Ramadan Abdullah Mohammed Shalah ( ar, رمضان عبد الله محمد شلح) (1 January 1958 – 6 June 2020) was the leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) between 27 October 1995 and 2018. PIJ has been designated a terrorist organisation by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, the

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, the

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and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. On becoming secretary-general of PIJ, Shalah was designated a Specially Designated Terrorist (SDT) by the United States on 27 November 1995. In 2006, he was placed on the United States FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list. In April 2018, Shalah suffered a series of strokes, and on 28 September 2018 was replaced by

Ziyad al-Nakhalah Ziyad al-Nakhalah ( ar, زياد نخالة; April 6, 1953) is a Palestinian Islamic militant, leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) since 28 September 2018, which has been designated a terrorist organisation by the United States, the Euro ...

as PIJ leader. During the 23 years of his leadership of PIJ, the group undertook numerous attacks on Israeli civilians, including suicide bombings; and has suffered extensive operations against its infrastructure carried out by the

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, which resulted in severe losses to the group, and it appeared significantly weakened by 2004.

Early life

Shalah was born in Shuja'iyya, also called Gaza Sejaiya district, a neighborhood in eastern

Gaza City Gaza (;''The New Oxford Dictionary of English'' (1998), , p. 761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory in Palestine, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza...". ar, غَزَّة ', ), also referred to as Gaza City, i ...

. Shalah earned a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

in banking and

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

from the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...

, England. His 1989-thesis was entitled ''Islamic banking'' ''in an

interest In finance and economics, interest is payment from a borrower or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is distinct ...

-based economy : a case study of

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''. Professor Sami Al-Arian helped bring Shalah to Al-Arian's university, the

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, in

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, where Shalah taught as an adjunct professor, and where he was appointed by Al-Arian as head of

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. Shalah left in 1995 to head PIJ. Al-Arian would later plead guilty to helping PIJ, and was sentenced to 57 months in prison. Al-Arian said he was shocked to learn Shalah was "anything other than a scholar."

Palestinian Islamic Jihad activity

Shalah became secretary-general of PIJ in 1995, after the assassination of its previous leader, Fathi Shiqaqi in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. On becoming secretary-general of PIJ, Shalah was designated a Specially Designated Terrorist by the United States on 27 November 1995. Along with fellow PIJ member, Abd Al Aziz Awda, Shalah was indicted in a 53 count indictment in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida,

, on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) charges of alleged involvement in racketeering activities for Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a US designated international terrorist organization. Shalah was wanted for conspiracy to conduct the affairs of the PIJ through a pattern of racketeering activities such as bombings, murders, extortion, and money laundering. For that indictment, Shalah then became one of six alleged and indicted terrorist fugitives among the second and most recent group of indicted fugitives to be added to the United States FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list on 24 February 2006, along with Abd Al Aziz Awda. They were wanted for conspiracy to conduct the affairs of the designated international terrorist organization, known as the "Palestinian Islamic Jihad".

Death

Shalah died on 6 June 2020 in Lebanon after a long illness that included two years in a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...

. His funeral was held in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

and was attended by, among others the head of the PIJ movement who replaced him,

Books

His writings include: *''Iqtiṣādīyāt al-mālīyah al-ʻāmmah wa-al-niẓām al-mālī fī al-Islām'', al-Jāmiʻāt al-Islāmiyah, 1984, 359 p. On Islamic economics, particularly public finance. *''al-Gharb wa-al-ṣirāʻ ʻalá Filasṭīn fī al-qarn al-ḥādī wa-al-ʻishrīn'', Markaz Filasṭīn lil-Dirāsāt wa-al-Buḥūth, 1999, 35 p. On the West when it comes to the Palestinian struggle. *''Fī ʻayn al-ʻāṣifah : al-ḥiwār al-hāmm wa-al-shāmil alladhī ajratʹhu ṣaḥīfat al-Ḥayāh al-Landanīyah maʻa Amīn ʻĀmm Ḥarakat al-Jihād al-Islāmī fī Filasṭīn al-Duktūr Ramaḍān ʻAbd Allāh Shallaḥ'', Bisan, 2003, 112 p. Interviews.

References

External links

FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists wanted poster of Shalah

Rewards for Justice wanted poster of Shalah
from US State Dept., similar to the preceding {{DEFAULTSORT:Shalah, Ramadan 1958 births 2020 deaths Alumni of Durham University FBI Most Wanted Terrorists Fugitives Fugitives wanted by the United States Fugitives wanted on organised crime charges Fugitives wanted on terrorism charges Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine members Palestinian Islamists Leaders of Islamic terror groups People convicted of racketeering People from Gaza City University of South Florida faculty Zagazig University alumni