THE HAMAS CHARTER--'NUFF SAID
The next time you hear some Jewish kid on campus talk about making peace with Hamas, ask him if hes read in its entirety the Hamas Charter. The next time you hear some creep from the ISM talk about "human rights" and Gaza, ask him or her if they've read the Hamas charter and have it with you. It is on college campuses that the Arabs seek to fool the gullible of the West with talk of human rights and democracy while attempting to create another undemocratic Islamic Waqf. Even college professors haven't read the Hamas Charter. See below and carry this with you at all anti-Israel events.
THE CHARTER OF ALLAH: THE PLATFORM OF THE
ISLAMIC RESISTANCE MOVEMENT (HAMAS)*
Translated and annotated by Raphael Israeli
Harry Truman Research Institute
The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel,
THE CHARTER OF THE HAMAS(1)
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
"You are the best community that has been raised up for mankind.
Ye enjoin right conduct and forbid indecency; and ye believe in Allah. And
if the People of the Scripture(2) had believed, it had been better for
them. Some of them are believers; but most of them are evil-doers.
They will not harm you save a trifling hurt, and if they fight
against you they will turn and flee. And afterward they will not be
helped.
Ignominy shall be their portion wheresoever they are found save
[where they grasp] a rope from Allah and a rope from man.(3) They have
incurred anger from their Lord, and wretchedness is laid upon them. That
is because they used to disbelieve the revelations of Allah, and slew the
Prophets wrongfully. That is because they were rebellious and used to
transgress." Surat Al-Imran (III), verses 109-111.(4)
"Israel will rise and will remain erect until Islam eliminates it
as it had eliminated its predecessors."
The Imam and Martyr Hassan al-Banna(5)
May Allah Pity his Soul
"The Islamic World is burning. It is incumbent upon each one of
us to pour some water, little as it may be, with a view of extinguishing
as much of the fire as he can, without awaiting action by the others."
Sheikh Amjad Al-zahawi
May Allah Pity his Soul
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate
INTRODUCTION
Grace to Allah, whose help we seek, whose forgiveness we beseech,
whose guidance we implore and on whom we rely. We pray and bid peace upon
the Messenger of Allah, his family, his companions, his followers and
those who spread his message and followed his tradition; they will last as
long as there exist Heaven and Earth.
O, people!
In the midst of misadventure, from the depth of suffering, from
the believing hearts and purified arms; aware of our duty and in response
to the decree of Allah, we direct our call(6), we rally together and join
each other. We educate in the path of Allah and we make our firm
determination prevail so as to take its proper role in life, to overcome
all difficulties and to cross all hurdles. Hence our permanent state of
preparedness and our readiness to sacrifice our souls and dearest
[possessions] in the path of Allah.
Thus, our nucleus has formed which chartered its way in the
tempestuous ocean of creeds and hopes, desires and wishes, dangers and
difficulties, setbacks and challenges, both internal and external.
When the thought matured, the seed grew and the plant took root
in the land of reality, detached from temporary emotion and unwelcome
haste, the Islamic Resistance Movement erupted in order to play its role
in the path of its Lord. In so doing, it joined its hands with those of
all Jihad(7) fighters for the purpose of liberating Palestine. The souls
of its Jihad fighters will encounter those of all Jihad fighters who have
sacrificed their lives in the land of Palestine since it was conquered(8)
by the Companion(9) of the Prophet, be Allah's prayer and peace upon him,
and until this very day. This is the Charter of the Islamic Resistance
(Hamas) which will reveal its face, unveil its identity, state its
position, clarify its purpose, discuss its hopes, call for support to its
cause and reinforcement, and for joining its ranks. For our struggle
against the Jews is extremely wide-ranging and grave, so much so that it
will need all the loyal efforts we can wield, to be followed by further
steps and reinforced by successive battalions from the multifarious Arab
and Islamic world, until the enemies are defeated and Allah's victory
prevails. Thus we shall perceive them approaching in the horizon, and this
will be known before long:
"Allah has decreed: Lo! I very shall conquer, I and my
messengers, lo! Allah is strong, almighty." Sura 58
(Al-Mujadilah), verse 21(10).
*******
"Say: This is my way: I call on Allah with sure knowledge, I and
whosoever follows me. Glory be to Allah! and I am not of the
idolaters." Sura 12 (Yussuf), verse 17 (108 in Pickthall).
PART I
KNOWING THE MOVEMENT
The Ideological Aspects
Article One
The Islamic Resistance Movement draws its guidelines from Islam;
derives from it its thinking, interpretations and views about existence,
life and humanity; refers back to it for its conduct; and is inspired by
it in whatever step it takes.
The Link between Hamas and the Association of Muslim Brothers
Article Two
The Islamic Resistance Movement is one of the wings of the Muslim
Brothers in Palestine. The Muslim Brotherhood Movement is a world
organization, the largest Islamic Movement in the modern era. It is
characterized by a profound understanding, by precise notions and by a
complete comprehensiveness of all concepts of Islam in all domains of
life: views and beliefs, politics and economics, education and society,
jurisprudence and rule, indoctrination and teaching, the arts and
publications, the hidden and the evident, and all the other domains of
life.
Structure and Essence
Article Three
The basic structure of the Islamic Resistance Movement consists
of Muslims who are devoted to Allah and worship Him verily [as it is
written]: 'I have created Man and Devil for the purpose of their worship"
[of Allah]. Those Muslims are cognizant of their duty towards themselves,
their families and country and they have been relying on Allah for all
that.
They have raised the banner of Jihad in the face of the
oppressors in order to extricate the country and the people from the
[oppressors'] desecration, filth and evil.
"Nay, but we hurl the true against the false; and it does break
its head and lo! it vanishes" Sura 21 (the Prophets), verse 18.
Article Four
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.
Dimensions of Time and Space of the Hamas
Article Five
As the Movement adopts Islam as its way of life, its time
dimension extends back as far as the birth of the Islamic Message and of
the Righteous Ancestor. Its ultimate goal is Islam, the Prophet its model,
the Quran its Constitution. Its spacial dimension extends wherever on
earth there are Muslims, who adopt Islam as their way of life; thus, it
penetrates to the deepest reaches of the land and to the highest spheres
of Heavens.
"Seest you not how Allah coins a similitude: a goodly saying, as
a goodly tree, its root set firm, its branches reaching into
heaven: Giving its fruit at every season by permission of its
Lord? Allah coins the similitudes for mankind in order that they
may reflect." Sura 14 (Abraham), verses 24-25.
Peculiarity and Independence
Article Six
The Islamic Resistance Movement is a distinct Palestinian
Movement which owes its loyalty to Allah, derives from Islam its way of
life and strives to raise the banner of Allah over every inch of
Palestine. Only under the shadow of Islam could the members of all regions
coexist in safety and security for their lives, properties and rights(11).
In the absence of Islam, conflict arises, oppression reigns, corruption is
rampant and struggles and wars prevail. Allah had inspired the Muslim
poet, Muhammed Iqbal(12), when he said:
When the Faith wanes, there is no security
There is no this-worldliness for those who have no faith
Those who wish to live their life without religion
Have made annihilation the equivalent of life.
The Universality of Hamas
Article Seven
By virtue of the distribution of Muslims, who pursue the cause of
the Hamas, all over the globe, and strive for its victory, for the
reinforcement of its positions and for the encouragement of its Jihad, the
Movement is a universal one. It is apt to be that due to the clarity of
its thinking, the nobility of its purpose and the loftiness of its
objectives.
