Ramadan Abdullah Mohammed Shalah ( ar, رمضان عبد الله محمد شلح) (1 January 1958 – 6 June 2020) was the leader of

Palestinian Islamic Jihad The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine ( ar, حركة الجهاد الإسلامي في فلسطين, ''Harakat al-Jihād al-Islāmi fi Filastīn''), known in the West simply as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), is a Palestinian Islamist par ...

(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

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

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 The FBI Most Wanted Terrorists is a list created and first released on October 10, 2001, with the authority of United States President George W. Bush, following the September 11 attacks on the United States. Initially, the list contained 22 of t ...

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

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...

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

Early life

Shalah was born in

Shuja'iyya Shuja'iyya ( ar, الشجاعية), also ''Shejaiya'', ''Shijaiyeh'', ''Shujayya'', ''Shuja'ia'', ''Shuja'iya'', is a neighborhood district of the Palestinian city of Gaza and one of the largest neighborhoods in Gaza with 92,000Gaza 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 ...

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

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

''. Professor

Sami Al-Arian Sami Amin Al-Arian ( ar, سامي أمين العريان; born January 14, 1958) is a Kuwaiti-born Islamist and political activist of unverified Palestinian origin who was a computer engineering professor at University of South Florida. During ...

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

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...

, in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, where Shalah taught as an adjunct professor, and where he was appointed by Al-Arian as head of WISE. 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 Abd Al Aziz Awda, also known as Abd al-Aziz Uda or Sheik Odeh (born 20 December 1950), is one of the founders of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, also known as Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Awda was listed as a " Specially Designated ...

, Shalah was indicted in a 53 count indictment in the

United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida (in case citations, M.D. Fla.) is a federal court in the Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appea ...

, on

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was en ...

(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

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 Islamic economics ( ar, الاقتصاد الإسلامي) refers to the knowledge of economics or economic activities and processes in terms of Islamic principles and teachings. Islam has a set of special moral norms and values about individua ...

, particularly

public finance Public finance is the study of the role of the government in the economy. It is the branch of economics that assesses the government revenue and government expenditure of the public authorities and the adjustment of one or the other to achie ...

. *''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