On Hamas: Fresh Academic Analysis on an Old 'Problem'

By Nadia Marques de Carvalho 

LSE Palestine Society

Hamas[1] is the natural product of an unnatural circumstance: “it is a response like in the chain of cause and effect arising from the cruel circumstances of life under occupation.”[2] However it is a new link in the chain of the Palestinian struggle or as Dr. Hisham Sharabi articulates, Hamas is the “true fida’i (self-sacrifice) resistance in Palestine since the outbreak of the Palestinian intifada.”[3] In quintessence its supporters consider Hamas a vanguard of emancipation, a multidimensional organisation of pious, upright citizens who defend the interests of their grassroots constituency and is celebrated for their readiness to consult its support base and its emphasis on self-sacrifice.[4] Ergo it is a combination of two things; religious drive and a political drive for liberation, and it is in turn the context that decides which takes the lead: a context which is created by Israel. This essay shall endeavour to challenge the Western perception of Hamas as a ‘terrorist organisation’ through a critical and objective analysis of its history, ideology and politics. The Western framework has created a discourse where Hamas is caricatured as a “terrorist organisation” pursuing a Taliban-styled theocracy and thus the primary obstacle to peace; Steadman has even depicted it as a “total spoiler”.[5] This dominant Western rhetoric enforces the portrayal of Hamas as a static organisation, its violent and ‘fanatical’ behaviour rendering it as innately characteristic while contradictory evidence is marginalised as irrelevant. This is why Hamas is worthy of study – the exhausted myopic approaches have failed to understand Hamas and for peace ever to be achieved this paradigm must be broken so that there can be communication: after all communication is the genesis for change.

History

Understanding the history of Hamas and its evolution through time provides the conceptual structure needed to then understand its ideology and politics to then determine whether it is an organisation of terror. Hamas’ history shall be explored within three main parts: the Muslim Brotherhood (Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslimun), 1970s/80s and the restructuring of the Brotherhood, and the emergence of Hamas. Hamas is an offshoot off the Muslim Brotherhood and according to the Hamas Charter (1988) considers itself part of the Palestinian Brotherhood, despite being a natural extension of Palestinian resistance in its various manifestations Hamas’ characteristics; ideology and structure are a reflection of the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood in turn is Egyptian in origin and founded in 1928 by Hassan Al – Banna; the organisation combines the spiritual element of the Hasafiyah Sufi order with the teachings of Islam from the Salafi School. The Brotherhood was concerned with the Palestinian struggle; this was evident in their abundant show of support during the Arab Revolt of 1936 where moral and material aid was provided, i.e. the issuing of declarations and pamphlets attacking the British for their policies and the ordering of a boycott of Jewish magazines in Egypt.[6] The movement had a popular appeal especially in Palestine where by 1943 it had formed a branch in Gaza called the Makaren Society of Jerusalem, however the ultimate expression of the Brotherhood’s concern was its active participation in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Thus the Brotherhood appeared sincere in its religious conviction for the liberation of Palestine, it consequently grew because of this. Hamas mirrors the essence of the Brotherhood which took to the masses the concerns of the intellectuals and transformed it into a grassroots movement; it was an organisation that transcended the mosque-goers but one that appealed to all parts of civil society in order to rehabilitate and create a renaissance of the Ummah.

The organisational challenges of the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood and its consequent restructuring laid the groundwork for the Brotherhood’s appeal and growth. For example Sheikh Yassin established the Islamic Centre in 1973 (al-Mujamma al-Islamia), which allowed for all the religious organisations and institutions to be dominated by the Brotherhood, this in turn permitted for a more united Brotherhood of the Gaza Strip, West Bank and Jordan. Thus the strengthening of the Palestinian Brotherhood triggered for it to become more amenable to political and ideological approaches and coupled with the success of the Iranian Revolution, the Brotherhood stepped up its political activity especially in Palestinian universities. The Brotherhood unlike now was able to spread its influence without Israeli interference and rally support for the Islamic movement. Ziad Abu-Amr describes it doing so in two specific ways: Zakat – alms giving which helped thousands of needy families, Waqf – the Brotherhood had control of this religious endowment which gave it significant access to the population and the use of mosques for political activity and to recruit[7]. Despite its restructuring there was still dissatisfaction within the Brotherhood for its failure to engage in fighting the occupation and this remained its weakness against the nationalists until the Likud Party came to power in 1977. Likud sought to weaken the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) by decapitating its leadership and suspending municipal elections, moreover it advocated an explicitly religious claim to the West Bank and Gaza and began the immediate expansion of Jewish settlements. Coupled with Egypt’s 1978-9 decision to make peace with Israel leaving the PLO, which rendered Fatah’s lack of success more glaring, the appeal of a religious response increased hence the growth of the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood capitalized on this new arena of political contestation and discontent, with its insistence on a one-state solution, a return to Islam and on meeting people’s social needs the Brotherhood’s popularity grew – dominating student politics through the 1980s. Hence the emergence of Hamas was in part a direct result of the continuing rivalry between the Brotherhood and other factions.

