Alex Popa

4-6-2009

Hamas Term Paper

In Arabic, the word “Hamas” is an acronym for “Harakat al Mawqawama al Islamiyya”

meaning courage and devotion. Towards what are this organization’s courage and devotion

focused, is hard to tell, though. For five years, in the occupied territories, following the Prophet’s

wise word, Hamas acted only through charity, fulfilling for the Palestinians more than all the

other charity organizations together. After that, Hamas continued their philanthropy but rallied at

Jihad and declared Holy War to Israel, creating a bloody terrorist wing. Three years ago they

won the elections but divided Palestinian National Authority and destroyed all of Arafat’s ideals

and ambitions. I believe that Hamas’ philanthropy makes up for their “terrorist” wing, because

they did a lot more for their people and when, and if, they destroy Israel, they will stop their

bloody actions and only the charity wing of Hamas will be left.

A Muslim who lives his life together with other Muslims, helping and sharing goods is

better than one living in isolation and contemplation. (Muhammad)

It’s huge popularity, respect and fanatic devotion Hamas is enjoying among Palestinians

and some leaders of Arab countries, is explained by its very consistent charity and non-profit

program the organization had since its creation. An economic calculation shows that, in average,

from 1987 until present day, Hamas invested every year about fifty million dollars, (more than

half from its annual budget of $70 million) in social services in Gaza Strip and West Bank,

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building many schools, orphanages, mosques, hospitals, clinics, kindergartens, sports centers and

libraries. Also, Israeli researcher Rauven Paz from Haifa University admits that “Approximately

90 percent of its work is in social, welfare, cultural, and educational activities” (www.cfr.org).

State of the art of all the charity programs is Mujamma Islamic Center, organization

founded in 1973 and integrated in Hamas in the late 80s, thanks to whom many refugees and

homeless people got the chance to have a normal life, getting houses, social help and guidance so

they can reintegrate into society. Through the Center, a charity system was created: in every

Palestinian school, children are fed outside school hours, getting all 3 meals for free; in every

neighborhood in Gaza City there is a feeding center for the poor. Also, Hamas gave many

scholarships to young Palestinians, encouraging them to study abroad in the big Arabic

universities in Egypt or Saudi Arabia, but also to big universities in Western Europe and United

States. The organization practically built, in the occupied territories, the first hospitals and

modern clinics, with brand-new gear which allowed access to the population for free or at the

cost of a nominal fee.

In almost 20 years, Hamas built the image of a honest, efficient and incorruptible charity

organization, with a true aversion against corruption and the Palestinian National Authority was

never able to provide similar social services; this way their winning of the democratic elections

is better explained and it was called “The Battle for Gaza”, with 44.45% at the elections in

January 2006. Once with winning the parliamentary elections and forming the government,

Hamas owns all the public funds in the Palestinian National Authority – although financial

organizations, as the World Bank, IMF or other banking institutions in Europe or United States

refused giving loans to Palestine, motivating that Hamas is, still, a “terrorist organization” by all

international standards. How is then explained the immense wealth that allowed Hamas to have

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the charity program? Historically, diverse sheiks and organizations from Saudi Arabia financially

supported Hamas, about 50% from all their funds coming from this country. Also, a big

supporter of Hamas was Iran, which annually gave Hamas between $20 million and $30 million.

Also, Muslim charity societies and private funders from other Arab countries, but also from the

US, Canada and Europe had a major contribution in organization’s development and the

implementation of their social programs. Even though the fact was not and probably will never

be confirmed, there are a few speculations saying that in organization’s early year, it received

strong sustain by CIA and Mossad, the American and Israeli secret services wanting to create in

Hamas an enemy of Palestinian Liberation Organization, and then Fatah. As it happened in

Afghanistan, Iraq or Lebanon, as also other countries from Central and South America, in long

term, these operations had a disastrous result, the supported turned against their supporters to

whom, for a while, they did their game.

“You know what is better than philanthropy and prayer? It is maintaining peace and the

good relations between people. Fights and bad feelings destroy humanity. Fighting evil through

good is very good. Resisting evil through evil is even worse” (Muhammad)

In an extremely poor and shattered by conflicts region, through their charity actions,

Hamas placed themselves as a ray of hope, their followers number growing exponentially from

year to year. With over 2000 active members and more than 10,000 followers, if we report to the

territory and total population of the Gaza Strip of 1.4 million residents, Hamas is one of the most

loved organizations in the world. Five years after its founding, in 1992, Yahya Ayyash created

the military wing of Hamas, named “The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades”. The declared purpose

of the Brigades was to create a military organization that would support Hamas’ objectives, but

they practically created a new “terrorist” group. Around it many Palestinian fundamentalists and

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nationalists were gathered. The structure of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades respects all the

rigors of a terrorist organization: members’ identity and position is a secret that goes with them

in the grave; the operation model is the same as the one Al-Qaeda uses – cells that act

independently, only the supreme leader knowing exactly what each cell is doing, where are they

acting and who is the commander of that cell. This model allows the Brigades to continually

regenerate, every time their people are being killed or captured. In 2004, Mossad identified two

cell commanders Adnan al-Ghoul and Salah Shahade, and the special forces assassinated them

together with all their cells’ members. Mohammed Deif, Brigades current leader escaped alive

after five assassination attempts and at present, even though is heavily wanted by the Israeli

army, he is nowhere to be found.