It is in this light that the Movement has to be regarded,
evaluated and acknowledged. Whoever denigrates its worth, or avoids
supporting it, or is so blind as to dismiss its role, is challenging Fate
itself. Whoever closes his eyes from seeing the facts, whether
intentionally or not, will wake up to find himself overtaken by events,
and will find no excuses to justify his position. Priority is reserved to
the early comers.
Oppressing those who are closest to you, is more of an agony to
the soul than the impact of an Indian sword.
"And unto thee have we revealed the Scripture with the truth,
confirming whatever scripture was before it, and a watcher over
it. So judge between them by that which Allah hath revealed, and
follow not their desires away from the truth which has come unto
thee. For each we have appointed a divine law and a traced-out
way. Had Allah willed, He could have made you one community. But
that He may try you by that which he has given you [He has made
you as you are]. So vie with one another in good works. Unto
Allah, you will all return. He will then inform you of that
wherein you differ." Sura V (the Table), verse 48.
Hamas is one of the links in the Chain of Jihad in the
confrontation with the Zionist invasion. It links up with the setting out
of the Martyr Izz a-din al-Qassam(13) and his brothers in the Muslim
Brotherhood who fought the Holy War in 1936; it further relates to another
link of the Palestinian Jihad and the Jihad and efforts of the Muslim
Brothers during the 1948(14) War, and to the Jihad operations of the
Muslim Brothers in 1968(15) and thereafter.
But even if the links have become distant from each other, and
even if the obstacles erected by those who revolve in the Zionist orbit,
aiming at obstructing the road before the Jihad fighters, have rendered
the pursuance of Jihad impossible; nevertheless, the Hamas has been
looking forward to implement Allah's promise whatever time it might take.
The prophet, prayer and peace be upon him, said:
The time(16) will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews (and
kill them); until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: 0
Muslim! there is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him! This will
not apply to the Gharqad(17), which is a Jewish tree (cited by Bukhari and
Muslim)(18).
The Slogan of the Hamas
Article Eight
Allah is its goal, the Prophet its model, the Quzan its
Constitution, Jihad its path and death for the case of Allah its most
sublime belief.
PART II
OBJECTIVES
Hamas finds itself at a period of time when Islam has waned away
from the reality of life. For this reason, the checks and balances have
been upset, concepts have become confused, and values have been
transformed; evil has prevailed, oppression and obscurity have reigned;
cowards have turned tigers, homelands have been usurped, people have been
uprooted and are wandering all over the globe. The state of truth has
disappeared and was replaced by the state of evil. Nothing has remained in
its right place, for when Islam is removed from the scene, everything
changes. These are the motives.
As to the objectives: discarding the evil, crushing it and
defeating it, so that truth may prevail, homelands revert [to their
owners], calls for prayer be heard from their mosques, announcing the
reinstitution of the Muslim state. Thus, people and things will revert to
their true place. Allah is the one whose held we see,
"...And if Allah had not repelled some men by others the earth
would have been corrupted. But Allah is the Lord of kindness to
[His] creatures." Sura II (The Cow), verse 251.
Article Ten
The Islamic Resistance Movement, while breaking its own path,
will do its utmost to constitute at the same time a support to the weak, a
defense to all the oppressed. It will spare no effort to implement the
truth and abolish evil, in speech and in fact, both here and in any other
location where it can reach out and exert influence.
PART III
STRATEGIES AND METHODS
The Strategy of Hamas: Palestine is an Islamic Waqf(19)
Article Eleven
The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of
Palestine has been an Islamic Waqf throughout the generations and until
the Day of Resurrection, no one can renounce it or part of it, or abandon
it or part of it. No Arab country nor the aggregate of all Arab countries,
and no Arab King or President nor all of them in the aggregate, have that
right, nor has that right any organization or the aggregate of all
organizations, be they Palestinian or Arab, because Palestine is an
Islamic Waqf throughout all generations and to the Day or Resurrection.
Who can presume to speak for all Islamic generations to the Day of
Resurrection? This is the status [of the land] in Islamic Shari'a(20), and
it is similar to all lands conquered by Islam by force, and made thereby
Waqf lands upon their conquest, for all generations of Muslims until the
Day of Resurrection. This [norm] has prevailed since the commanders of the
Muslim armies completed the conquest of Syria and Iraq, and they asked the
Caliph of Muslims, 'Umar Ibn al-Khattab(21). for his view of the conquered
land, whether it should be partitioned between the troops or left in the
possession of its population, or otherwise. Following discussions and
consultations between the Caliph of Islam, 'Umar Ibn al-Khattab, and the
Companions of the Messenger of Allah, be peace and prayer upon him, they
decided that the land should remain in the hands of its owners to benefit
from it and from its wealth; but the control(22) of the land and the land
itself ought to be endowed as a Waqf [in perpetuity] for all generations
of Muslims until the Day of Resurrection. The ownership of the land by its
owners is only one of usufruct, and this Waqf will endure as long as
Heaven and earth
last. Any demarche in violation of this law of Islam, with regard to
Palestine, is baseless and reflects on its perpetrators.
Lo! This is certain truth. Therefore 0 Muhammed, praise the name
of thy Lord, the Tremendous." Sura LVI (the Event), Verse 95.23
Hamas in Palestine: Its Views on Homeland and Nationalism(24)
Article Twelve
Hamas regards Nationalism (Wataniyya) as part and parcel of the
religious faith. Nothing is loftier or deeper in Nationalism than waging
Jihad against the enemy and confronting him when he sets foot on the land
of the Muslims. And this becomes an individual duty(25) binding on every
Muslim man and woman; a woman must go out and fight the enemy even without
her husband's authorization, and a slave without his masters' permission.
This [principle] does not exist under any other regime, and it is
a truth not to be questioned. While other nationalisms consist of
material, human and territorial considerations, the nationality of Hamas
also carries, in addition to all those, the all important divine factors
which lend to it its spirit and life; so much so that it connects with the
origin of the spirit and the source of life and raises in the skies of the
Homeland the Banner of the Lord, thus inexorably connecting earth with
Heaven.
When Moses came and threw his baton, sorcery and sorcerers became
futile.
"...The right direction is henceforth distinct from error., And
he who rejects false deities and believes in Allah has grasped a
firm handhold which will never break. Allah is Hearer, Knower."
Sura II (the Cow), verse 256(26).
Peaceful Solutions [Peace] Initiatives and International Conferences
Article Thirteen
[Peace] initiatives, the so-called peaceful solutions, and the
international conferences to resolve the Palestinian problem, are all
contrary to the beliefs of the Islamic Resistance Movement. For renouncing
any part of Palestine means renouncing part of the religion; the
nationalism of the Islamic Resistance Movement is part of its faith, the
movement educates its members to adhere to its principles and to raise the
banner of Allah over their homeland as they fight their Jihad: "Allah is
the all-powerful, but most people are not aware."
From time to time a clamouring is voiced, to hold an
International Conference in search for a solution to the problem. Some
accept the idea, others reject it, for one reason or another, demanding
the implementation of this or that conditions, as a prerequisite for
agreeing to convene the Conference or for participating in it. But the
Islamic Resistance Movement, which is aware of the [prospective] parties
to this conference, and of their past and present positions towards the
problems of the Muslims, does not believe that those conferences are
capable of responding to demands, or of restoring rights or doing justice
to the oppressed. Those conferences are no more than a means to appoint
the nonbelievers as arbitrators in the lands of Islam. Since when did the
Unbelievers do justice to the Believers?
And the Jews will not be pleased with thee, nor will the
Christians, till thou follow their creed. 'Say: Lo! the guidance of Allah
[himself] is the Guidance. And if you should follow their desires after
the knowledge which has come unto thee, then you would have from Allah no
protecting friend nor helper." Sura 2 (the Cow) verse 120.