Hamas meaning “zeal” was born of the Intifada, which “marked the beginning of the true political revival of the Islamic forces.”[8] The First Intifada was a result of a myriad of socio-economic and political causes e.g. the economic growth of the 70s which was eroded by the recession of the 80s where only 20% of graduates were able to finds jobs[9] thus causing frustration and the rise and drop of expectations that provides fertile ground for political violence. The uprising was triggered by the tension created by many tit-for-tat murderous actions such as an Israeli troop raid of the Islamic University of Gaza (IUG) wounding dozens, which was in turn avenged by an Israeli settler being stabbed to death in Gaza’s town square, this furor prompted an Israeli truck to “accidentally” run down four Palestinians on the 8^th December 1987. This elicited demonstrations all over the Occupied Territories. Nonetheless the establishment of Hamas was not a clear cut and instantly conscious decision but one which evolved over time, as during the outbreak of the Intifada the Brotherhood was faced with an ideological problem as it could no longer sit on the sidelines especially with regard to its bitter rivalry with the PLO. The wave of religiosity, which it had ignited during the 80s, created a united Islamic nationalist dimension of armed struggle and it could not afford to lose the younger strata of the Brotherhood who were eager to participate in the uprising. The solution was the creation of an ostensibly separate organization out of the Muslim Brotherhood to take responsibility for its participation in the Intifada – so if the Intifada failed the Brotherhood could disclaim Hamas[10].  However with its success Hamas became a credible and convenient name for a rehabilitated Muslim Brotherhood enabling it to attract new followers. After the Intifada Hamas’ influence spread, its military and social operations increased and the Brotherhood’s shift from pan-Islamic to Palestinian nationalism and its commitment to armed struggle won the loyalty of many Palestinians.

Ideology 

Neither Hamas nor its ideology is static; both are affected by political chance, nonetheless certain ideological troths have remained the same - ideology is malleable but not infinitely so. Many perceive Hamas’ ideology and political worldview to be a narrow doctrinaire struggle; one between Islam and Judaism[11], but closer studies of its communiqués, memoranda and charter show a more multi-dimensional view. Historians such as Matthew Levitt concentrate solely on Hamas as an establishment to “eliminate the state of Israel”[12]; there may be a doctrinaire flavour as the movement does use an Islamic discourse to galvanise the masses but there is an oscillation between Hamas depicting the struggle as a purely ideological one and a resistance to a foreign occupying power. Then again this, as Hroub argues, creates a dilemma in its ideology: does it “give precedence to Islamicizing Palestinians or Palestinianizing Islam[13]?”

Hamas’ aims, strategies and philosophy are spelled out in the Charter it issued on 18^th August 1988 where it notes its rationale and position on central issues such as the Palestine problem. Article 14 of the Charter for example claims the solution of the Palestine problem is the uprooting of the State of Israel and the establishment of an Islamic State in its place[14]. Thus undeniably religious discourse is dominant, although there is a focus on fighting for one’s rights, land, values and justice the Charter does this all with an underlying spirit of Islamic Jihad and its potential to galvanise support. A key word is “Jihad” which literally translates to “struggle” however the Qur’an notes two types of Jihad: the non-violent personal struggle for virtue and morality and the lower Jihad of self-defence which can involve taking up arms in a “holy war”. The Western perception of Hamas as a “terrorist organisation” is only advocated by a narrow interpretation of Article 8 of the Charter that lists its motto where “Jihad is its methodology”[15]. It is important that this is understood in the context of Al Banna’s purpose of the Brotherhood, which was the rehabilitation of the Ummah, “beginning with the individual, then family, then society”[16] in order to combat the colonial hegemony as united and cohesive. Thus in the context of Hamas, Jihad is the struggle and the art of resistance. Husam al-Nasir advocates that Jihad “must be understood in the broad sense of the word, fought on many fronts, it is a military, political and ideological Jihad to liberate the Ummah and its heart, Palestine.”[17]

 The Charter candidly portrays the centrality of the doctrinal basis of the struggle, but we cannot subsume the entire struggle under this rubric. Hroub argues that “Hamas’ doctrinal discourse has diminished in intensity since the mid-90s and references to its charter by its leaders have been made rarely, if at all,”[18] and recently we have seen Hamas focusing more on the multidimensional issue of the usurpation of Palestinian land and how to end the occupation. Moreover Hamas’ ideology lists a fundamental strategy of “the Three Circles”[19] where it claims there is a division of responsibilities between the Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims to fighting “world Zionism and imperialism”[20], and that for Palestine to be free it must be done in “tandem with the liberation of neighbouring parts of the Islamic Ummah.”[21] Furthermore Hamas has proven itself able to free itself from dogmatic ideology, Abu Marzoup claims that Hamas really understands that the liberation of Palestine is organically lined to a level of political development and cultural resurgence of the Umma as a whole, not just Palestine.[22] This is why Jihad is not just armed violence or to articulate in Western parlance – “terrorism”, it involves a cultural and political struggle. Nonetheless the Hamas Charter has been used to propagate a view of a “terrorist organisation” bent on being a hindrance to peace, although Hamas has claimed that international conferences are a “waste of time, a king of child’s play”[23] Zaid Abu-Amr has argued that Hamas does not wish to project itself as an obstructive force “may there by a chance, however slim of finding a solution.”[24] Ergo Hamas’ ideology is vexed and complimentary: it must not be viewed as static or stamped as terrorism, as like Hamas it evolves over time and its Charter is understood differently within the context created by Israel.

