Hamas: Zeal for Death
By time you read this, Hamas will have seized power in Gaza. The collapse of the Palestinian Authority (PA) predicted in the Feb. 4, 2007, Glazerbeam ("State of Chaos") is happening right now. It is possible that Hamas will sever Gaza from the West Bank, where Fatah and President Mahmoud Abbas still hold sway. Entities that are not geographically contiguous often split in this way. (1)
Hamas, which means "zeal" in Arabic, is the Arabic acronym of the Islamic Resistance Movement. Over the past 20 years the group has become well known for its tactic of suicide bombings, designed to maximize civilian casualties among Israelis. In January, 2006, Hamas won control of the Palestinian parliament, and subsequently formed a coalition government with President Abbas. The coalition fractured over control of the numerous security forces of the PA, and it now appears that Hamas militias are winning in Gaza.
But how did Hamas become so enamoured of martyrdom and killing? The story begins in Egypt back in 1928 when the Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Cairo by teacher Hassan al-Banna. (2) At that time Egypt was ruled officially by King Ahmed Fuad, but in reality the country was occupied and dominated by Great Britain. Al-Banna sought to fuse Islam with Arab nationalism in a movement that would eliminate foreign influence l and establish a true Arab Muslim nation. The Brotherhood, certain of the righteousness of its cause, engaged in assassination as well as political agitation to attain its goal. The Muslim Brotherhood established militant Islam as a serious political force In Egypt; from there the ideology spread to the Palestine Mandate as well as to Syria, Iran and India (which then included what is now Pakistan).
Al-Banna stressed the importance of death as a goal of jihad (holy war). He said, "The Quran has commanded people to love death more than life...Victory can only come with the mastery of the art of death (fann al-mawt)." (3)
The government of King Farouk (who succeeded his father King Fuad in 1936) tried to suppress the Brotherhood; in 1949 Hassan Al-Banna was murdered by the King's agents.
The suppression was not successful, and shortly after the death of Al-Banna a Muslim poet and intellectual named Sayyid Qutb joined the revolutionary movement. Qutb was influenced by Western Romantic poetry, which also glorified death. (Many 19th Century American Romantic poets, such as Edgar Allan Poe, were also obsessed with death, tombs, and the like.) Qutb soon became the ideological guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, and his writings inspired Arabs and other Muslims to be willing to die as well as kill for the victory of Islam in this world.
In 1952 the Egyptian Free Officers Movement, led by Col. Gamal Abdel Nasser, overthrew the Farouk monarchy. Although Nasser was a militant Arab nationalist himself, he regarded the Muslim Brotherhood as a threat to his regime and also attempted to suppress the movement. Leaders of the Brotherhood, including Sayyid Qutb, were thrown into prison and charged with plotting revolution. In 1966 Qutb attained martyrdom at the end of a rope in a Cairo prison.
Meanwhile the Palestinian branch of the Brotherhood was establishing a network of mosques, schools, and social service agencies. The group was particularly active in Gaza, which was under Egyptian administration from 1948 until the Israeli conquest in June, 1967. While Yasser Arafat was busy hijacking planes and plotting the destruction of Israel from Jordan, Lebanon and Tunis, the Gaza affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood, now known as Hamas, was winning over the allegiance of the Palestinian population, first in Gaza, then also in the West Bank. Unlike Arafat, who adopted a facade of benevolence before Western leaders, Hamas did not court them. While Arafat welcomed Christian Arabs into the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Hamas stood for nothing but Islam. While Arafat partied at the White House, Hamas recruited bombers.
While Arafat lived, Hamas accepted him as the iconic Palestinian leader. But after his death in 2004, the group challenged his successor Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen), who had never been a terrorist himself. Hamas won with ballots in 2006, and now it looks like the group may also win with bullets.
On one hand, a Hamas take-over of the PA may mean that Israel will face continuous rocket attacks and terrorism for the foreseeable future. On the other hand, US (and other) international pressure for Israel to withdraw from the West Bank and make other concessions as part of a "peace process" will probably fade away in the face of Hamas' intractable hostility.Do not look for any Hamas leaders shaking hands with Ehud Olmert on the White House lawn any time soon.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) For example, East Pakistan rebelled in 1971 and became Bangla Desh. Efforts to merge Egypt and Syria into a United Arab Republic also failed because Israel was between them.
(2)"Who's Afraid of Tariq Ramadan?" by Paul Berman in the June 4, 2007, New Republic.
