The Islamic Resistance Movement, also known as al-Harakah al-Muqawama al-Islamiya (Hamas), has proven to be an extremely agile and capable terrorist organization in Palestine. They benefit from a deep-rooted sociocultural infrastructure, highly lethal tactics and a complex hierarchy of leadership, all of which have allowed the organization to prosper for over two decades. As where 90% of terrorist groups wither and rapidly falter, Hamas has been able to quickly adapt to the constantly changing political and social environment of Palestine . This evolution, has always assured the organization a generous group of adherents. The necessity to change based on environmental stressors has likened it to a “multipronged organism, which has succeeded in anchoring itself in Palestinian society, through a combination of resistance, political action, social and charitable work underpinned by religious principles and avoidance of corruption . Hamas’ deep rooted position has made it a formidable force and its entrenchment in Palestinian society has solidified its position in future political decision making. Unfortunately, Hamas’ involvement in politics has only increased the societal rift and has even elevated political violence and extremism.
The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood was a passive Islamic resistance movement founded by Hassan al-Banna in 1928. The movement provided the ideological roots for the entire Islamic revival in the Middle East. Al-Banna preached an evolutionary approach to the Islamic revival. That which produced gradual change, from a long term transition in schools, mosques and the re-Islamization of other facets of the social infrastructure. During this period, more revolutionary ideas came to the forefront of the Islamic ...
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...rorism, MIT Press, 2009, 6.
Thomas L. Friedman, “This is Not a Test”, The New York Times, January, 2009.
Jeroen Gunning, “Peace with Hamas? The Transforming Potential for Political Participation”, International Affairs, 80:2 (2004),235.
Council on Foreign Relations, http://www.cfr.org/publication/8968/#p6)
David H. Gray & John Bennett Larson, “Grass Roots Terrorism: How Hamas’ Structure Defines a Policy of Counterterrorism”, Research Journal of International Studies, 8, (2008), 127.
Are Knudsen, Political Islam in the Middle East, R 3, (2003), 1.
Daniel Byman, Deadly Connections: States that Sponsor Terrorsim, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005), 63.
Bruce Maddy-Weitzman, Review of Hamas: A Beginner’s Guide, Haaretz, January 5, 2007.
Graham Usher, “The New Hamas: Between Resistance and Participation” (2005), 2 http://www.merip.or/mero/mero082105.html.
Jeffrey David Simon, The Terrorist Trap: America's Experience with Terrorism, 2nd ed. (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2001), 188-89.
...I had misunderstood, or rather ignored, the Muslim Brotherhood as it materialized in Egypt and later took root and inspired others elsewhere. If Wright analysis is correct, and I suspect he is in this abundantly researched and well-written book, it was born as an opposition to colonialism and its nationalist / socialist / modernist / capitalist alternatives. It appeared that to Sayyid Qutb and other shaping figures in the Brotherhood, Islam was an all-encompassing system to remake the post-colonial world. Qutb, who actually spent time in the United States studying, returned in the late 40’s outraged and radicalized. Qutb soaked up our supposed corruption and regarded the U.S. as propping up regimes that the majority in the Middle East didn’t like, as well as being a good friend of Israel and opposed to Islam, issues that still are a common complaint heard today.
Bob Hawke once said; “Unless and until something concrete is done about addressing the Israeli-Palestinian issue you won't get a real start on the war against terrorism.” Perhaps Hawke put into a few simple words one of the most complicated issues within our world today, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As Israel continues to strip the Palestinians of their land and fears it’s very existence because of the Palestinians terrorist acts, there seems to be no solution in sight. The world appears to be split and all over the place when it comes to this matter. According to The Middle East Institute for Understanding approximately 129 countries recognize Palestine as a state while many others do not. Over all the political matters within this issue not only affect Palestine and Israel but the world as a whole, as the Middle East and the West seem to disagree. This has had and will continue to have an enormous impact on many political affairs all over the world particularly in the current fight against terrorism. Personally I feel that the Israeli Palestinian conflict while being a very complicated matter has a simple solution. Within this issue I am a firm believer that the occupation of the West Bank by Israeli forces is extremely unjust and must come to an end. Once this is achieved a two state solution will be the most effective way to bring peace to the area. The occupation of the West Bank violates political and legal rights, human rights, and illegally forces Palestinians who have lived in the area for hundreds of years from their land. This conflict is at the height of its importance and a solution is of dire need as nuclear issues arise in the Middle East due to the tension between Israel and it’s surrounding neighbors, and the...