Hamas & the Art of Resistance

Politics

Hamas may be a self-consciously ideological organisation, which paints itself as the vanguard of the Islamic state, however like all organisations it is confined by necessity and opportunity where its politics become defined by political theory and pragmatism. Hamas since its birth has sponsored forums, political gatherings and Islamic exhibitions especially in university campuses that serve as its vehicle of influence. It issues statements, brochures and commemorates martyrs as well as organising demonstrations and strikes[25]. Hamas’ politics of charity and educational work however has been claimed by the West as merely ways to promote “driving Israel into the sea.”[26] Levitt has claimed its politics are all part of an “apparatus of terror”[27] and any view that conflicts with this stereotypical image is brushed off an ill informed “anti-Israel diatribe.”[28] Levitt has also accused Hamas of having blurred the lines between political/charitable work and terrorism but this essay maintains that no line has been blurred but a new line of resistance has been created by Hamas. Levitt along with the Western paradigm have forgotten that it is not the “battery of mosques, orphanages, summer camps” that are “integral for incitements and the radicalisation of society” to “brainwash Palestinians to die as martyrs” but it is the context. A context created by Israel where there is 33.5% Palestinian unemployment, where 75% of the population lives below the poverty line of $2/day and where 30% of Palestinian children under the age of 5 have chronic malnutrition[29]. Hamas is not the art of terrorism but the art of resistance: “Palestinian people have the right to have Hamas fulfil its role defending them, politically, socially, financially and in terms of security.”[30]

Hamas’ politics of resistance since winning 44.5% of the vote in 2006 has manifested itself in many ways primarily the regularisation of the informal economy. Although the Hanieh government was expected to crumble under the weight of a continuous siege, ironically Gaza’s markets and cash flows have actually grown since Operation Cast Lead[31]. This “new” economy is organised tightly by Hamas where it maintains a high level of internal discipline that has greatly limited the possibility and scale of irregularities, it also counterbalances the dysfunction of the administered economy thus keeping a lot of its supporters loyal. The “new economy” also permits for Hamas to “look after its own” for example the 5000 tunnel owners and its 32 000 civil servants[32]; this level of organisation is reflected in its ministries and agencies which is in turn complemented by the grassroots organisation of Hamas (i.e. its Mass Action Apparatus).  Hamas politics of resistance have demonstrated its ability to not only survive but also to rebound and even innovate.

The Dual Contract also delineates Hamas’ politics, where on one hand it defends the right of people to express their opinions and select their leaders and on the other hand it insists politics must be safeguarded from self-interest. This contradiction is at the very heart of Hamas’ political theory: a contract between the people and their representatives (safeguarding free will) and one between the people and God (safeguarding divine design). This contract is the foundation of Hamas’ political theory as it is neither a theocracy nor a democracy but a hybrid of both, where humanity according to Hamas is to be free – “to do as one wishes and submit oneself to God’s will”[33]. This may in turn appear contradictory in a ‘secular’ context but for Hamas there is no contradiction; freedom is in a sense rising above one’s baser instincts to fulfil ones destiny; by being God’s agent one is fulfilling one’s destiny and is thus free[34]. Hamas translates this into two words that sums up its decision-making: Shura (consultation) and Ijma (consensus). To legitimise the authority of a state it must consult the people, hence elections, and there must be consensus on decisions made. Ergo Hamas’ political theory echoes notions of popular will, social contracts and representative authority but notions that are all tempered by God.

Conclusion 

Hamas has found itself in a world of contradiction between ideology and political reality, rhetoric and decision-making, commitment to its constituency and a religious militant doctrine. However we too have found ourselves studying Hamas through a Western social science shaped deeply by binary opposites, or as Derrida would describe – “traces”: modern – traditional, democratic – terrorist, these in turn suppress cross-over elements (traces) of the opposite term. They are also associated in clusters which obscures ‘traces’ e.g. ‘modern’ is associated with terms such as ‘liberal’, ‘democratic’ and ‘non-violent’ which encourages us to assume that the sighting of one element of a cluster of binary pairs means that the whole cluster must apply. This approach to the study of Hamas only hinders our understanding of the organisation: we must move beyond this dichotomy. This is what this essay has endeavoured to do, to observe it’s evolution through the Muslim Brotherhood, to appreciate its adaptions to a context created by Israel, to argue that its ideology is not static nor one of “terrorism” but a politics of resistance sobered by religion. Injustice naturally gives rise to resistance (self-determination by armed struggle is permissible under the United Nations Charter’s Article 51) but the distortion of the Palestinian resistance has clouded all reasonable dialogue and created a Western public consciousness casting the Palestinian as a “terrorist” when all he is, is searching for his freedom. Under these circumstances it is difficult for the prose of reality to conquer the poetry of dogmatic ideology.

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[1] Hamas is an acronym for Ḥarakat al-Muqawamat al-Islamiyyah

[2] Hroub, Khaled, Hamas: Political Thought and Pracitse (America: Institute for Palestine Studies, 2000), p 5.

[3] Sharabi, Hisham, “That the Palestinian Entity May Be a Democracy, Not A State [Run] by the Security Services”, Al-Quds al-‘Arabi (London) 8^th December 1993.

[4] Gunning, Jeroen, Hamas in Politics (London: Hurst Publishers, 2007), p 95.

[5] Ibid 2.

[6] Hroub, Khaled, Hamas: Political Thought and Pracitse (America: Institute for Palestine Studies, 2000), p 12.