There is no solution to the Palestinian problem except by Jihad.
The initiatives, proposals and International Conferences are but a waste
of time(27), an exercise in futility. The Palestinian people are too noble
to have their future, their right and their destiny submitted to a vain
game. As the Hadith has it:
"The people of Syria are Allah's whip on this land; He takes
revenge by their intermediary from whoever he wishes among his
worshippers. The Hypocrites among them are forbidden from
vanquishing the true believers, and they will die in anxiety and
sorrow." (Told by Tabarani, who is traceable in ascending order
of traditionaries to Muhammed, and by Ahmed whose chain of
transmission is incomplete. But it is bound to be a true hadith,
for both story tellers are reliable. Allah knows best(28).)
The Three Circles
Article Fourteen
The problem of the liberation of Palestine relates to three
circles: the Palestinian, the Arab and the Islamic. Each one of these
circles has a role to play in the struggle against Zionism and it has
duties to fulfill. It would be an enormous mistake and an abysmal act of
ignorance to disregard anyone of these circles. For Palestine is an
Islamic land where the First Qibla(29) and the third holiest site(30) are
located. That is also the place whence the Prophet, be Allah's prayer and
peace upon him, ascended to Heavens(31).
"Glorified be He who carried His servant by night from the
Inviolable Place of worship(32) to the Far Distant Place of
Worship(33), the neighborhood whereof we have blessed, that we
might show him of our tokens! Lo! He, only He, is the Hearer, the
Seer." Sura XVII (al-Isra,)(34), verse 1.
In consequence of this state of affairs, the liberation of that
land is an individual duty binding on all Muslims everywhere(35). This is
the base on which all Muslims have to regard the problem; this has to be
understood by all Muslims. When the problem is dealt with on this basis,
where the full potential of the three circles is mobilized, then the
current circumstances will change and the day of liberation will come
closer.
"You are more awful as a fear in their bosoms than Allah. That is
because they are a folk who understand not." Sura LIX, (Al-Hashr,
the Exile), verse 13.
The Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine is an Individual
Obligation(36)
Article Fifteen
When our enemies usurp some Islamic lands, Jihad becomes a duty
binding on all Muslims. In order to face the usurpation of Palestine by
the Jews, we have no escape from raising the banner of Jihad. This would
require the propagation of Islamic consciousness among the masses on all
local, Arab and Islamic levels. We must spread the spirit of Jihad among
the [Islamic] Umma, clash with the enemies and join the ranks of the Jihad
fighters.
The 'ulama as well as educators and teachers, publicity and media
men as well as the masses of the educated, and especially the youth and
the elders of the Islamic Movements, must participate in this raising of
consciousness. There is no escape from introducing fundamental changes in
educational curriculi in order to cleanse them from all vestiges of the
ideological invasion which has been brought about by orientalists and
missionaries. That invasion had begun overtaking this area following the
defeat of the Crusader armies by Salah a-Din el Ayyubi(37). The Crusaders
had understood that they had no way to vanquish the Muslims unless they
prepared the grounds for that with an ideological invasion which would
confuse the thinking of Muslims, revile their heritage, discredit their
ideals to be followed by a military invasion. That was to be in
preparation for the Imperialist invasion, as in fact [General] Allenby(38)
acknowledged it upon his entry to Jerusalem: "Now, the Crusades are over."
General Gouraud(39) stood on the tomb of Salah a-Din and declared: 'We
have returned, O Salah-a-Din!" Imperialism has been instrumental in
boosting the ideological invasion and deepening its roots, and it is still
pursuing this goal. All this had paved the way to the loss of Palestine.
We must imprint on the minds of generations of Muslims that the
Palestinian problem is a religious one, to be dealt with on this premise.
It includes Islamic holy sites such as the Aqsa Mosque, which is
inexorably linked to the Holy Mosque(40) as long as the Heaven and earth
will exist, to the journey of the Messenger of Allah(41), be Allah's peace
and blessing upon him, to it, and to his ascension from it(42).
"Dwelling one day in the Path of Allah is better than the entire
world and everything that exists in it. The place of the whip of
one among you in Paradise is better than the entire world and
everything that exists in it. [God's] worshipper's going and
coming in the Path of Allah is better than the entire world and
everything that exists in it...." (Told by Bukhari, Muslim,
Tirmidhi and Ibn Maja)(43)
I swear by that who holds in His Hands the Soul of Muhammed! I
indeed wish to go to war for the sake of Allah! I will assault and kill,
assault and kill, assault and kill (told by Bukhari and Muslim(44)).
Educating the [Young] Generations
Article Sixteen
We must accord the Islamic [young] generations in our area, an
Islamic education based on the implementation of religious precepts, on
the conscientious study of the Book of Allah; on the Study of the
Prophetic Tradition(45), on the study of Islamic history and heritage from
its reliable sources, under the guidance of experts and scientists(46);
and on singling out the paths which constitute for the Muslims sound
concepts of thinking and faith. It is also necessary to study
conscientiously the enemy and its material and human potential; to detect
its weak and strong spots, and to recognize the powers that support it and
stand by it. At the same time, we must be aware of current events, follow
the news and study the analyses and commentaries on it, together with
drawing plans for the present and the future and examining every
phenomenon, so that every Muslim, fighting Jihad, could live out his era
aware of his objective, his goals, his way and the things happening round
him.
"O my dear son! Lo! though it be but the weight of a grain of
mustard-seed, and though it be in a rock, or in the heavens, or
in the earth, Allah will bring it forth. Lo! Allah is subtile.
Aware. 0 my dear son! Establish worship and enjoin kindness and
forbid inequity and persevere, whatever may befall thee. Lo! that
is of the steadfast heart of things. Turn not thy cheek in scorn
toward folk, nor walk with pertness in the land. Lo! Allah loves
not braggarts and boasters." Sura XXXI (Luqman), verses 16-18.
The Role of Muslim Women
Article Seventeen
The Muslim women have a no lesser role than that of men in the
war of liberation; they manufacture men and play a great role in guiding
and educating the [new] generation. The enemies have understood that role,
therefore they realize that if they can guide and educate [the Muslim
women] in a way that would distance them from Islam, they would have won
that war. Therefore, you can see them making consistent efforts [in that
direction] by way of publicity and movies, curriculi of education and
culture, using as their intermediaries their craftsmen who are part of the
various Zionist Organizations which take on all sorts of names and shapes
such as: the Free Masons, Rotary Clubs, gangs of spies and the like. All
of them are nests of saboteurs and sabotage. Those Zionist organizations
control vast material resources, which enable them to fulfill their
mission amidst societies, with a view of implementing Zionist goals and
sowing the concepts that can be of use to the enemy. Those organizations
operate [in a situation] where Islam is absent from the arena and
alienated from its people. Thus, the Muslims must fulfill their duty in
confronting the schemes of those saboteurs. When Islam will retake
possession of [the means to] guide the life [of the Muslims], it will wipe
out those organizations which are the enemy of humanity and Islam.
Article Eighteen
The women in the house and the family of Jihad fighters, whether
they are mothers or sisters, carry out the most important duty of caring
for the home and raising the children upon the moral concepts and values
which derive from Islam; and of educating their sons to observe the
religious injunctions in preparation for the duty of Jihad awaiting them.
Therefore, we must pay attention to the schools and curriculi upon which
Muslim girls are educated, so as to make them righteous mothers, who are
conscious of their duties in the war of liberation. They must be fully
capable of being aware and of grasping the ways to manage their
households. Economy and avoiding waste in household expenditures are
prerequisites to our ability to pursue our cause in the difficult
circumstances surrounding us. Therefore let them remember at all times
that money saved is equivalent to blood, which must be made to run in the
veins in order to ensure the continuity of life of our young and old.
