Chapter Two

Growth of the Movement

Domestic Determinants

To say that the occupation has been largely responsible for the development of any phenomenon in Palestinian society has become a cliche. This belief has some merits, however, as far as the evolution of Islamic movements in the society are concerned, particularly the formation of Hamas at the critical juncture in Palestinian history that was the Intifada. The Muslim Brothers, as much as nationalist groups, tried to manipulate the consequences of the Arab defeat in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war to their advantage in Palestinian society but the secularists undoubtedly enjoyed greater success in the first few years after occupation in 1967 than did the Islamists. That success seemed to have been short-lived, however, for while the secularists were publicly mobilizing Palestinian masses against the occupation in the 1970s, the religious groups, particularly the Brothers, were setting the necessary groundwork for their programs and activities for the 1980s. In the words of a widely respected religious notable and Palestinian national activist:

Since 1967 the Muslim Brotherhood movement had been leaning toward peaceful means and methods and their activities concentrated on the issuance of publications, educational meetings and the celebration of religious occasions. Their situation remained as such until the year 1967. Between 1967 and 1987, some discussion and debates took place between the Muslim brotherhood group and other resistance groups regarding resistance activities and concrete acts against the occupation. The response of the Muslim Brotherhood youth was that the time had not yet arrived for that. Concentration, therefore, was on the socialization of the youth in religious Islamic terms and in moral and educational terms. [20]

The Islamists therefore, worked quietly on organizing their ranks at university campuses and in other institutions where, during the 1970s, they established the solid foundations needed to penetrate Palestinian society. While the widespread popularity the secularists achieved in the 1970s did not help the Islamist cause, in the 1980s the trend gradually started to reverse. The tremendous decline in the PLO standing following the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 was accompanied by a gradual waning of the strength of secularist groups in the Occupied Territories. The increasing repression by Israeli authorities throughout the period preceding the intifada only helped weaken the secularists, in effect making it more possible for the religious groups to organize and further enhance their ability to spread their teachings. The worsening economic conditions in Palestinian society during that period also made the work of the religious groups easier. More people started turning to religion as a means of personal security. [21]

Even more instrumental in the formation of Hamas and the consolidation of its position in Palestinian society was the fact that the Israeli occupation in its attempt at the beginning of the Palestinian uprising to weaken the resolve of the secularist movement, had remained relatively quiet as far as the activities of Hamas were concerned. The occupation authorities acted on the premise that allowing Hamas to grow might lead to internalizing the conflict within Palestinian society, hence their relaxed attitude towards Hamas's role.

Indeed, Israeli strategy to weaken the secular forces by remaining somewhat silent on Hamas's activities bore fruit. Over the years, PLO institutions got weaker and weaker as did other secular forces in the Occupied Territories. The weaker the secularists got the stronger the Islamic movements, especially Hamas, became. Constant shifts in PLO positions also enabled Islamic movements to grow by capitalizing on what they called the `unprincipled representative of the Palestinian people'. Ironically, through its attempts at times to weaken the leftists on university campuses and in other unions, the mainstream movement in the PLO, Fatah, often entered into coalitions with the Islamists. This type of politicking, however, only assisted in the growth of such movements.

Any analysis of the domestic determinants shouldn't neglect the fact that the cultural orientation of Palestinian society in Islamic teachings provided the Islamists with a fertile ground from which to operate. The fact that most Palestinians are born Muslims made it easier for the Islamists, and henceforth, for Hamas to cultivate the benefits of such a social environment. Of course, cultural upbringing has its impact on the educational system of any society and in this regard, Islamic teachings become an integral part in the socialization process of many Palestinians.