[7] Abu-Amr, Zaid, (1993) Hamas: A Historical and Political Background, Journal of Palestine Studies, 22(4), 5 - 19.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Gunning, Jeroen, Hamas in Politics (London: Hurst Publishers, 2007), p 35.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Hroub, Khaled, Hamas: Political Thought and Pracitse (America: Institute for Palestine Studies, 2000), p 43.

[12] Levitt, Matthew, Hamas (Virgina: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 2006), p 8.

[13] Hroub, Khaled, Hamas: Political Thought and Pracitse (America: Institute for Palestine Studies, 2000), p 44.

[14] Hamas, The Hamas Charter, Article 14, 1988, available at: http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/www.thejerusalemfund.org/carryover/documents/charter.html [accessed 8 April 2011]

[15] Ibid. Article 8.

[16] Tamimi, Azzam, Hamas: unwritten Chapters (England: C. Hurst & Co. Ltd, 2007), p 4.

[17] Al-Nasir, Husam, Harakat al-muqawama al-Islamiyya (Hamas): Islamic Resistance Movement, (London: Muslim Palestine Publications, 1990). Pp. 18 - 22

[18] Hroub, Khaled, Hamas: Political Thought and Pracitse (America: Institute for Palestine Studies, 2000), p 44.

[19] Hamas, The Hamas Charter, Article 14, 1988, available at: http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/www.thejerusalemfund.org/carryover/documents/charter.html [accessed 8 April 2011].

[20] Ibid.

[21] Hroub, Khaled, Hamas: Political Thought and Pracitse (America: Institute for Palestine Studies, 2000), p 47.

[22] Ibid 48.

[23] Hamas, The Hamas Charter, Article 13, 1988, available at: http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/www.thejerusalemfund.org/carryover/documents/charter.html [accessed 8 April 2011].

[24] Abu-Amr, Zaid, (1993) Hamas: A Historical and Political Background, Journal of Palestine Studies, 22(4), 5 - 19.

[25] Ibid.

[26] Alexander, Yonah, Palestinian Religious Terrorism: Hamas and Islamic Jihad (America: Transnational Publishers, 2002), p 9.

[27] Tamimi, Azzam, Hamas: unwritten Chapters (England: C. Hurst & Co. Ltd, 2007), p 2.

[28] Ibid.

[29] Levitt, Matthew, Hamas (Virgina: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 2006), p 5.

[30] Ibid.

[31] Sayigh, Yezid, (2010) Hamas Rule in Gaza: 3 Years On, Crown Center for Middle East Studies, 41(4), 1 - 9.

[32] Ibid.

[33] Gunning, Jeroen, Hamas in Politics (London: Hurst Publishers, 2007), p 63.

[34] Ibid 64.

For The Right Not To Be Denied

By Abdel Rahman Migdad

Student in Palestine

Every place is different, every person is different. Unique differences make people and nations special, this fact we have been informed about, where a phrase in the holy Quran says "O mankind! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another". From here comes the importance of travel, in particular face to face communication. Gaza plays the role perfectly, where it communicates with hole the world by exporting. However, I believe that Gaza is one of few that engage in this kind of exporting. Gaza leads in exporting means of freedom to the world. Every individual’s soul is free and the heart is directly affected by that freedom, this mean is perceived quite fast by people in Gaza, but keeping them from acting are many components one of which is man.

           Obvious, and unarguable among two intelligent, that we live in a world that could be described as conflicting in all its aspects. When conflict is mentioned it is a great deal, and conflicts result in huge misconceptions and misunderstanding among nations and people, leading to undesired consequences, wars, closures, economic blockades, most important (HATE) which may sound simple but its total chaos. Don’t you forget its humans were talking about they could be devils or angels. All those undesired consequences are clear, and everyone is aware of, but does anyone care to care?  Apparently, economies of some countries are built on war industry so there has to be a victim to be bullied. Be smart and guess who is doing the bullying, and who is the victim?    

             Denying efforts of those that want to build and want to spread freedom all over the world is non of our ethics. For that is a message we adopt, sacrifice our time and effort for achieving, and some go beyond that and sacrifice the most precious. In the day of freedom the waves of the Mediterranean Sea carry the blood of the legends of freedom to the shores of Gaza city. The message of freedom, unity, and love we wish to see grow and concur the glob, and those freedom activists on the Gaza flotilla wrote the first letters of freedom, and the ink was their blood. However, this might be bothering to some nations or some people, the idea of freedom and care among nations might be faced with resistance and un-acceptance. Well, we are denied the right to travel, and others are denied the opportunity to visit Gaza, why might that be?... Simply because the deniers refuse to build and contribute in brightening, instead they choose darkening man kind’s minds.  

            Meeting with many people in different positions, from different countries, with different backgrounds, and different believes, resulted in comprehending an outcome which appeared to be mutual, which simply is, we all desire to exchange cultures, thoughts, ideas, and to develop and build bridges among nations and build  individual friendships. However, applying that to Gaza strip seems not to be possible, and reasons behind that are apparent. Gaza caries truth within it, such truth terrifies. All those that are afraid from the Palestinian Gazan truth to spread all over the world support the idea of maintaining Gaza hand cuffed and mouth shut. Because the Gazan truth will form a threat to those that had contributed in denying Palestine its right throughout more than sixty years. 