"Lo, men who surrender unto Allah, and women who surrender and
men who believe and women who believe, and men who obey and women
who obey, and men who speak the truth and women who speak the
truth and men who persevere (in righteousness) and women who
persevere and men who are humble and women who are humble, and
men who give alms and women who give alms, and men who fast and
women who fast, and men who guard their modesty and women who
guard [their modesty], and men who remember Allah much and women
who remember that Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a
vast reward." Sura 33 (Al-Ahzab, the Clans), verse 35.
The Role of Islamic Art in the War of Liberation
Article Nineteen
Art has rules and criteria by which one can know whether it is
Islamic or Jahiliyya(47) art. The problems of Islamic liberation underlie
the need for Islamic art which could lift the spirit, and instead of
making one party triumph over the other, would lift up all parties in
harmony and balance.
Man is a strange and miraculous being, made out of a handful of
clay and a breath of soul; Islamic art is to address man on this basis,
while Jahili art addresses the body and makes the element of clay
paramount. So, books, articles, publications, religious exhortations,
epistles, songs, poems, hymns, plays, and the like, if they possess the
characteristics of Islamic art, have the requisites of ideological
mobilization, of a continuous nurturing in the pursuance of the journey,
and of relaxing the soul. The road is long and the suffering is great and
the spirits are weary; it is Islamic art which renews the activity,
revives the movement and arouses lofty concepts and sound planning. The
soul cannot thrive, unless it knows how to contrive, unless it can transit
from one situation to another. All this is a serious matter, no jesting.
For the umma(48) fighting its Jihad knows no jesting.
Social Solidarity
Article Twenty
Islamic society is one of solidarity. The Messenger of Allah, be
Allah's prayer and peace upon him, said:
What a wonderful tribe were the Ash'aris! When they were
overtaxed, either in their location or during their journeys,
they would collect all their possessions and then would divide
them equally among themselves.
This is the Islamic spirit which ought to prevail in any Muslim
society. A society which confronts a vicious, Nazi-like enemy, who does
not differentiate between man and women, elder and young ought to be the
first to adorn itself with this Islamic spirit. Our enemy pursues the
style of collective punishment of usurping(49) people's countries and
properties, of pursuing them into their exiles and places of assembly. It
has resorted to breaking bones, opening fire on women and children and the
old, with or without reason, and to setting up detention camps where
thousands upon thousands are interned in inhuman conditions. In addition,
it destroys houses, renders children orphans and issues oppressive
judgements against thousands of young people who spend the best years of
their youth in the darkness of prisons. The Nazism of the Jews does not
skip women and children, it scares everyone. They make war against
people's livelihood, plunder their moneys and threaten their honour. In
their horrible actions they mistreat people like the most horrendous war
criminals. Exiling people from their country is another way of killing
them. As we face this misconduct, we have no escape from establishing
social solidarity among the people, from confronting the enemy as one
solid body, so that if one organ is hurt the rest of the body will respond
with alertness and fervor.
Article Twenty One
Social solidarity consists of extending help to all the needy,
both materially and morally, or assisting in the execution of certain
actions. It is incumbent upon the members of the Hamas to look after the
interests of the masses the way they would look after their own interests.
They must spare no effort in the implementation and maintenance of those
interests, and they must avoid playing with anything that might effect the
future generations or cause damage to their society. For the masses are of
them and for them, their strength is [ultimately] theirs and their future
is theirs. The members of Hamas must share with the people its joys and
sorrows, and adopt the demands of the people and anything likely to
fulfill its interests and theirs. When this spirit reigns, congeniality
will deepen, cooperation and compassion will prevail, unity will firm up,
and the ranks will be strengthened in the confrontation with the enemy.
The Powers which Support the Enemy
Article Twenty Two
The enemies have been scheming for a long time, and they have
consolidated their schemes, in order to achieve what they they have
achieved. They took advantage of key-elements in unfolding events, and
accumulated a huge and influential material wealth which they put to the
service of implementing their dream. This wealth [permitted them to] take
over control of the world media such as news agencies, the press,
publication houses, broadcasting and the like. [They also used this]
wealth to stir revolutions in various parts of the globe in order to
fulfill their interests and pick the fruits. They stood behind the French
and the Communist Revolutions and behind most of the revolutions we hear
about here and there. They also used the money to establish clandestine
organizations which are spreading around the world, in order to destroy
societies and carry out Zionist interests. Such organizations are: the
Free Masons, Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs, B'nai B'rith and the like. All of
them are destructive spying organizations. They also used the money to
take over control of the Imperialist states and made them colonize many
countries in order to exploit the wealth of those countries and spread
their corruption therein.
As regards local and world wars, it has come to pas s and no one
objects, that they stood behind World War 1, so as to wipe out the Islamic
Caliphate(50). They collected material gains and took control of many
sources of wealth. They obtained the Balfour Declaration(51) and
established the League of Nations in order to rule the world by means of
that organization. They also stood behind World War II, where they
collected immense benefits from trading with war materials, and prepared
for the establishment of their state. They inspired the establishment of
the United Nations and the Security Council to replace the League of
Nations, in order to rule the world by their intermediary. There was no
war that broke out anywhere without their fingerprints on it:
"...As often as they light a fire for war, Allah extinguishes it.
Their efforts is for corruption in the land and Allah loves not
corrupters." Sura V (Al-Ma'ida - the Tablespread), verse 64(52).
The forces of Imperialism in both the Capitalist West and the
Communist East support the enemy with all their might, in material and
human terms, taking turns between themselves. When Islam appears, all the
forces of Unbelief unite to confront it, because the Community of Unbelief
is one.
"Oh ye who believe! Take not for intimates others than your own
folk, who would spare no pain to ruin you. Hatred is revealed by
[the utterance of] their mouth, but that which their breasts hide
is greater. We have made plain for you the revelations if you
will understand...", Sura III, (Al-Imran), verse 118.
It is not in vain that the verse ends with God's saying: 'If you
will understand."
PART IV
Our Position Vis-a-Vis the Islamic Movements
Article Twenty Three
The Hamas views the other Islamic movements with respect and
appreciation. Even when it differs from them in one aspect or another or
on one concept or another, it agrees with them in other aspects and
concepts. It reads those movements as included in the framework of
striving [for the sake of Allah], as long as they hold sound intentions
and abide by their devotion to Allah, and as long as their conduct remains
within the perimeter of the Islamic circle. All the fighters of Jihad have
their reward.
The Hamas regards those movements as its stock holders and asks
Allah for guidance and integrity of conduct for all. It shall not fail to
continue to raise the banner of unity and to exert efforts in order to
implement it, [based] upon the [Holy] Book and the [Prophet's]
Tradition(53).
"And hold fast, all of you together, to the cable of Allah, and
do not separate. And remember Allah's favor unto you how ye were
enemies and He made friendship between your hearts so that ye
became as brothers by His grace; and (how) ye were upon the brink
of an abyss of fire, and He did save you from it. Thus Allah
makes clear His revelations unto you, that happily ye may be
guided." Sura III (Al-'Imran), verse 102(54).
Article Twenty Four
Hamas will not permit the slandering and defamation of
individuals and groups, for the Believers are not slanderers and
cursers(55). However, despite the need to differentiate between that and
the positions and modes of conduct adopted by individuals and groups
whenever the Hamas detects faulty positions and modes of conduct, it has
the right to point to the mistake, to denigrate it, to act for spelling
out the truth and for adopting it realistically in the context of a given
problem. Wisdom is roaming around, and the Believer ought to grasp it
wherever he can find it.
