, Browning M2HB .50 Cal,Kassis, Véhicules Militaires au Liban/Military Vehicles in Lebanon (2012), p. 44. SG-43/SGM Goryunov and DShKMKassis, Véhicules Militaires au Liban/Military Vehicles in Lebanon (2012), p. 45. machine guns being employed as platoon and company weapons. Heckler & Koch G3A3 assault rifles equipped with telescopic sights were used for sniping.Jureidini, McLaurin, and Price, Military operations in selected Lebanese built-up areas (1979), Appendix A, table A-3; A-8.Kassis, Invasion of Lebanon 1982 (2019), p. 355.
Grenade launchers and portable anti-tank weapons consisted of M203,Kassis, Invasion of Lebanon 1982 (2019), p. 205. M72 LAW, RPG-2 and RPG-7Kassis, Invasion of Lebanon 1982 (2019), p. 195. rocket launchers, whilst crew-served and indirect fire weapons included M2 60mm mortars, 82-PM-41 82mm mortars and 120-PM-43 (M-1943) 120mm heavy mortars, plus Type 36 57mm (Chinese-produced version of the shoulder-fired US M18 recoilless rifle),Kassis, Invasion of Lebanon 1982 (2019), p. 194. Type 56 75mm (Chinese variant of the US M20 recoilless rifle), B-10 82mm, B-11 107mm and M40A1 106mm recoilless rifles (often mounted on technicals).Kassis, Invasion of Lebanon 1982 (2019), p. 197.Sex & Abi-Chahine, Modern Conflicts 2 – The Lebanese Civil War, From 1975 to 1991 and Beyond (2021), p. 191. Soviet PTRS-41 14.5mm anti-tank rifles were used for heavy sniping.
Armoured and transport vehicles