           Palestinians are simple people that ask for nothing more than the right, the right that any human deserves in the world. They demand that the monopoly of information and media is broken. They demand an opportunity to change the naive thinking that puts the victim in the same category with the violator of all human laws, an opportunity to shut the naive voices that deny Palestinians the right of resistance in its simplest forms. People in Gaza have stored ambitions to explore the world and share the truth, share the culture, contribute in building a good peaceful world community. Finally the demand is "for the right not to be denied". 

Vittorio, Jihad, and So Many Question Marks!

By Jehan Alfarra

Student in Palestine

Rest In Peace Vittorio Arrigoni

Last Friday (April, 8^th) was another tribulation in the interminable, life-long list of our tragedies here in Gaza. It wasn’t anything unusual really, but it was still agonizing and I could not help but write something brief about it. This Friday (April, 15^th), however, was a tragedy of a different sort. Palestine has lost a jewel. A sparkling, precious jewel and a loved son. All Palestinians have lost a dear brother- Vittorio Arrigoni.

“In my DNA, my blood, there are particles that push me to struggle for freedom and human rights.” Vittorio

It stings to recall how I playfully greeted Vik with ‘Shalom’ (Hebrew for hi, or more precisely: peace) the first time I ever saw him, and the many times I teased him with it, and how he’d flip rejecting what he called ‘Hebrew Zionist bullshit’. It stings to remember his unceasing wide smile drawn perfectly on his calm face whenever I accidently saw him in the street, or having a meal at one of my favourite fast-food restaurants, and apparently one of his, in Tal Al-Hawa in Gaza called ‘Al-Dar’ (Arabic for home), and playing with the little kids who come up to him to say hi. Or occasionally seeing him at the Gallery (Now his mourning house) which he frequently visited. What stings even more is reading his now-so-bitterly-ironic comment on Ahmad Alsafadi’s photo (Ahmed was one of Vik’s best friends in Gaza)… :’(

 The reports of his kidnap came as a loathsome SHOCK to everyone in Gaza. Waking up to the tweets and Facebook pages and statuses demanding the release of a KIDNAPPED Vittorio was well-beyond predictable, dislocating any sense of reality! The YouTube video of Vik, blindfolded and beaten, and the demands of exchanging Vik with ALL Salafi prisoners arrested by Hamas in Gaza claimed that it was done by a Salafi group. The YouTube video gave Hamas 30 hours to release all Salafi prisoners or else they would kill Vittorio. Meanwhile, all salafi groups had denied any involvement or responsibility: “We strongly deny any responsibility for or connection to the kidnapping of the Italian (Vittorio Arrogani)… Our statement are distributed exclusively through Shoumoukh al-Islam, Attahadi Netwrok, and the Ansar al-Mujahedeen Network… Any statement attributed to us that are not released through these channels, has nothing to do with us, even if they are published on Jihadi websites.”

Over Twitter, none of us even dared to expect that we were to never see Vittorio ever again… In one lengthy conversation, we were discussing who could be behind this and we talked about it feeling that it was only a matter of time that Vik will be out and will be laughing at our jokes and what had happened as he always does even in the worst situations. And then all of a sudden and in one venomous moment, Reuters reported that Vittorio’s body was FOUND- he was DEAD!!!! None of us believed it! We kept arguing that they must be mistaken! Then Al Arabiya reported it! Soon, Twitter was swarming with the most heart-wrecking tweets ever! A new hash-tag found its way to our forcibly-tweeted tweets- #RIPvittorio !!!<<<<<!!! Then contradicting tweets said BBC denied that he was killed! Yet, more tweets confirming the death and the area kept coming up!! That hour was most torturous- heart thumping like a drum and air tearing into lungs, is he dead? Yes? No? WHAT!!! NO!  It cannot be! Oh, but he is… :s


This horrendous, senseless murder could not have been committed by Palestinians! Holding a Palestinian passport does not mean that they are! Vittorio was. There are so many great exclamation marks and question marks about this whole thing. It stinks to high heaven. For one, Vik was killed only hours from when he was kidnapped; meaning that the intention was to kill and not to trade prisoners.

Secondly, it’s VITTORIO!!! What does that mean? It means a big, muscled-up man! Of all the ISM activists and internationals in Gaza, they chose the one physically most challenging! Kidnapping a female or a male of a smaller size would have definitely been a whole lot easier and more effortless, and would have had the same effect still had the intention really been a ‘kufor’ matter or a prisoner-exchange! And on this note, it is worthy to note that Vittorio was the #1 ISM activist on Israeli hit list!


Thirdly, the timing! This is  the first an international (A GREAT SOLIDARITY FIGURE FOR THAT MATTER) is kidnapped and killed in Gaza, and it happens only 10 days after the Juliano Mer Khamis murder~! I find this too much to be a mere coincidence! Not only that, but it is happening at a time when Israel is doing its utmost to prevent the next Flotilla sailing to Gaza in attempts to break the siege, and to end this growing momentum of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). Such ‘security’ concerns would intimidate potential passengers coming with the next flotilla “those unsure of the exceptional good will and generosity of the people there. A good will Vik would tell you about. If he were still here.“, as Lauren Booth writes, but would they?