"Allah loves not the utterance of harsh speech save by one who
has been wronged. Allah is ever Hearer, Knower. If you do good
openly or keep it secret, or give evil, lo! Allah is forgiving,
powerful." Sura IV (Women), verses 147-148(56).
The National (wataniyya) Movements in the Palestinian Arena
Article Twenty Five
[Hamas] reciprocates its respect to them, appreciates their
condition and the factors surrounding them and influencing them, and
supports them firmly as long as they do not owe their loyalty to the
Communist East or to the Crusader West. We reiterate to every one who is
part of them or sympathizes with them that the Hamas is a movement of
Jihad, or morality and consciousness in its concept of life. It moves
forward with the others, abhors opportunism, and only wishes well to
individuals and groups. It does not aspire to material gains, or to
personal fame, nor does it solicit remuneration from the people. It sets
out relying on its own material resources, and what is available to it,
[as it is said] 'afford them the power you can avail yourself of." [All
that] in order to carry out its duty, to gain Allah's favor; it has no
ambition other than that.
All the nationalist streams, operating in the Palestinian arena
for the sake of the liberation of Palestine, may rest assured that they
will definitely and resolutely get support and assistance, in speech and
in action, at the present and in the future, [because Hamas aspires] to
unite, not to divide; to safeguard, not to squander; to bring together,
not to fragment. It values every kind word, every devoted effort and every
commendable endeavor. It closes the door before marginal quarrels, it does
not heed rumours and biased statements, and it is aware of the right of
self-defense.
Anything that runs counter or contradicts this orientation is
trumped up by the enemies or by those who run in their orbit in order to
create confusion, to divide our ranks or to divert to marginal things.
"O ye who believe! If an evil-liver bring you tidings(57), verify
it, lest ye smite some folk in ignorance and afterward repent of
what ye did." Sura XLIX (al Hujurat, the Private Apartments),
verse 6.
Article Twenty Six
The Hamas, while it views positively the Palestinian National
Movements which do not owe their loyalty to the East or to the West, does
not refrain from debating unfolding events regarding the Palestinian
problem, on the local and international scenes. These debates are
realistic and expose the extent to which [these developments] go along
with, or contradict, national interests as viewed from the Islamic vantage
point.
The Palestine Liberation Organization
Article Twenty Seven
The PLO is among the closest to the Hamas, for its constitutes a
father, a brother, a relative, a friend. Can a Muslim turn away from his
father, his brother, his relative or his friend? Our homeland is one, our
calamity is one, our destiny is one and our enemy is common to both of us.
Under the influence of the circumstances which surrounded the founding of
the PLO, and the ideological confusion which prevails in the Arab world as
a result of the ideological invasion which has swept the Arab world since
the rout of the Crusades, and which has been reinforced by Orientalism and
the Christian Mission, the PLO has adopted the idea of a Secular State,
and so we think of it. Secular thought is diametrically opposed to
religious thought. Thought is the basis for positions, for modes of
conduct and for resolutions. Therefore, in spite of our appreciation for
the PLO and its possible transformation in the future, and despite the
fact that we do not denigrate its role in the Arab-Israeli conflict, we
cannot substitute it for the Islamic nature of Palestine by adopting
secular thought. For the Islamic nature of Palestine is part of our
religion, and anyone who neglects his religion is bound to lose.
"And who forsakes the religion of Abraham, save him who befools
himself.?" Sura II (Al-Baqra - the Co ), verse 130.
When the PLO adopts Islam as the guideline for life, then we
shall become its soldiers, the fuel of its fire which will bum the
enemies. And until that happens, and we pray to Allah that it will happen
soon, the position of the Hamas towards the PLO is one of a son towards
his father, a brother towards his brother, and a relative towards his
relative who suffers the other's pain when a thorn hits him, who supports
the other in the Confrontation with the enemies and who wishes him divine
guidance and integrity of conduct.
Your brother, your brother! Whoever has no brother, is like a
fighter who runs to the battle without weapons. A cousin for man is like
the best wing, and no falcon can take off without wings.
The Arab and Islamic States and Governments
Article Twenty-Eight
The Zionist invasion is a mischievous one. It does not hesitate
to take any road, or to pursue all despicable and repulsive means to
fulfill its desires. It relies to a great extent, for its meddling and
spying activities, on the clandestine organizations which it has
established, such as the Free Masons, Rotary Clubs, Lions, and other
spying associations. All those secret organizations, some which are overt,
act for the interests of Zionism and under its directions, strive to
demolish societies, to destroy values, to wreck answerableness(58), to
totter virtues and to wipe out Islam. It stands behind the diffusion of
drugs and toxics of all kinds in order to facilitate its control and
expansion.
The Arab states surrounding Israel are required to open their
borders to the Jihad fighters, the sons of the Arab and Islamic peoples,
to enable them to play their role and to join their efforts to those of
their brothers among the Muslim Brothers in Palestine.
The other Arab and Islamic states are required, at the very
least, to facilitate the movement of the Jihad fighters from and to them.
We cannot fail to remind every Muslim that when the Jews occupied Holy
Jerusalem in 1967 and stood at the doorstep of the Blessed Aqsa Mosque,
they shouted with joy:
"Muhammed is dead, he left daughters behind."(59)
Israel, by virtue of its being Jewish and of having a Jewish
population, defies Islam and the Muslims.
"Let the eyes of the cowards not fall asleep."
National and Religious Associations, Institutions, the Intelligentsia,
and the Arab and Islamic Worlds
Article Twenty Nine
Hamas hopes that those Associations will stand by it on all
levels, will support it, adopt its positions, boost its activities and
moves and encourage support for it, so as to render the Islamic peoples
its backers and helpers, and its strategic depth in all human and material
domains as well as in information, in time and space. Among other things,
they hold solidarity meetings, issue explanatory publications, supportive
articles and tendentious leaflets to make the masses aware of the
Palestinian issue, the problems it faces and of the plans to resolve them;
and to mobilize the Islamic peoples ideologically, educationally and
culturally in order to fulfill their role in the crucial war of
liberation, as they had played their role in the defeat of the Crusades
and in the rout of the Tartars and had saved human civilization. How all
that is dear to Allah!
"Allah has decreed: Lo! I verily shall conquer, I and my
messengers. Lo! Allah is strong, Almighty." Sura LVIII
(Al-Mujadilah), verse 21.
Article Thirty
Men of letters, members of the intelligentsia, media people,
preachers, teachers and educators and all different sectors in the Arab
and Islamic world, are all called upon to play their role and to carry out
their duty in view of the wickedness of Zionist invasion, of its
penetration into many countries, and its control over material means and
the media, with all the ramifications thereof in most countries of the
world.
Jihad means not only carrying arms and denigrating the enemies.
Uttering positive words, writing good articles and useful books, and
lending support and assistance, all that too is Jihad in the path of
Allah, as long as intentions are sincere to make Allah's banner supreme.
"Those who prepare for a raid in the path of Allah are considered
as if they participated themselves in the raid. Those who
successfully rear a raider in their home, are considered as if
they participated themselves in the raid" (Told by Bukhari,
Muslim, Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi).
The Members of Other Religions
&nbs
DOES ISLAM PERMIT LYING?
EXCEPTION IN ISLAM - THE EVIDENCE
Bukhari:V7B67N427 “The Prophet said, ‘If I take an oath and later find something else better than that, then I do what is better and expiate my oath.’”
Koran 9:3 “Allah and His Messenger dissolve obligations.”
Koran 66:1 “Allah has already sanctioned for you the dissolution of your vows.”
Bukhari:V4B52N268 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘War is deceit.’”
