We are republishing the following article, which has been translated from Arabic to English for open publication online, by Fairouz Salameh, the liberated Palestinian prisoner, activist and journalist who is currently hosting the “Prisoners of War” series on Free Palestine TV, interviewing fellow released Palestinian prisoners. This is an article of particular importance to all those involved in the student movement for Palestinian liberation. Much thanks to the translator for their important work!
The article was originally published in Arabic on 21 June 2024 at Bab el-Wad: https://babelwad.com/ar/نصوص/بين-ميدانين-جهاد-مغنية-الطالب-المقاتل/
Between Two Fields: Jihad Mughniyeh, the Student Fighter
by Fairouz Salameh
“Any thought without power remains theories eroded by books, and any power without thought remains a reaction without continuity and impact.” [1]
As the Zionist genocidal war on the Gaza Strip continues, which came in response to the resistance’s breakthrough in the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7, 2023, the question “What is to be done?” opens as an inquiry into the role of various components of Palestinian society in this war and their position on it. This is especially true for students in Palestinian and Arab universities, coinciding with the extension of the confrontation with Zionist colonialism to university campuses around the world at the present time. This question leads us to an Arab figure who addressed it through both thought and action on the campus of the Lebanese American University in Beirut: the martyr Jihad Mughniyeh. From the moment he joined the university, Mughniyeh set out to define the role of the university student in confronting the Zionist enemy, wherever it exists and has established itself, without resorting to idle talk or theorizing. In academic circles, including the university Mughniyeh attended, the prevailing view treated resistance work and study as separate pursuits. Mughniyeh, however, strove to connect and balance these two aspects, ensuring neither overshadowed the other. There is no resistance work without effective education, and no effective education without resistance work.
Without Introductions
Jihad Imad Mughniyeh was born on May 2, 1991, in the town of Tair Debba, Tyre district, southern Lebanon. He is the son of the martyr commander Imad Mughniyeh (known as Hajj Radwan) who was martyred on February 12, 2008. Mughniyeh Jr. enrolled in the Lebanese American University in Beirut (LAU) in 2009 to study business administration. His goal for university education was clear and specific. The martyr Mughniyeh possessed a unique mindset that set him apart from his peers, due to the influence of the Islamic Resistance movement on his development which contrasted sharply with the conventional atmosphere at the Lebanese American University.
Mughniyeh’s choice of business administration likely stemmed from the leadership and organizational qualities prominent in his personality. This specialization also offered an opportunity to refine his leadership skills for a future role in field work. Throughout his time at university, Mughniyeh constantly reflected on the role of university students in resistance activities and how to deepen their involvement. Unlike his peers, who were primarily concerned with course registration and adapting to the new social environment during the transition from school to university, Mughniyeh’s focus was broader. He strived to balance his commitment to academic pursuits with his dedication to the national and religious duty of resistance, while also recognizing the educational role of the university. Mughniyeh viewed the university as a crucial arena for action and influence within the framework of liberating resistance thought. Consequently, he leveraged his presence to serve as a networking link between two worlds: the arena of academic study and the arena of jihad.
Movement in the University Arena: Mobilization and Spreading Resistance Thought
Mughniyeh began his work in the Lebanese American University a year after enrolling. He established a student association affiliated with the Islamic Resistance Movement in Lebanon – Hezbollah. This association comprised several committees, each addressing a different facet of university life: political work, cultural activities, and student clubs. Each committee had its own student representative. Jihad himself took on the role of overseeing these committees’ activities, both on and off campus, working in direct coordination with the resistance’s educational mobilization apparatus.
Mughniyeh’s enrollment marked a qualitative shift in student activism at the university, establishing a representative presence for the Islamic Resistance and creating for it a student base that had previously been absent. Leveraging his unique position as the son of a martyred resistance leader and the connections he inherited, Mughniyeh networked with students to catalyze change. He focused on building a student base at this university because of its unique demographic: students from elite social circles, often connected to prominent figures or wealthy businessmen, who had little to no prior engagement with resistance ideology or its programs. These students typically prioritized spending summer vacations in European countries and pursuing careers abroad after graduation. Mughniyeh saw an opportunity to connect this group with the resistance movement, viewing their potential role as university students as a qualitative addition to the cause. He believed these students, armed with knowledge, argumentation skills, and evidence, could become conscious elements within the resistance. Mughniyeh was firmly convinced of the need for awareness, understanding, and commitment to the resistance’s principles based on rational conviction rather than mere emotion. In this way, he envisioned student fighters who could actively contribute to shaping the daily discourse of resistance and confronting narratives of surrender and submission.
The prevailing Lebanese popular discourse about the resistance (Hezbollah) celebrates it as a strong and victorious force, and allegiance to it often stems from this image of success. Mughniyeh, however, diverged from this narrative in his interactions with students. He emphasized that university students should support the resistance not merely for its strength or victories, but because it represented the only viable path to genuine freedom. Mughniyeh cultivated this rational perspective among the youth he recruited for the resistance. He was dedicated to developing students both politically and culturally, aiming to transform their journey from one of apolitical academic achievement across various disciplines to one where they applied their knowledge and expertise in service of a society embracing resistance. Mughniyeh often stated, “If we could elevate every youth group in every neighborhood to an elite status, we would be able to engage with all societal segments, thanks to students’ capacity for both horizontal and vertical interaction within their communities.” This statement reflected the martyr’s conviction that students constituted society’s elite and could provide crucial support to the resistance and its base.