Booth adds: “Both men [Juliano & Vittorio] were part of a new uprising, arguably, the most successful yet. The uprising that hurts Israel where it hurts most – in the TV studios of Europe and the US, right in the intelligentsia. Their impact on the Israel ‘fascisti’ [as Vik calls it] machine was a phenomenon in the expanding worlds of twitter and facebook. They had voices like no others in this movement.
More though. Vik was pivotal in the reformation of the ISM Gaza Group, the non violent resistance team, put on hold after the murders of two of its members by Israeli forces ; Tom Hurndall and Rachel Corrie. After it became clear that Israel’s leaders had taken the decision not only not to ignore the human rights of internationals in the West Bank and Gaza (thus putting them on a par with Palestinians), but to actively target them. “



To top it all off, the three suspects involved in the kidnap and the murder are Abdul Rahman Breizat, Jordanian, and two Palestinians, Belal Al Omari and Mohammed Al Salfiti. So a freaking Jordanian ‘salafi’ is involved!! And this guy has apparently entered Gaza with the Viva Palestina Convoy, and is an agent for 3 countries! Smelling some filthy rotten rat, eh?

Hamas has managed to find the three suspects and surround them in a building in Nuseirat Camp. Hamas tried to negotiate, and one of the suspects’, Belal’s, mother came and tried to talk him out. This only resulted in clashes, and then this Jordanian proclaimed ‘salafi’ SHOT HIMSELF, and threw a grenade on his fellow suspects, critically wounding Belal, who died of his wounds, and lightly injuring Al Salfiti, who is now under arrest and taken to hospital. Now, the ‘salafi’ committed suicide. Haha, what a joke. Anyone who knows a tiny speck of Islam knows that a true salafi would not, under any circumstance, commit suicide. It is Un-Islamic and it is an intervention with God’s well. It is also evident that this Jordanian did not just want to end his life in fear of torture or the like, but he wanted to make sure that all of them are! Thoughts?

I want to take this opportunity to address what the word ‘Jihad’ means and what it has come to mean. It infuriates me how it is attached to every terrorist, or extremist act or group!!!! This is NOT what JIHAD is!! This is not ISLAM!


Tallha Abdulrazaq writes about this in his essay on Al-Qaeda:
“As al-Qaeda’s primary target audience for gaining popular support is the Muslim world, one may then begin to question the religious justification of such terrorist acts. Firstly, a brief definition of jihad is necessary to dispel frequent misconceptions. Jihad literally means in Arabic to expend effort and energy.[1] Abdel-Kareem Zaydan, former professor of religious studies at Baghdad University, then goes on to refine the word jihad in its religious context. He states that, in the Islamic lexicon, jihad means to struggle in the way of God; against oneself and the propensity to sin, against poverty in society, against evil by arguing against it, and against aggressors who wish to do harm unto Muslims or even others, no matter the faith.[2] In fact, this is supported by the verse in the Quran that states, ‘There is no compulsion in religion’[3], which means man is free to peacefully follow whatever religion he chooses, and also, ‘Why should you not fight in God’s cause for those oppressed men, women and children who cry out; “Lord! Rescue us from this town of oppressors and by Your Grace, send us a protector and helper”’.[4] Indeed, Sayed Qutb, a man frequently demonised as the ideological father of so-called extreme Islam, comments on the preceding verse and implores Muslims to protect the weak and those who are being oppressed.[5] These verses also may indicate Islamic military rules for international intervention in other states suffering from repression, but they certainly do not indicate that Muslims ought to butcher whomsoever they please, as is al-Qaeda’s method.

Vittorio's Funeral in Gaza

Verses from the Quran that are pointed out by extremists and Islamophobes alike in support of arguments for and against “aggressive” Islam are, ‘Kill them [enemies] wherever you find them….’[6] and also, ‘When the forbidden months have elapsed, kill them [idolaters], seize them, besiege them and wait for them….’[7] Although this may appear to be damning evidence to the layman ignorant of Islamic teachings, these verses have been grossly taken out of context. Indeed, the former verse is preceded by another that specifies that permission is granted to kill those who kill you, and the verse in question itself is completed by, ‘….and drive them out from where they have driven you out, for persecution is a greater evil than killing’,[8] which clearly demonstrates that the verse is giving permission to fight defensively. The latter verse cited by al-Qaeda and critics of Islam is actually in reference to those aggressive polytheists in the Prophet Muhammad’s day who regularly killed innocent Muslims, broke treaties with them, and attempted to forcibly convert Muslims back to idolatry and paganism. It is not, as it often is erroneously claimed to be, a mandate for the killing of any non-Muslim. Indeed, the verses directly preceding and succeeding this instruct Muslims to not harm those who have maintained their peaceful ties and treaties with the Muslims,[9] and to grant safe passage and protection to those who seek peace and good relations, even if they are idolaters.[10] Although there are many more examples of verses that have been misused by religious fanatics and anti-Islamic bigots, the aforementioned examples should aptly demonstrate that while Islam is a religion of peace, it is not the peace of the meek and the weak, but rather the just, strong and the able.”