The continuation of the intifada and the participation of a vast number of Palestinians in its activities helped resolve some disagreements within the Muslim Brotherhood. Hamas's involvement in the Uprising provided it with a successful way out of the isolation in Palestinian society which had afflicted the Brotherhood in earlier years. When asked about the link between the intifada and Hamas, Jamil Hamameh replied:

After the intifada proliferated and had completed a great part of its journey and made a great many sacrifices and after Hamas had contributed to these sacrifices all were convinced that Hamas was an authentic and original movement. I say with tremendous pride and with all due respect to all political trends who participated in the intifada that I am utterly convinced that the Hamas movement was the new blood which gave magnitude to the intifada. Hamas was the dynamism for the activation of the intifada with Allah's help. [22]

When asked whether the Hamas movement had been formed before the beginning of the intifada and had been preparing for it or whether they were simply simultaneous developments, he replied:

The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has had a program of preparation and guidance. The Muslim Brotherhood movement in Palestine is part of the international Islamic movement. It has many interests but its central preoccupation in Palestine is the Palestinian problem. The sons of the Islamic movement were undergoing a process of socialization and preparation and being brought up for the moment when they would have to exercise their legitimate rights over the soil of Palestine in resisting and ridding it of the occupier. We are not afraid to say that in spite of arrest and imprisonment we will not be deterred from resisting the occupation as much as our means permit. As I told you from the beginning, the Hamas movement was not an accidental event, not a marginal occurrence, not the result of a mere hour of work, spur of the moment result of a whim. It is an extension of roots buried deep in the belly of the earth and was always undergoing its preparation in universities, mosques, unions...all of this was the infrastructure of the Islamic resistance movement. [23]

As can be seen from the above the already existing structure of the Brotherhood organization was a tremendous asset to Hamas. Instead of expending much effort and considerable time on organizational matters, they found in the Brotherhood a convenient base, a benefit not enjoyed by other movements. In the same interview, in answer to a question about the particular determinants which assisted in the birth of Hamas, Hamameh said the following:

As I said, the Islamic Resistance Movement came naturally and a variety of factors helped facilitate this. These objective factors served as a preparation for the intifada. There are also factors accompanying the intifada - suppression practised by the occupation authorities, injustice and oppression and loss of hope and despair as far as the political solutions that were proposed were concerned. The beginning of the weakness of the PLO and the surrender and betrayal made by the leading forces within the PLO and their departure from Beirut - all of this caused profound frustration for the people in the Occupied Territories. There was a phase for preparation, for guidance and socialization of the sons of the Islamic movement and when the right time arrived there was the Islamic Resistance Movement [Hamas] with its magnitude and strength, its existence in the arena, the evolution of its activities and its sound perspective all of which, I believe, were behind its formation. [24]

That the occupying power tolerated Hamas's activities until about May 1989 for the reasons discussed earlier, only made it easier for the new movement to solidify its standing both functionally and organizationally. It was in May of 1989 that the Israeli authorities began to arrest top leaders in Hamas such as Sheikh Ahmad Yassin and it was only in September of the same year that they declared the movement to be illegal.

In the first two years of the intifada, in particular, Hamas also worked diligently on building its financial standing in the occupied territories from mosques and other religious and social institutions. In addition, they made good use of the weak organizational structure of the secularist movements, particularly Fateh, by offering their newly-joined members concrete incentives, financially and spiritually. The prevalent traditionalism and poverty, especially in the Gaza Strip, made it easier for Hamas to rally a sizeable number of Palestinians around its program. Those who were previously uninvolved began to see in Hamas an outlet for expressing their religious-political views. [25]

There are, however, particular determinants behind the popularization of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Firstly, Gazans generally tend to be more conservative and traditionalistic in their outlook on life. Secondly, socio-economic hardship tends to be greater in the Gaza Strip than in other Palestinian locations. Muslim activists confirm that the defeat in 1967 brought the movement to life and indeed from then until the present day the number of mosques has doubled. Among the world's most densely populated areas, Gaza is basically a city surrounded on all sides by sprawling refugee camps. 40% of the land area of the Gaza Strip has been seized by Israel and the unemployment rate, which has always been high, has increased even further since March 1993 when Israel effectively sealed off the Strip and in doing so, the livelihood of many Palestinians working as laborers in Israel.