Koran 4:142 “Surely the hypocrites strive to deceive Allah. He shall retaliate by deceiving them.”
Bukhari:V7B71N661 “Magic was worked on Allah’s Apostle and he was bewitched so that he began to imagine doing things which in fact, he had not done.”
Bukhari:V6B60N8 “Umar said, ‘Our best Koran reciter is Ubai. And in spite of this, we leave out some of his statements because Allah’s Apostle himself said, “Whatever verse or revelation We abrogate or cause to be forgotten We bring a better one.”
Koran 33:11 “In that situation the Believers were sorely tried and shaken as by a tremendous shaking. And behold! The Hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease said: ‘Allah and His Messenger promised us nothing but delusion; they have promised only to deceive us.”
Koran 33:14 “Say: Flight will not avail you if you flee from death, killing, or slaughter. In that case you will not be allowed to enjoy yourselves but a little while. Say, ‘Who will screen you, saving you from Allah if he intends to harm and injure you?’”
Koran 33:21 “You have in (Muhammad) the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern of conduct for any one to follow.”
Koran 74:31 “We have appointed nineteen angels to be the wardens of the Hell Fire. We made a stumbling-block for those who disbelieve and We have fixed their number as a trial for unbelievers in order that the people of the Book may arrive with certainty, and that no doubts may be left for the people of the Book, those in whose hearts is a disease. And for those to whom the Scripture Book has been given, and the believers, there should be no doubt. The unbelievers may say, ‘What does the Lord intend by this?’ The Lord will lead astray whomever He pleases, and He will guide whomever He pleases: and none can know the armies of your Lord except He, and this is no other than a warning to mankind.”
Koran 74:52 “Each one of them wants to be given scrolls of revelation spread out! No! By no means! Nay, this is an admonishment. Let them keep it in remembrance! But they will not heed unless the Lord wants them to. He is the fountain of fear.”
Bukhari:V2B24N555 “I heard the Prophet say, ‘Allah hates for you for asking too many questions.’”
Koran 89:5 “There surely is an oath for thinking man.”
Koran 92:8 “We will make smooth for him the path to misery.”
Ishaq:519 “Hajjaj said to the Apostle, ‘I have money scattered among the Meccan merchants, so give me permission to go and get it.’ Having got Muhammad’s permission, he said, ‘I must tell lies.’ The Apostle said, ‘Tell them.’”
Koran 8:58 “If you apprehend treachery from a people with whom you have a treaty, retaliate by breaking off relations with them.”
Koran 47:24 “Do they not understand the Koran? Nay, on the hearts there are locks preventing them from understanding.”
Ishaq:548 “By Allah, the black mass has spread. Abu Bakr said, ‘There is not much honesty among people nowadays.’”
Koran 5:41 “Whomever Allah wants to deceive you cannot help. Allah does not want them to know the truth because he intends to disgrace them and then torture them.”
Koran 5:101 “Believers! Do not ask questions about things which if made plain and declared to you, may vex you, causing you trouble.” Koran
5:102 “Some people before you did ask such questions, and on that account they lost their faith and became disbelievers.”
Ishaq:567 “Muhammad informed Umar [the second Caliph], and he called the Prophet a liar.”
Tabari IX:36/Ishaq:596 “‘Prophet, this group of Ansar have a grudge against you for what you did with the booty and how you divided it among you own people.’ ‘Ansar, what is this talk I hear from you? What is the grudge you harbor against me? Do you think ill of me? Did I not come to you when you were erring and needy, and then made rich by Allah?’ ‘You came to us discredited, when your message was rejected by the Quraysh, and we believed you. You were forsaken and deserted and we assisted you. You were a fugitive and we took you in, sheltering you. You were poor and in need, and we comforted you.”
Bukhari:V6B60N662 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘Some eloquent speech is as effective as magic.’”
Tabari VI:110 “When Muhammad brought a revelation from Allah canceling what Satan had cast on the tongue of His Prophet, the Quraysh said, ‘Muhammad has repented of [reneged on] what he said concerning the position of our gods with Allah. He has altered [the bargain] and brought something else.’ Those two phrases which Satan had cast on Muhammad’s tongue of were in the mouth of every polytheist. The Messenger said, ‘I have fabricated things against Allah and have imputed to Him words which He has not spoken.’”
Koran 40:32 “O my People! I fear a Day when there will be mutual wailing. No one shall defend you against Allah. Any whom Allah causes to err, there is no guide. That is how Allah leads the skeptic astray.”
Ishaq:248 “Allah has sealed their hearts and their hearing, blinding them so that they will never find guidance. And that is because they have declared you a liar and they do not believe in what has come down from their Lord to you even though they believe in all that came down before you. For opposing you they will have an awful punishment.”
Koran 2:6 “As for the disbelievers, it is the same whether you warn them or not; they will not believe. Allah has set a seal upon their hearts, upon their hearing, and a covering over their eyes. There is a great torment for them.”
Koran 2:9 “They deceive Allah and those who believe, but they only deceive themselves, and realize (it) not! In their hearts is a disease; and Allah has increased their disease. Grievous is the painful doom they (incur) because they (lie).”
Koran 8:18 “This and surely; Allah weakens the deceitful plots of unbelieving infidels.”
Koran 8:30 “Remember how the unbelievers plotted against you (Muhammad). They plotted, and Allah too had arranged a plot; but Allah is the best schemer.” Ishaq:323 “I am the best of plotters. I deceived them with My guile so that I delivered you from them.”
Koran 8:49 “When the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease said: ‘The religion has deceived and misled them.’”
Koran 8:71 “If they try to deceive you, remember they have deceived Allah before.”
Tabari VII:85/Ishaq:363 “The Jews of the Qaynuqa replied, ‘Muhammad, do you think that we are like your people? Do not be deluded by the fact that you met a people with no knowledge and you made good use of your opportunity.’”
Ishaq:365/Tabari VII:94 “Muhammad bin Maslamah said, ‘O Messenger, we shall have to tell lies.’ ‘Say what you like,’ Muhammad replied. ‘You are absolved, free to say whatever you must.’”
Bukhari:V5B59N369 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘Who is willing to kill Ka’b bin Ashraf who has hurt Allah and His Apostle?’ Thereupon Muhammad bin Maslamah got up saying, ‘O Allah’s Apostle! Would you like me to kill him?’ The Prophet said, ‘Yes,’ Maslamah said, ‘Then allow me to say false things in order to deceive him.’ The Prophet said, ‘You may say such things.’”
Koran 61:5 “Moses said: ‘O my people, why do you annoy and insult me, when you well know I am Allah’s Messenger?’ Then when they turned away, Allah caused them to be deceived.”
Bukhari:V4B52N233 “Allah’s Apostle forbade the people to travel to a hostile country carrying copies of the Koran. [He said:] Unbelievers will never understand our signs and revelations.”
Ishaq:248 “Allah increases their sickness. A tormented doom awaits the Jews. Allah said, ‘They are mischief makers. They are fools. The Jews deny the truth and contradict what the Apostle has brought. I will mock them and let them continue to wander blindly.’”
Bukhari:V4B52N147 “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘A man may seem as if he were practicing the deeds of Paradise while in fact he is from the people of Hell.’”
Koran 13:27 “Say, ‘God leads whosoever He wills astray.’”
Ishaq:383 “One of the young men’s fathers confronted Muhammad and said, ‘You have robbed my son of his life by your deception and brought great sorrow to me.’”
Koran 3:24 “They have been deceived by the lies they have themselves fabricated; their religion has deceived them.”
Ishaq:397 “Then Allah said, ‘It is not for any prophet to deceive.”
Ishaq:442 “By Muhammad’s order we beguiled them.”