This marked the beginning of the Palestine armed conflict, one of its kinds to be witnessed in centuries since the fall of the Ottoman Empire and World War 1. Characterized by a chronology of endless confrontations, this conflict has since affected not only the Middle East relations, but also the gl...
Schweitzer, Y., & Shay, S. (2003). The globalization of terror: The challenge of al-qaida and the response of the international community. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers.
Ridel, B, 'The real losers in Egypt's uprising', The Daily Best Online, 13 February 2011. Retrieved 19 March 2011< http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-02-13/al-qaeda-absent-in-hosni-mubaraks-fall-and-egyptian-revolution/>
“There is no such thing as a Palestinian.” Stated former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir after three fourths of one million Palestinians had been made refugees, over five hundred towns and cities had been obliterated, and a new regional map was drawn. Every vestige of the Palestinian culture was to be erased. Resolution 181, adopted in 1947 by the United Nations declared the end of British rule over Palestine (the region between the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River) and it divided the area into two parts; a state for the Jewish and one for the Arab people, Palestine. While Israel was given statehood, Palestine was not. Since 1947, one of the most controversial issues in the Middle East, and of course the world, is the question of a Palestinian state. Because of what seems a simple question, there have been regional wars among Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq, terrorist attacks that happen, sometimes daily, displacement of families from their homes, and growing numbers of people living in poverty. Granting Palestinian statehood would significantly reduce, or alleviate, tensions in the Middle East by defining, once and for all, the area that should be Palestine and eliminating the bloodshed and battles that has been going on for many years over this land.
Kash, Douglas A. “An International Legislative Approach to 21st-Century Terrorism.” The Future of Terrorism: Violence in the New Millennium. Ed. Harvey W. Kushner. London: Sage Publications, 1998.
Bourke, Dale Hanson. The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Tough Questions, Direct Answers. Downers Grove, IL: Inter Varsity, 2013. N. pag. Print.
Hilāl, ʻAlī Al-Dīn. Islamic Resurgence in the Arab World. New York, NY: Praeger, 1982. Print.
“Terrorism involves the use of violence by an organization other than a national government to cause intimidation or fear among a target audience;” at least, this is how Pape (2003) defines terrorism in his article “The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism” (343). The goal of this article by Pape is to discuss suicide terrorism and how it “follows a strategic logic, one specifically designed to coerce modern liberal democracies to make significant territorial concessions” (343). Similar to Pape, Bloom (2004) and Horowitz (2010) also delve into the exponential increase of suicide terrorism and why it occurs. Although Pape, Bloom, and Horowitz concur that suicide terrorism is increasing, they disagree why it is so prominent. While the arguments presented from each of these researchers is powerful and certainly plausible, suicide terrorism is in fact not irrational, but strategic and is most often caused by state occupation and, when organized, aimed specifically at democracies.
Kamrava, Mehran. "The Arab-Israeli Wars." The Modern Middle East: A Political History since the First World War. 2nd ed. Berkeley, CA: University of California, 2010. 109-39. Print.
Roth, John, Greensburg, Douglas, and Wille, Serena (2004). National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States- Monograph on Terrorist Financing, National Commission of Terrorist Attacks, Retrieved from http://www.9-11commission.gov/staff_statements/911_TerrFin_Monograph.pdf.
Terrorism in the Middle East has brought the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the attention of the world. These terrorist groups use murder, bombs, threats, and other violent acts to get their way politically. Hamas, the organization that has replaced Fatah as the representative of the Palestinians, is a leading sponsor of terrorism. The Hamas are the leading reason there is not peace in the middle east as they strongly embrace terrorism.
In early 1974, the Secretary General of the United Nations, U Thant, invited the Palestinian Liberation Organization to attend the General Assembly gathering on November 13, 1974, and in doing so gave legitimacy to the Palestinian Liberation Organization as a governing body. In Yasser Arafat’s speech to the General Assembly, he thanked the United Nations for recognizing his organization and its legitimacy. When Arafat addressed the General Assembly, he made the argument that the actions taken by his government were not acts of terrorism, but these were acts of revolution and their purpose was to regain control of Palestine’s occupied original territory. The problem we confront is, there is no internationally agreed upon definition of terrorism and the international community should be able to come up with one. The major hurdle in defining is the states’ ideas of what terrorism is.