The university was a necessity for him, and his perception of its role is clear in his statement: “There is an abundance of weapons, but the problem is in the person who will stand behind it; the battle today is a battle of minds, weapons, and technology. If we are not educated, who will carry the weapon? Who will develop this weapon and who will develop and keep up with technology? And who will represent the resistance in conferences and on media platforms? As resistance and liberation movements, we need individuals from various fields, just like those who fight with weapons on the front, so being in university is part of my mission in the liberation movement I belong to, whether the Islamic Resistance or others.”
Mughniyeh embodied the unity of words and actions, living out the principles he espoused. His call for “educated people who work” was not mere rhetoric; he led by example, excelling both in his studies and in resistance activities. He frequently reminded his peers, “I’m not telling you what you should do, but what we all must do. And I’ll be the first among you to do it.” This consistency set Mughniyeh apart and drew others to him, as his relationships were built on a foundation of fraternal camaraderie.
Mughniyeh built his relationships on a solid foundation of trust and honesty, building enduring bonds rather than passing acquaintanceships during a temporary stage. He dedicated most of his time to students, engaging with them both on and off campus, during and after class hours. His goal was to forge a sustained movement rather than just an administrative framework for student activism. While many of his university peers were solely focused on academic pursuits, Mughniyeh centered his efforts on the resistance cause, particularly the Palestinian struggle. Palestine was a constant theme in every gathering or discussion he held with his peers. During a 2011 session with students, as Mughniyeh mourned his father with tears, he realized he was mourning in the wrong way. He understood that true mourning and loyalty were not expressed through grief alone, but through actual fieldwork, of which he saw student activism as one of its noblest forms. Mughniyeh often shared this personal story with his fellow students, using it to strengthen their connection with those who had become martyrs, whether they had a direct relationship to them or not. His message was clear: honoring the martyrs meant activating their role within the resistance movement for which the martyrs had made these sacrifices.
From Individual Salvation to Collective Salvation
Mughniyeh recognized that resistance work encompassed multiple dimensions extending across various fields. He understood that the resistance movement required fighters on diverse fronts: engineers to develop weapons, media professionals capable of conveying the cause, politically savvy administrators, and programmers to keep the resistance technologically competitive on a global scale. Consequently, Mughniyeh strove to strengthen the connection between students from various disciplines and political issues, particularly those concerning the oppressed. His aim was to make this engagement an integral part of their future professional lives, rekindling a sense of social responsibility among them. Mughniyeh’s approach was rooted in what he termed a “collective societal inclination” – his belief that people are inherently inclined to support the oppressed, but often need guidance from a leader who is close to them and can initiate change. In the student environment, Mughniyeh emerged as such a leader, addressing his peers in rational, scientific language that could accommodate their differences while building on their shared experiences. During that period, Lebanon’s political landscape was not as sharply divided as it is today, and opposition to the Zionist entity was largely uncontested. The discourse of resistance was prevalent, and Mughniyeh leveraged these commonalities.
Mughniyeh’s impact on student field work changed student’s orientations from individual concerns to the broader issues of resistance and realizing their role in its continuity and success. The university environment became an effective and influential base in both the political and scientific paths. What was once absent from campus life became indispensable, with the youth of the Islamic Resistance and their activities serving as a model for the broader student body. During his time at university, Mughniyeh successfully established a foothold for the Islamic Resistance, which was once a distant dream. He reshaped student perspectives, moving them beyond mere theoretical understanding to a viewpoint that merged theory with practical action; thus, he was able to bring new groups of students closer to the thought and path of resistance.
A Chapter Completed and Another Still Open
From Jihad as a “name” to Jihad as a “verb”; during Mughniyeh’s study at the university, he did not leave the military jihadist work but reconciled both paths. At the time he was urging students to act, he was, in an undeclared manner, completing chapters of his jihadist work outside the university. During 2012, some circumstances emerged in this arena that forced him to join the training ranks in the arena of jihad. This forced him to postpone his last semester, which he intended to complete after finishing his training and preparation mission. However, during 2015, specifically on December 18, Mughniyeh was in Quneitra with a convoy of mujahideen, when they were targeted by a Zionist air raid, and all were martyred. Jihad Mughniyeh was buried next to his father in the Ghobeiry area in the southern suburb in the Rawdat Al Shahidain cemetery.
With Mughniyeh’s ascension as a martyr, the university chapter remained open, not completed with his graduation from the university grounds where he began his jihadi journey. Jihad did not depart as a young man who chose the path of jihad as an alternative to the academic educational path. Rather, his academic path was part of his jihadi path, which he intended to complete after finishing his mission. However, the treacherous Zionist raids completed his chapter with martyrdom in jihad, rather than university graduation. Jihad ascended before he could climb the graduation stage and deliver his final graduation speech.
The martyr Jihad, a young Lebanese university student who achieved these accomplishments by embracing this mission and working within the framework of his society and environment, became an icon in the minds and hearts of many Arab youth after attaining martyrdom. Mughniyeh was a dynamo for resistance work, with Palestine as its central focus. It was present in his words, lectures, and conscience, not as a mere detail in the course of his work, but for him, it was the resistance itself.
“We will show the entire world how freedom is forged and how victory is crafted with blood.” [2]
“We pride ourselves on being the fruit of those that opened an eye to jihad with choice and sincerity, and closed an eye to martyrdom with will and passion.” [3]
Footnotes
[1] From an archival video of the martyr Imad Mughniyeh. https://rb.gy/vrwn55
[2] From a speech by the martyr Jihad Imad Mughniyeh on 16-3-2013. https://rb.gy/pvxl4f
[3] From a speech by the martyr Jihad Imad Mughniyeh on 16-3-2013. https://rb.gy/pvxl4f
[4] The article is based on a remote interview conducted by the researcher on May 9, 2024, with a friend and colleague of the martyr at the Lebanese American University.
Translation: DZ