Tabari VIII:23 “The Messenger and his Companions continued in the fear and distress that Allah has described in the Koran. Then Nu’aym came to the Prophet. ‘I ‘ve become a Muslim, but my tribe does not know of my Islam; so command me whatever you will.’ Muhammad said, ‘Make them abandon each other if you can so that they will leave us; for war is deception.’”
Ishaq:496 “‘By Allah you lie,’ one said to another. ‘Liar yourself!’ ‘You are a disaffected person arguing on behalf of the diseased.”
Bukhari:V4B53N408 “When the Prophet wanted to perform the Umrah, the Quraysh stipulated that he could not preach (Islam). So Ali started writing a treaty. ‘This is what Muhammad, Apostle of Allah, has agreed to.’ The (Meccans) said, ‘If we believed that you were the Apostle of Allah we would have followed you. So write, ‘This is what Muhammad bin Abdallah has agreed to.’ The Apostle could not write, so he asked Ali to erase the expression: ‘Apostle of Allah.’ On that Ali said, ‘I will never erase it.’ Muhammad said, ‘Let me see the paper.’ The Prophet
erased the expression with his own hand.”
NTERNATIONAL LAW AND GAZA
Understanding Gaza Under International Law
by Louis Rene Beres, www.IsraelNationalNews.com
There is more here than meets the eye.
It is easy to feel sorry for the Palestinians in Gaza. Televised and print images of their apparently unrelieved misery suggest Israeli cruelty in the creation of shortages and in the use of armed force. Exactly the opposite is true. The moment that flagrantly illegal Hamas rocket attacks upon Israeli noncombatants cease, no harms of any kind will be imposed by Israel.
What government could be expected to sit back passively and render its population vulnerable to instantaneous mass slaughter?
kind will be imposed by Israel.
Hamas commits other egregious violations of international law. It is always a codified war crime to use civilians as "human shields." This cowardly act even has a precise legal name - "perfidy." By persistently placing their most impoverished women and children in harm's way - especially in those areas from which they launch terrorist rockets into Israel - Palestinian terrorist leaders deliberately create Palestinian casualties.
There is more here than meets the eye. Several Palestinian terror groups, including Hamas, are forging conceptual and tactical bonds with al-Qaeda. These criminal organizations are now actively planning for mega-terror operations against Israel. If they cannot be stopped - perhaps because of continued one-sided and selective coverage of Palestinian suffering in Gaza - such attacks would involve (at a minimum) chemical or biological weapons of mass destruction. Over time, especially if Iran should begin to transfer portions of its growing inventory of nuclear materials to selected terror groups, Israel could also face Palestinian-directed nuclear terrorism.
What government could be expected to sit back passively and render its population vulnerable to instantaneous mass slaughter? Would we, in the United States, sit quietly by as rockets rained down upon American cities from terrorist sanctuaries somewhere on our southern borders? Would we allow such carnage to continue with impunity? Can capitulation and surrender ever be the proper or excusable reaction of a sovereign state sworn to protect its population? For as long as political philosophers have written about the essential obligations of sovereignty, no state responsibility has been as important as the fundamental assurance of protection.
Although not widely recognized, Israel has always been willing to keep its counter-terrorism operations in Gaza consistent with the settled standards of humanitarian international law. Palestinian violence, on the other hand, still remains in violation of all civilized rules of engagement. And all this after Israel very painfully "disengaged" from Gaza on the US-backed promise that the Palestinians - finally - would put an end to their relentless barrage of terror. Significantly, this barrage also remains strategically senseless, as it does absolutely nothing to advance any vital Palestinian interests.
International law is not a suicide pact. Rather, it offers an authoritative body of rules and procedures that permits states to express their inherent right of self-defense. When terrorist organizations celebrate the explosive "martyrdom" of Palestinian children, and when Palestinian leaders unashamedly seek religious redemption through the mass-murder of Jewish children, the terrorists have no legal right to demand sanctuary. Anywhere.
Under international law, terrorists are always hostes humani generis, "common enemies of humankind." Even Terrorists have no legal right to demand sanctuary. Anywhere. According to the most ancient sources of international law, such murderers must be severely punished wherever they are found. For their arrest and prosecution, jurisdiction is "universal."
Palestinian terrorism, even during a "slow" period (when contending Hamas and Fatah factions are too busy attacking each other), is far worse than most people ever imagine. Using bombs filled with nails, razor blades and screws dipped in rat poison; the killers maim and burn Israeli civilians, with abundant cheers from their neighbors and with warmest blessings from local clergy. As for those "commanders" who actually direct and control the suicide bombers, they typically cower for protection in assorted hiding places. At times, they issue loud calls for their wives, mothers and daughters to stand between themselves and the Israelis.
This is the documented "heroism" of Palestinian terrorism. What is unknown to most observers is that carefully trained IDF counter-terrorism units operate in exactly the opposite fashion. These Israeli soldiers always identify and target only the terrorist leaders. Always, they seek to minimize collateral harms. There are times, of course, when such harms simply can't be avoided. Even the IDF, which follows its code of "Purity of Arms" far more stringently than any other nation's army, including our own, cannot undo the deliberate barbarism of Palestinian perfidy.
Deception can be legally acceptable in armed conflict, but The Hague Regulations forbid placement of military assets or personnel in heavily populated civilian areas. Further prohibition of perfidy is found at Protocol I of 1977, additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. It is widely recognized that these rules are also binding on the basis of customary international law. Perfidy represents an especially serious violation of the Law of War, one identified as a "grave breach" at Article 147 of Geneva Convention IV. The critical legal effect of perfidy committed by Palestinian terrorist leaders is to immunize Israel from any responsibility for inadvertent counter-terrorist harms done to Arab civilians. Even if Hamas and Fatah and Islamic Jihad and their several sister terror groups did not deliberately engage in perfidy, any Palestinian-created link between civilians and terrorist activities would always give Israel full legal justification for defensive military action.
All combatants, including Palestinian terrorists, are bound by the Law of War of international law. This requirement is found at Article 3, common to the four Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949, and at the two protocols to these Conventions. Protocol I applies humanitarian international law to all conflicts fought for "self-determination," the stated objective of all Palestinian fighters. A product of the Diplomatic Conference on the Reaffirmation and Development of International Humanitarian Law Applicable in Armed Conflicts (1977), this Protocol brings all irregular forces within the full scope of international law. In this connection, the terms "fighter" and "irregular" are charitable in describing Palestinian terrorists. These fanatics are plainly criminals who intentionally target civilians, and whose characteristic mode of "battle" is not purposeful military engagement, but primal religious sacrifice.
In the final analysis, Israel faces a Palestinian terrorist enemy who embraces violence not for land, and not for national self-determination, but for God. For this determined jihadist enemy, terrorism is now a plainly sacred expression of worship. Israel, like every other state, has the indisputable right and obligation under international law to protect its citizens from such an enemy.
International law is not a suicide pact.
WHERE DID ISLAMIST JEW HATRED COME FROM?
Where did Islamist “Jew Hatred” Come From?
By Laina Farhat-Holzman
Register Pajaronian
February 28, 2008
It is very awkward to refer to the virulent hatred of Jews in the Arab Muslim world as “anti-Semitism” since the Arabs are Semites too. But it is even more jarring to refer to it as “Jew Hatred,” even though it is. A number of books have been published since the 9/11 attack about the long-range plans of Islamists such as Al-Qaeda to recover their “Golden Age” as a dominant culture in the world, a position that they lost centuries ago. A great deal of fantasy is rooted in this campaign, and a glue that holds it all together is the notion that Jews, two-fifths of one percent of the world’s population, have been somehow responsible for their culture’s decline.