Shariah law is formulated by correct interpretation of the Quran, sound exegesis, and also the hadeeth, traditions and sayings, of the Prophet Muhammad that have an accurate isnad, or chain of narration, that verifies its legitimacy. If the hadeeth is accurate and it conforms to Quranic verses, then this can be taken as a guiding legal principle, and not an inflexible law, which is then subject to interpretation dependant on the time, place, and context of the society or state in question. Some verses from the Quran have already been assessed, and it remains to give a few examples where the Prophet Muhammad himself forbade the killing of innocents. Although the terms of civilian and non-combatant are modern in usage, in case of war Muslims are still prohibited from killing what would be defined as non-combatants and civilians. This is demonstrated by a hadeeth which narrates how the Prophet was grieved after he saw the corpse of a woman after a battle because a non-combatant was killed, and therefore forbade such acts in future engagements.[11] The hadeeth following the previous one specifically mentions that no woman or child is to be killed,[12] and this can be interpreted as being an instruction to target only combatants. Many more hadeeth’s prohibit the killing of merchants, clergymen, hired labour, and even give specific instructions that the trees and livestock of the enemy should not be wantonly destroyed, and this in accordance with the aforementioned Quranic verses thereby giving the conclusion that Shariah dictates that no acts of senseless destruction can be justified, particularly if it means the deaths of innocents and non-combatants.”


Vik may not have been a Muslim, but he sure gained our FULL respect, love, and appreciation. He was a human. And he has won. He left this world a beautiful symbol for humanity and freedom. While this Jordanian bastard has a left a hated, cursed bigot; so to hell he may go.
Whatever their motives were, they FAILED, and FAILED MISERABILY. Vic is alive inside every Muslim and every compassionate true Palestinian. His soul will always be in Gaza and he shall never be forgotten. From the fishermen in the sea, to the farmers in the buffer zones. From the restaurant and shop owners who knew him, to every child in Gaza whom he drew a smile on their faces. From every Real Madrid lover, to every Barca brother.

And the next flotilla is coming with even greater determination- STAY HUMAN. Vik, you have been our unknown soldier all along and the world is coming to realize it. I salute you. Gaza loved you and will always continue to do.

[1] Zaydan (1986), p.262 [2] Ibid. [3] Quran, 2:256 [4] Quran, 4:75 [5] Qutb (1985), p.616 [6] Quran, 2:191 [7] Quran, 9:5 [8] Quran, 2:191 [9] Quran, 9:4 [10] Quran, 9:6 [11] Bukhari (1979), v.4 p.21 [12] Ibid.

My Letter to the World: Free Palestine

By Nadia Marques de Carvalho

LSE Palestine Society 

Today I got called an extremist. An extremist because I believe the fight for justice in Palestine, is a just one. More than that – a necessary. If you had your land, livelihood and history stolen, your family massacred, your body skilfully powdered with white phosphorous and you died a torturous death without trial because you dared to resist – wallah, I’d fight for you too. Why? Humanity demands it off me: off all humans. You are no exception. If I stay silent, if we stay silent in the face of oppression, dispossession or occupation than we diminish our humanity. If something lessens your worth as a human being, then it lessens mine too. To act in your defence, is really to act in defence of myself.

Today I got called an extremist. An extremist because I believe in the self-determination and the Right to Return of all Palestinian people. I believe in a one-state solution, to live side by side, in understanding and respect. I am an advocate for peace. You call me an extremist but you forget you are the terrorist. You attempt to steal my land by building a 670km Iron Wall – if you must, because you are scared of me (although you have one of the most powerful armies and all I have is this pen), then you must; but not, not on my land, not when 85% of your wall is on my land. On second thought, your whole country is on my land but I have kept silent. I have kept silent when you destroy my farmland and contaminate my water. I have kept silent when you encircle and strangulate me with a wall that costs $2.1 billion to build; money that you could give to the education of Palestinian children – but no you deny that to us too. Deny our freedom. You have imprisoned my body but never, never my mind and soul – still I keep silent. You can silence me. You can silence the world. You can never silence Justice.

I am the extremist? Then my friend, you are the terrorist. Your hands are stained with the blood of Deir yassin, Homeen Al Tahta, Jabalia – massacres. Cast Lead – War on Gaza? No my friend, Massacre of Gaza. In 22 days you murdered 1500 Palestinians. In 22 days you sent me gifts of DIME explosives, fuel air explosives and oh, how can I forget, white phosphorous? How can I forget when it stains the pure and innocent body of my daughter? How can I forgive when I cannot forget? I do not forget the ground constantly shaking with the bombardment of your gifts; it felt like hunting season had begun. Were you satisfied with your catch? 400 Palestinians killed for every Israeli killed, 25 cement factories destroyed, 250 000 tonnes of rubble, the only flour mill in Gaza destroyed (I loved khubz in the morning), 400 children dead and my friend, every plane returned – untouched, my gift to you, Israel. You are the terrorist; the one who glorifies and relishes in violence, the one who smiles when a new settlement is built and the one who violates International Law with unrelenting and shameful persistence. Remember occupation is violence, dispossession is violence but the greatest violence is to take away my right to resist violence. Remember Israel.

If I am not Jewish, am I inferior?

If I am anti-Zionism, will you quote me as anti-Semitic?

If I am Palestinian, does that make me non-human?

I am isolated. Separated. Apart.

Being human is not only about respect but also to be able to see past narrow interests, and to understand how as humans we are linked together. But when you cut me off from my country, when apartness becomes dogma and ideology, when apartness is enforced through law and its agencies; this is called Apartheid. When you are privileged because you are born a Jew and you use this to dispossess and discriminate against me; this is called Apartheid. This apartness only becomes a breeding ground for ignorance of the other, with whom one shares a common space. A breeding ground for the Zionist idea of Israel – the ingathering of all Jews, the idea seems to me to get rid of the old neighbours and to bring in new ones. Ethnic cleansing.