(3"The Society of the Muslim Brotherhood" by Richard P Mitchell. The quotation is a paraphrase of several statements by Al-Banna.
Hamas, which means "zeal" in Arabic, is the Arabic acronym of the Islamic Resistance Movement. Over the past 20 years the group has become well known for its tactic of suicide bombings, designed to maximize civilian casualties among Israelis. In January, 2006, Hamas won control of the Palestinian parliament, and subsequently formed a coalition government with President Abbas. The coalition fractured over control of the numerous security forces of the PA, and it now appears that Hamas militias are winning in Gaza.
But how did Hamas become so enamoured of martyrdom and killing? The story begins in Egypt back in 1928 when the Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Cairo by teacher Hassan al-Banna. (2) At that time Egypt was ruled officially by King Ahmed Fuad, but in reality the country was occupied and dominated by Great Britain. Al-Banna sought to fuse Islam with Arab nationalism in a movement that would eliminate foreign influence l and establish a true Arab Muslim nation. The Brotherhood, certain of the righteousness of its cause, engaged in assassination as well as political agitation to attain its goal. The Muslim Brotherhood established militant Islam as a serious political force In Egypt; from there the ideology spread to the Palestine Mandate as well as to Syria, Iran and India (which then included what is now Pakistan).
Al-Banna stressed the importance of death as a goal of jihad (holy war). He said, "The Quran has commanded people to love death more than life...Victory can only come with the mastery of the art of death (fann al-mawt)." (3)
The government of King Farouk (who succeeded his father King Fuad in 1936) tried to suppress the Brotherhood; in 1949 Hassan Al-Banna was murdered by the King's agents.
The suppression was not successful, and shortly after the death of Al-Banna a Muslim poet and intellectual named Sayyid Qutb joined the revolutionary movement. Qutb was influenced by Western Romantic poetry, which also glorified death. (Many 19th Century American Romantic poets, such as Edgar Allan Poe, were also obsessed with death, tombs, and the like.) Qutb soon became the ideological guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, and his writings inspired Arabs and other Muslims to be willing to die as well as kill for the victory of Islam in this world.
In 1952 the Egyptian Free Officers Movement, led by Col. Gamal Abdel Nasser, overthrew the Farouk monarchy. Although Nasser was a militant Arab nationalist himself, he regarded the Muslim Brotherhood as a threat to his regime and also attempted to suppress the movement. Leaders of the Brotherhood, including Sayyid Qutb, were thrown into prison and charged with plotting revolution. In 1966 Qutb attained martyrdom at the end of a rope in a Cairo prison.
Meanwhile the Palestinian branch of the Brotherhood was establishing a network of mosques, schools, and social service agencies. The group was particularly active in Gaza, which was under Egyptian administration from 1948 until the Israeli conquest in June, 1967. While Yasser Arafat was busy hijacking planes and plotting the destruction of Israel from Jordan, Lebanon and Tunis, the Gaza affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood, now known as Hamas, was winning over the allegiance of the Palestinian population, first in Gaza, then also in the West Bank. Unlike Arafat, who adopted a facade of benevolence before Western leaders, Hamas did not court them. While Arafat welcomed Christian Arabs into the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Hamas stood for nothing but Islam. While Arafat partied at the White House, Hamas recruited bombers.
While Arafat lived, Hamas accepted him as the iconic Palestinian leader. But after his death in 2004, the group challenged his successor Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen), who had never been a terrorist himself. Hamas won with ballots in 2006, and now it looks like the group may also win with bullets.
On one hand, a Hamas take-over of the PA may mean that Israel will face continuous rocket attacks and terrorism for the foreseeable future. On the other hand, US (and other) international pressure for Israel to withdraw from the West Bank and make other concessions as part of a "peace process" will probably fade away in the face of Hamas' intractable hostility.Do not look for any Hamas leaders shaking hands with Ehud Olmert on the White House lawn any time soon.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) For example, East Pakistan rebelled in 1971 and became Bangla Desh. Efforts to merge Egypt and Syria into a United Arab Republic also failed because Israel was between them.
(2)"Who's Afraid of Tariq Ramadan?" by Paul Berman in the June 4, 2007, New Republic.
(3"The Society of the Muslim Brotherhood" by Richard P Mitchell. The quotation is a paraphrase of several statements by Al-Banna.
posted by Gerald S Glazer at 1:57 PM
1 comments