Thirdly, Gaza is closer geographically to Egypt than any other Palestinian region and the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt assigned a special status to Gaza as far as their activities were concerned, due to this geographic proximity. In the 1950s the Brotherhood made their presence in Gaza noticeable. After 1967, they used the defeat of the Arab nation in their attempt to transform Palestinian society, beginning with Gaza. Following the Iranian revolution, the Brotherhood made headway in Gaza through organizing and preaching and founded the Gaza branch of al-Azhar, the only functioning university in Gaza, as their base of operations. In the 1980s Muslim Brothers clashed with secularist groups, particularly leftists, on more than one occasion. The resulting violent and tense atmosphere helped the Brotherhood assert itself. In 1985, following the release of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, supporters were mobilized around his cause through the largest Islamic organization in Gaza, al-Mujamma, with a membership of over 2,000. Yassin publicly called for transforming the society to make it more in line with Islamic teachings. Before the intifada, the focus had been on reforming Palestinian society from within, in effect, by marginalizing secularist activities and presence. [26]

Also of particular relevance to the Gaza Strip was the noticeable increase in resistance activities by the Islamic Jihad movement in the late 1970s. Such activities, while directed at Israeli occupation forces, sent worrisome signals among Hamas's ranks when it was later formed. Those individuals who originally belonged to the Muslim Brotherhood felt that Islamic Jihad was pulling the rug from under their feet, since a group's popularity in Palestinian society, particularly then, was principally determined by the size and volume of resistance activities against the occupation.

When the intifada started, the Islamic Jihad movement were the first muntafideen [uprisers] in practical terms along with the Fateh movement. The Islamic Jihad movement contained few individuals but their work was strong, violent [powerful] and effective against the Israeli occupation. The Islamic Jihad was a part of the Muslim Brotherhood which split from the movement in Egypt and in Gaza. They had several reservations and criticisms of the Brotherhood leadership and their methods, thus they pursued a different path. Therefore, when the youth of the Muslim Brotherhood saw the Islamic Jihad movement performing this effective role they woke up and reacted by forming a new organization and called themselves the Islamic Resistance movement, Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya, the acronym of which is Hamas. [27]

 So the increased activities of Islamic Jihad most certainly made Muslim Brotherhood activists feel that they had to do something about the situation; the founding of Hamas was an effective way to achieve this objective. It is certainly no surprise that the movement was formed and launched in the Gaza Strip and it is indeed unlikely that any other location would have contributed even half as much to its success. However, when asked about the actual launch of the movement Jamil Hamameh would give no more than the following guarded comment:

The movement emerged in the Gaza Strip and was founded by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, may Allah protect him and undo his troubles. The emergence and establishment of the movement was a sudden event, unexpected by anyone, therefore it caused shock and disbelief. I do not have the exact details of the formation in specific terms but know it was launched in Gaza and then moved to the West Bank where I had the honor to be selected to bridge the gap between Hamas and Fateh through the leaflets. Among the founders known are Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Ibrahim al-Yazuri, Abdul Aziz Ali Rantisi - this is all the information I have. [28]

Since this launch the popularity of the movement has obviously increased quite dramatically. Jamil Hamameh was asked to assess the reasons behind the distinct popularity which Hamas had acquired. His initial comment was the launch itself had come from the beliefs of the people rather than the leadership and that it was launched in an Islamic manner. He further said that:

The Hamas movement clarified for the Palestinian people the real nature of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. The [military] operations by the sons of the movement then bore testimony to its effectiveness. [29]

When asked if the popularity was perhaps due to the waning of belief in the nationalist movement Hamameh replied:

The movement becoming great [mighty] was not affected by the strength/weakness of the other movements. This movement has become strong because of its originality. However, when people lose hope in an ideology they would tend to seek one that is better. [30]