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Introduction -- Palestinian Chicago : spatial location, historical formation -- Secularism in exile -- The religious turn : American Muslims for Palestine -- The religious turn : generational subjectivities -- Dynamic syntheses : reversion, conversion, and accommodation -- Dynamic syntheses : rebellion, absolute and spiritual -- Conclusion.

"This remarkable book examines how the Islamist movement and its competition with secular-nationalist factions have transformed the identities of ordinary Palestinians since the first Palestinian uprising, or intifada, of the late 1980s. Drawing upon his years living in the region and more than eighty in-depth interviews, Loren Lybarger offers a riveting account of how activists within a society divided by religion, politics, class, age, and region have forged new identities in response to shifting conditions of occupation, peace negotiations, and the fragmentation of Palestinian life. Lybarger personally witnessed the tragic days of the first intifada, the subsequent Oslo Peace Process and its failures, and the new escalation of violence with the second intifada in 2000. He rejects the simplistic notion that Palestinians inevitably fall into one of two camps: pragmatists who are willing to accept territorial compromise, and extremists who reject compromise in favor of armed struggle. Listening carefully to Palestinians themselves, he reveals that the conflicts evident among the Islamists and secular nationalists are mirrored by the internal struggles and divided loyalties of individual Palestinians. Identity and Religion in Palestine is the first book of its kind in English to capture so faithfully the rich diversity of voices from this troubled part of the world. Lybarger provides vital insights into the complex social dynamics through which Islamism has reshaped what it means to be Palestinian."--Jacket

English The first Intifada (1987-1993) split Palestinian society in the West Bank and Gaza Strip into two camps, one secular-nationalist, the other Islamist. The author examines the new identities that formed as a result of this split in a Bethlehem-area refugee camp. Drawing on the concepts of event as structurally transforming process, socio-political milieu, and Mannheimian generation units, he shows how the first Intifada gave rise to a generational dialectic that in turn produced new religio-political orientations. He concludes by suggesting an extension of the Mannheimian framework to take into account the dynamic effects of generation-unit tensions for collective solidarities. French Depuis la première Intifada (1987-1993), les Palestiniens se sont divisés en nationalistes et islamistes. Dans une étude d'un camp de réfugiés à Bethléem, l'auteur analyse les nouvelles identités qui sont apparues à la suite de cette division. Il explique la déstabilisation de ces identités en s'appuyant sur le concept d'événement comme processus de transformation structurelle du milieu sociopolitique et des unités générationnelles comprises au sens de Mannheim. Il montre comment la première Intifada a engendré une dialectique générationnelle, laquelle a produit des orientations religieuses et politiques nouvelles. Il termine en suggérant une extension du cadre théorique de Mannheim qui permette de prendre en compte les effets dynamiques de ces tensions dans une perspective de maintien des solidarités.