“Have our Jewish sisters and brothers forgotten their humiliation?”

The world was absolutely wrong to think that Nazism was defeated in 1945. Nazism has won because it has finally managed to Nazify the consciousness of its own victims.

But now, I am the victim.

Signed,

Free Palestine 

Palestinian Girl: "I Want to Survive"

By Sameeha Elwan

Palestinian Student in Gaza

A Personal Reflection on the Massacre of Gaza - 2009 Gaza War 

I unconsciously replied to my big brother’s question. He did not expect such an answer to his inquiry on what I wanted him to get me from the supermarket before it gets dark, before hell would break again that night as it usually did every night at the same time. He laughed, bitterly. I did not.

It took me some time to realize that still then, I was surviving. After what seemed a long time, I still survived. It was a miracle to survive the nights. It wasn’t the same in the morning, but at night every thing went loose. Our house would be lighted every now and a while by a near bomb, but then the light we’ve missed for a while at night was of no use to us as staying up in our third-floor apartment was just an act of craziness. Here, one could definitely get shot any second. It was too close. The war was too close I couldn’t believe I’m still surviving. Here, you wouldn’t know when a bullet finally rests at your heart or chest or your eye, or a shell just tears you all apart. It was definitely crazy at night. Night was the time for evacuation, or shall I call it displacement? Leaving our house was never optional. It’s either you die or you leave the house to survive, which again was not guaranteed as you might leave the house to find that bullet waiting to rest in your heart as well. But, we had to go down anyway.

It was about sunset now. I could hear it begin again. I could hear it begin as every night at the same time and I would grab my mattress, my pillow, and my blankets, with the voice of my mother urging me to hurry. “It’s no time to be an obtuse” she would say, and I would discover that she was right as she always is, for I would have to crawl to go downstairs with not a bit of light on the stairs and with that luggage in my hands, in my pockets, on my head and covering me all around. I would crawl and cry. I’ve never paid much attention to history before and I so much hated history classes, but every time I would get downstairs seeing my mother, my father, brothers and sister with the luggage they could collect; most of which was not important, I could not but recall my late grandmother’s talk about the way she left her home. I thought we’re destined to displacement.

The downstairs room was not as clean or as wide as own lighted well-cleaned house. It was fine but bitterly cold. Somehow, my father thought it’s safer. My mother had to obey. It seemed to me that for this time, she was going to let him decide where we shall spend the night. Desperate, she would let him decide where we shall die. She could not. She was courageous though or acting so. She refused to get out of the house completely. I Thought I would never hear her say so, but she courageously refused to leave the house, and she repeated what I for once thought a cliché “I want to die at home.” My brother, terrified to death by the news of a close bombardment to a neighbors' house, started crying, shouting at her face. “I don’t want to die”, he pleaded. Back then, I shamefully thought of how selfish of her to sacrifice all of her children for the sake of an old cliché and an older house. But, she was a refugee. She knew what it’s like to leave home. She knew the guilt she would feel when time passes by. That I knew later. I remember that her mother died, wishing she never left home.

The nights were dark and cold at that room. And when all would decide to stop talking, and try to sleep, I would start reading. Solaced by one and only one book that I kept reading over and over again, my mother, taking notice that I, unlike the others did not pretend to sleep, would start rebuking me every time she sees me holding the book so close to my eyes with one hand while the other holding a candle. “Are you planning to die burnt? Wait for your fate.” It was then I grew that fascination for Darwish, his “She is a song” was such a great relief. He, too, lived a war. He, too, wanted to survive to sing her a song and to make a cup of morning coffee. How many wars have we witnessed so far? Why didn’t the word cause me to tremble before as I’m trembling now? Perhaps it’s only cold.

Cold were those dark nights, sometimes terribly loud, frighteningly loud that I wished for some silence. That I could not get with the old radio my mother kept in her pocket day and night, tuned on. Was it her curiosity that made her listen to every single piece of news? Was she hopefully waiting they would announce the end of the war soon? As tortuous as it was, I was thankful electricity was off. Listening to my aunt crying heavily on the telephone and asking us to persevere, I knew that I have missed a lot. I heard the radio say a family was massacred the other day. I heard they say they demolished a whole neighborhood, sometimes on the head of its inhabitants. I heard them announce figures of children, women, and men killed. I even heard some people calling and screaming for the help of the Red Crescent. Yet, I knew nothing. I’ve seen nothing of it.

“War would end soon. Perhaps it ends tomorrow. They say so.”

“You said so yesterday and the day before, and every day, father” I mutter, not caring.

The next day, the bombardment was faintly heard. There were still some warplanes around. But most importantly, electricity was back. TV was turned on again. In fact, we knew nothing, we’ve seen nothing. The last 23 days started passing in pictures and voice into the screens. I was not on TV. None of my family was. I survived a war while more than a thousand of my people did not. I survived a war not because I was a hero, but…

A war ago, I wouldn’t have thought about writing this, about writing anything. Today, trembling, recalling, I find it an obligation to write the details of it no matter how trivial it might sound for I have to survive. We shall survive.