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"Hamas and the rebirth of illusion"
IMRA ^ | 5-29-05

Posted on 05/29/2005 5:26:59 PM PDT by SJackson

"Hamas and the rebirth of illusion"
By Jonathan Spyer Haaretz 27 May 2005
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/581101.html

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "There have been reports of an imminent major shift in British policy, toward open engagement with Palestinian Islamism. In the U.S., too, a growing number of veteran advocates of a similar position are using the space provided by reports of the "Arab Spring" to advance their views. The argument now made is, well, if elections are the answer, and Islamists win elections, then Islamists must be welcomed as partners. Thus, Mark Perry, of the Washington-based Alliance for Security, describes Hamas as one of a number of movements that have made the "historic choice" to "build their societies on values we hold dear - of justice and peace, of accountability and transparency."

The trouble with this line of reasoning is that those using it are asking us to ignore the actual, openly proclaimed aims and practices of Hamas. This is a movement whose founding charter contains in its opening paragraph the following declaration: "Israel will rise and will remain until Islam eliminates it as it had eliminated its predecessors." This is followed, in article seven, with the exhortation that "the time will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews (and kill them); until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!"

The charter goes on to advocate the creation of an Islamic state, aiming "to raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine." And declaring its ultimate goal as "Islam, the Prophet its model, the Koran its constitution."

The actions of the movement in support of its goals are well known. They include an ongoing commitment to the practice of terror that brought chaos to Israel's urban centers in the darkest days of the last five years. The list is long, and respect for the dead enjoins us occasionally to remind ourselves of it: The Park Hotel, Mike's Place, the Dolphinarium, Sbarro and Moment are but a few of the names to be remembered.

But Hamas, with its commitment to the imposition of "Islam as a way of life," is oppressive also to its own people. The movement has a long history of using violence to impose Islamic norms in areas where it holds sway. In particular, efforts to ensure the continued subjugation of women have characterized its activities. The recent murder of 20-year-old Yusra Azzami in Gaza by movement members is in line with this side of its activities. Azzami had been seen in the company of a young man (her fiance, it later became clear, which prompted a curious and half-hearted apology for her killing from Hamas spokesmen in the Strip)."