Raed Salah

Sheikh
Raed Salah
رائد صلاح
Raed Salah in 2010
Raed Salah in 2010
Born1958 (age 65–66)
Umm al-Fahm, Israel
NationalityPalestinian
Other namesראאד סלאח‎
CitizenshipIsraeli
Alma materHebron University
OccupationIslamic preacher
Known forLeader of the Northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel
Children8

Sheikh Raed Salah Abu Shakra (Arabic: رائد صلاح, Hebrew: ראאד סלאח; born 1958) is a Palestinian religious leader from Umm al-Fahm, Israel. He is the leader of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel. Salah was elected mayor of his town Umm al-Falm, an Israeli-Arab city bordering the Green Line, three times. As a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship, he came to prominence for his defense of the holy sites and his participation on the Mavi Marmara, the Turkish boat that was stormed by Israeli navy as it attempted to break the siege of Gaza in May 2010.

Salah is a popular figure in the Muslim world and among Palestinians for his staunch defense of al-Aqsa against what they see as Israeli attempts to take it over.[1] He has held sermons praising the "defenders of al-Aqsa" and his Northern Branch has organized free bus trips from Palestinian localities in Israel to Jerusalem in order to strengthen the bond between Muslims and the holy sites.[2]

Israel has accused Salah of inciting to violence and of supporting terrorism. It has arrested Salah numerous times and he has spent many years in Israeli prisons, but these arrests have increased his popularity.[3]

In 2021, Raed Salah was awarded Al-Murabit Prize by International Union of Muslim Scholars.[4][5]

  1. ^ "Sheikh Raed Salah and the rise of the Islamic Movement in Israel". Middle East Monitor. 25 January 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference basics was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Prusher was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ سليمان حاج إبراهيم (31 January 2021). "منح الشيخ الأسير رائد صلاح جائزة المرابط السنوية لعام 2020 من "علماء المسلمين"". Al-Quds Al-Arabi القدس العربي (in Arabic). Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  5. ^ "Raed Salah awarded prestigious 2020 Al-Murabit Prize". Middle East Monitor. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.