For one year since their creation, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam organized. Then, starting with

April 1993, they went to action, rallying to Jihad and became one of the world’s most active and

bloodiest terrorist organization. Between 1993 and 2008, the Brigades, and implicitly Hamas,

organized approximately 360 terrorist attacks in which no less than 6000 people lost their lives.

For comparison, in the same time period, Al-Qaeda made approximately 4500 victims, including

the people that lost their lives in the September 11 2001. Hamas’ attack arsenal is made of

mortars, rockets and machine guns, and the target to all the attacks was the state of Israel. As

now, in the early years of the organization the rational and diplomatic abilities of Hamas were

discussable; many times, the organization seeming to play against the interests of Palestinian

National Authority, citizens and even their own interests. In 1996 the repeated bombing led by

Hamas against the Jewish state played a major role in the elections in Israel: Shimon Peres

Yitzhak Rabin’s successor, and a follower of its peace policy lost the elections.

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 “The Movement welcomes all Muslims who share its beliefs and thinking, commit

themselves to its course of action, keep its secrets and aspire to join its ranks in order to carry out

their duty. Allah will reward them”

“Allah is its goal, the Prophet its model, the Qur’an its Constitution, Jihad its path and

death for the case of Allah its most sublime belief” (www.thejerusalemfund.com).

Although used by many other terrorist organizations, the bomb suicidal attacks were one

of Hamas’ specialty. For these attacks, the organizations recruits young and very religious men

who, even though are well trained men with a steady job and family, have in common an endless

hate towards Israel. The recruits go through a very closely studied process of brainwashing and

religious indoctrination, giving them the idea that through sacrifice they will go straight to

Heaven where they are waited by 72 virgins. One week before the attack, the suicide bomber are

supervised every second by two Hamas activists that constantly repeat them Koran verses,

assuring them that they will become martyrs, that their death will be painless and look for every

sign that might betray a future change of mind. With little time before the “sacred explosion”, as

Hamas calls it, the suicide bomber has to record a video testament, and he has to watch it ten

times along with some of his predecessors’ testaments to gain courage and inspiration. Finally

the suicide bomber get a ceremonial bath, is dressed in new clean white clothes, and underneath

them the deadly explosives are hidden. The making of one bomb costs no more than 150 dollars.

After the attack, Hamas contacts the bomber’s family, congratulates them, assuring them that he

died as a martyr in the Holy Jihad and pays them with a sum between $1,000 and $3,000,

depending on the importance of the attack or the number of victims it made.

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 “No one can get into Heaven without faith. No one can have faith except for those who

love and respect everybody” (Muhammad)

Hamas’ political doctrine combines Palestinian nationalism with Islamic fundamentalism.

The group’s final purpose is the total destruction of Israel, state that Hamas doesn’t recognize

and the substitution of Palestinian National Authority with a Muslim caliphate organized by all

the Taliban rigors. In fact, one of Hamas’ leaders, Abd al-Aziz Rantisi declared after the victory

in the elections in front of the journalists that peace it’s no good and that they can’t live with the

enemy. The refuse to officially recognize the state of Israel, the instigation towards violence and

the refuse of all the peace accords isolated the Gaza Strip from the rest of the world, the

international community refusing also to accept Hamas’ government. From March 2006, since

they officially gained control of the Gaza Strip, Hamas failed to unify the country towards a

government program. Prime minister and Hamas leader from Gaza City, Ismail Haniyeh, got into

a conflict with Khaled Meshal, organization’s supreme leader, who lives in exile, in Syria, and

the president Abbas had no success in the negotiations with them two. If he was successful, the

result might have been the creation of an acceptable political platform for the international

community, so that the harsh economic sanctions applied immediately after Hamas came into

power would be lift off.

From the second half of 2006, more and more violent fights broke out between Fatah

members, the dead Arafat’s political movement which recognized Israel and radical members of

Hamas. As a result of those fights many Palestinians lost their lives. Contrary to an accord signed

at Mecca by Fatah’s president, Mahmud Abbas and the Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, in which

a union government was to be created, violence erupted in the summer of 2007. Over 60 Fatah

supporters were killed and nearly 300 injured, Hamas forcing them to flee from Gaza Strip and

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see refuge in West Bank. Also, Hamas’ soldiers from Izz ad-Din al-Qassam took control of all

the government and military institutions, being a culminating moment in the civil war.

Even though they made many victims, I think that Hamas is being judged wrong by the

international community and they are wrongly tagged as a “terrorist” group. A real terrorist

group is only interested in creating it’s image through attacks, while Hamas is not interested in

that, they already have a good image among Palestinians through their charity and all the help

they are giving. I think they helped and are still helping a lot more people than those they have

hurt. What they’re fighting for is right; they are the rightful owners of that land.

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Works Cited:

1) “Hamas”, http://www.cfr.org/publication/8968/

2) “Hamas Charter”, http://www.mideastweb.org/hamas.htm

3) ”Hamas(Islamic Resistance Movement)” http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/hamas.htm

4) “Hamas(IslamicResistanceMovement)”,

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/hamas.htm

5) “Selected Documents Regarding Palestine”,

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/hamas.htm

6) “What is Hamas?”, Jefferson Morely, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-

dyn/content/article/2006/07/17/AR2006071700898.html