hamas to the izzo

in december 2003 (over 2 years ago), I wrote a paper about the multifaceted allure of hamas for a class, ‘islam and politics in the modern world.’ the following is my conclusion:

“The Structural Power of Hamas and its Implications

Because militant Islamist groups develop due to the weakness of the ruling government, there isn’t a force strong enough to subjugate them when they reach an extremely powerful position, such as Hamas has. But as of the mid 1990s “the PNA had not yet forwarded any sort of program for national reconstruction and development”¹ and since then it does not appear that they have made any significant progress. The void left by the Palestinian National Authority’s lack of action is almost inevitably going to be filled by Hamas or other radical groups. However, Hamas cannot be written off as a purely radical terrorist organization because “radical Islamist groups tend not to have a clear program of what they want to achieve.”² Hamas has clearly stated what it wants; a Palestinian state in all the waqf lands of Palestine, which are inherently Islamic property and cannot be surrendered, and therefore, this necessitates the destruction of Israel. Additionally, Hamas has proven that it can provide education and other services necessary to run a state, which strengthens its agenda even more. It is the fact that Hamas adeptly combines extremist actions with more moderate tendencies that make it such a dangerous organization. While “radical Islamists pose a security threat to the state,” a potentially larger menace comes from “moderate Islamists, who have begun to negotiate a space for themselves in the political process, pose the threat of an eventual transfer of power, of major change in the established order.”³ Hamas encompasses both of these dangers as it simultaneously acts out in violent terrorism against Israel and at the same time destabilizes the already fragile Palestinian Authority. To counter the strength of Hamas, a powerful government must be in place that can finance institutions and education, provide services, such as healthcare and offer a hopeful outlook for the future of the Palestinian people.”

hamas has now accomplished (pretty much peacefully and democratically) the transfer of power in the PA. no one else appeared as an alternative so hamas became the powerful government. now, the world is split on whether to forgive them for their terrorist history in hopes of finding a partner for peace or to cut them off from aid and international politics if they refuse to change their charter and practices.

i don’t know whats going to happen, i don’t think anyone knows. i do know that change is long overdue (on both the israeli and palestinian sides) and I can only hope that this development jump starts something. and I hope that the something is not more violence, a retaliatory right-wing israeli government after the march elections and/or an increasingly hopeless outlook for the future of the palestinian people.

¹ Connell, Dan. “Palestine on the Edge: Crisis in the National Movement.” Middle East Report, No.194/195, Odds against Peace (May-Aug., 1995): 6-9.

² Ghadbian, Najib. Democratization and the Islamist Challenge in the Arab World. Colorado: Westview Press, 1997.

³ Ghadbian, Najib.