An enormous influx of village Muslims has poured into Europe, primarily because of the economic failure of their home countries. The first generation came to work; but their children and sometimes grandchildren face parental neglect and European society’s welfare indulgence, leaving them prey to Islamist recruiters. Most of the authors addressing this alarming issue have been Jewish—primarily because they think they hear the hoof beats of another holocaust coming. They observe with horror the rising tide of violence against Jews from Muslim youth and verbal anti-Semitism from European educated elites. (See the work of Michelle Phillips, Claire Berlinski, Mark Steyn, and Bernard Lewis for a start.)
But a new book has come out with a different pedigree: Jihad and Jew-Hatred, Islamism, Nazism and the Roots of 9/11, by Matthias Kuntzel. Kuntzel is not only German, but descends from a family in which his grandfather and father benefited from their Nazi status as “pure Aryans.” And he considers himself a Progressive from the left. For him to address this issue, which goes contrary to the intellectual elite trends in Europe, has cost him a large number of leftist friends, but he refuses to buy into their popular notion of Arab victimization.
He is a distinguished political scientist who has been widely published (The New Republic, the Wall Street Journal, Intrnationale Politik) and is a member of the Board of Directors of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East since 2006.
When he was invited to present a paper at the University of Leeds in England: “Hitler’s Legacy: Islamic Anti-Semitism in the Middle East,” the lecture was cancelled at the last minute due to “security concerns.” The Islamist and radical student “rent-a—mobs” were obviously the security concern. He was later reinvited and welcomed by a large audience.
In Jihad & Jew Hatred, Kuntzel traces Islamism and Nazism to the same roots; the French Revolution, and all resulting Fascists (and Communists) require a straw man enemy. Jews and the bourgeoisie fit the bill. Furthermore, all such fascist groups have replaced “I think, therefore I am” with “I feel, therefore I am.” Feelings are essential for revving up mob violence and the warm feelings of group solidarity, a key element of fascist intimidation. All such groups rely on conspiracism, and the most prevailing conspiracy fantasy derives from the notorious fraud, the Russian Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a book discredited in 1921, but published, disseminated and believed among Muslim Arabs today.
Strangely enough, in 1917, a segment of Egyptian educated society liked the idea of creating a Jewish state because it would help economic development and bring the Middle East closer to Europe. However, the cultural vacuum that faced Arabs after World War I, where they no longer had their old values but could not perform well with the new, gave rise to underground radical movements, the ancestors of today’s Al-Qaeda and Militant Islamism. The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, an organization formed in 1928, was the ancestor of all such movements, and although they hated Marxism, they shared many of its ideas. They were both internationalist in scope, anti-Capitalist, pro labor movements (power to The People), and totalitarian in promoting a single political theory (in their case, Islamic Sharia law). They were also, as were other fascists, puritanical and patriarchal. And later, they shared with Japanese fascism an ugly death cult—a cult of martyrdom.
The book spells out the influence and collaboration between Nazi Germany and the Arab world—particularly in the growing Palestinian community, from 1936-to 1945. After the Nazis lost World War II, many of the worst of them fled to sanctuary, not only to Argentina, but to Egypt, Syria, and Iraq, where their influence can readily be seen.
Kuntzel concludes that Nazism and Islamism were contemporary, shared a racial theory, and shared an entire conspiratorial Nazi philosophy with murderous consequences. He believes that being deceived by notions of Muslim victimization can do real harm to the future of the west.
Dr. Matthias Kuntzel will be speaking at the Stevenson Event Center, UC Santa Cruz, on Monday, March 10, at 7:30 pm. For directions and information, contact 831-459-4727.
Dr. Laina Farhat-Holzman is a historian, lecturer, and author. You may contact her at Lfarhat102@aol.com or www.globalthink.net.
HAMAS TAKES OVER EGYPTIAN SEAPORT
01/25/2008
Hamas Takes Over Egyptian Sea Port
By: David Bedein - 1/25/08 , The Philadelphia Bulletin
Jerusalem - It is hard to think of a precedent in the history of warfare when an army used hordes of civilians as a cover for the conquest of a seaport.
Indeed, what most observers of the Middle East have missed is that the Hamas army has conquered and taken control of the Egyptian sea port of Rafah in a matter of days, under the cover of tens of thousands of men, women and children flooding Egypt under the pretext of a "humanitarian crisis" in Gaza.
As thousands of Gazan families spilled over into Egypt, the Hamas military seized Egypt's strategic deep water port of Rafah on the Gaza Mediterranean coast, using an American arsenal of light weaponry that was seized from the Fatah Palestinian Authority security services last June.
To complement that startling feat, the Hamas forces may pull off the same conquest of the El Arish deep water port on Egypt's Mediterranean coast within a matter of days.
How did all this come about?
Before dawn on Wednesday, armed Palestinians blew up the wall between Gazan Rafah and Egyptian Rafah at the southern tip of the Gaza Strip.
As if on signal, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians thronged across the border into Egypt in hope of fleeing the economic siege that Israel has imposed on the Gaza Strip. The Egyptians failed to stem the tide and were forced to open the border.
Israeli security officials were not surprised by the development, saying it had only been a matter of time. "By virtue of the very fact of allowing Palestinians entry into Egypt, the Egyptian authorities cut the ribbon on the decision to sever Gaza from Israel," said a security official on Wednesday. "Now the Egyptians need to shoulder responsibility for the Gaza Strip in terms of humanitarian aid. The Hamas government will be forced to rely on Egyptian infrastructure to supply food and fuel to the citizens. They can't claim that Israel is holding them under siege."
Sources in the Israeli security establishment believe that 100,000 Palestinians crossed the border into Egypt, including terror cells who will now try to return to Gaza and penetrate Israel via its long border with Egypt in the Negev.
Egypt Was Tipped Off Before Hamas Blew Up The Wall
A few hours before the steel wall along the border with Egypt was blown up Thursday, a Palestinian security official placed a phone call to his Egyptian counterparts. He provided them - for the second time within a week - with a tip about Hamas' decision to blow up the wall. Hamas activists had prepared for the explosion for months, using a special chemical mixture that they concocted to melt the steel, reported the Times of London.
The intelligence warning the Egyptians were given was relayed while Hamas activists were busy laying the bombs. The Egyptian intelligence officials thanked the Palestinian officer and promised him that they would prepare accordingly, sources say.
One of the Palestinian border guards, Lt. Abu-Osama from the Palestinian National Security Service, said that the wall collapsed within a moment, after it was bombed in 17 different locations. "I saw them preparing for the moment of the explosion for months," said Lt. Abu-Osama. "It happened in the course of the day but it was concealed so that no one would see." When he was asked why he didn't report that, Lt. Abu-Osama replied: "It was the government that did that. Who was I going to report it to?"
Media Victory For Hamas
Zvi Mazel, who was Israel's ambassador to Egypt, said, "Hamas has scored a victory under the auspices of the media. The breaching of the siege was planned and executed like a military operation, while making optimal use of the media."
Mr. Mazel went on to say Hamas took care to distribute "candle pictures" from Gaza: ranging from children bearing candles in the Gazan darkness to a cabinet meeting held by candlelight. Afterward, Mr. Mazel commented, "Hamas dispatched its women's organization to break through the Rafah crossing and documented the Egyptian security forces opening fire .... Mubarak had no choice but to go on television and announce that he had ordered the crossing to be opened to the hungry residents of Gaza - a media victory for Hamas."
David Bedein can be reached at Media@actcom.co.il. His Web site is www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com
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http://www.thebulletin.us:80/site/news.asp?brd=2737&pag=460&dept_id=585832
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