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Islamic Fundamentalism in the West Bank and Gaza Ziad Abu-Amr Islamic Fundamentalism in the West Bank and Gaza Indiana Series in Arab and Islamic Studies Salih J. Altoma, Iliya Harik, and Mark Tessler, general editors Islamic Fundamentalism in the West Bank and Gaza Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic Jihad Ziad Abu-Amr Indiana University Press Bloomington and Indianapolis © 1994 by Ziad Abu-Amr All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Abu ‘Amr, Ziyad. [Harakah al-IslamTyah fT al-Diffah al-Gharblyah wa-Qita‘ Ghazzah. English] Islamic fundamentalism in the West Bank and Gaza : Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic Jihad / Ziad Abu-Amr. p. cm — (Indiana series in Arab and Islamic studies) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-253-30121-1 (alk. paper). — ISBN 0-253-20866-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Islam and politics—West Bank. 2. Islam and politics—Gaza Strip. 3. West Bank—Politics and government. 4. Gaza Strip— Politics and government. I. Title. II. Series. BP63.P32W47413 1994 322.4'2'0956953—dc20 93-28504 1 2 3 4 5 00 99 98 97 96 95 94 For Bashir, Nadia, and Hind Contents Preface / ix Acknowledgments / xi Introduction / xiii 1 ___________________________________________________________ The Emergence and Evolution of the Muslim Brotherhood Society 1 2 _________________________________________________________ The Muslim Brotherhood and the Palestine Question 23 3 ______________________________________________________ The Intifada 53 4 _______________________________________________ The Islamic Jihad 90 Conclusion 128 Notes / 137 References / 155 Index / 163 PREFACE I With the emergence of Islamic fundamentalist groups in the Occupied Territories, the authority of the secular nationalist movement led by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has been challenged for the first time in many years. While Israel and the Israeli occupation have been the apparent target, and the rallying point for both trends, an underlying struggle between the two focuses on defining the orientation of the Palestinian society and its leadership. This book studies the two major groups of the Islamic movement in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Muslim Brotherhood Society and the Islamic Jihad movement. The book deals with the origins of these two groups, their development, the basic points of departure for each, and the relationship between them. It also deals with the position of each group toward the Palestinian question, the relationship with the PLO, and the role of each group in the Palestinian intifada [popular uprising] of December 1987. The book tries to assess the current influence of the Muslim fundamentalists vis-a-vis that of the PLO, as well as the future prospects for fun­ damentalists and nationalists. While the study of the Islamic movement in the West Bank and Gaza is significant in its own right, a number of internal and regional developments and factors make the study of this movement even more pressing. These include: (1) the eruption of the Palestinian intifada of 1987 and the subsequent rise of the Islamic movement in the Occupied Territories; (2) the rise of the Islamic movements in other Arab countries such as Jordan, Algeria, Tunisia, and Sudan; (3) the presence in both Egypt and Syria, the two major Arab countries surrounding Israel, of powerful Islamic movements (though the movement in Syria is currently suppressed or dormant); (4) the potential radicalization or rise to power of one or more of these movements in their respective countries and the consequences X Preface of such an eventuality; (5) the presence of an Islamic government in Iran and the regional ramifications of such a government being in place; and (6) the future configuration of the Middle East region in the context of an Islamic revival and the relationship of this region to the West. In preparing this study, I have relied on a variety of sources and references. These included pamphlets, statements, and documents issued by the Islamic groups and the factions of the PLO, personal interviews, and secondary Arab and foreign sources that deal with the subject of the Islamic groups in Palestine. The Muslim Brother­ hood Society in the Occupied Territories relies for advice and guid­ ance on the societies in both Egypt and Jordan. Therefore, I have drawn on sources relevant to the Muslim Brotherhood Society in both countries. I have also relied on materials and literature pub­ lished outside the Occupied Territories reflecting the views of the Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine. Access to sources and data has not been easy because the Islamic groups in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip tend to cloak themselves and their activities in secrecy. Within the context of this study, certain expressions are used to signify specific meanings. The term “ fundamentalism” describes the Islamists’ attempts to go back to the fundamentals of Islam in all spheres of life. In this sense they are identified as fundamentalists. The terms “nationalist”, “nationalist trend” , and “nationalist move­ ment” refer to the PLO factions and their followers or supporters. The expression “ Islamic movement” refers to the two Islamic groups under discussion, despite the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood Society, alternately referred to as Hamas, comprises the bulk of the Islamic movement in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Finally, I would like to thank those who have read this manuscript for their many important observations. I wish to emphasize that the responsibility for this study and for any errors or deficiencies rests solely on the shoulders of the author. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I Many people read this manuscript before it went to the publisher. I would like to thank them all. I would like in particular to thank the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University for hosting me as a research fellow while writing the manuscript. I also would like to thank Ann Lesch for her useful comments on the manuscript and Edward Myers for his support and assistance in the initial editing. But my deep appreciation goes to Rebekah Lynn, who worked very hard on the final editing and revision of the manuscript. This study was partially funded by a grant from the Friedrich Ebert Foundation of Germany. For this grant I am grateful. And to Birzeit University, which gave me the time and encouragement to carry out my research and writing, goes my deep gratitude and appreciation. INTRODUCTION I The contemporary Islamic movements in the Arab world have so far failed to achieve their stated fundamental goal of estab­ lishing the Islamic state. The contemporary Islamic revival has also failed, in more than one way, in bringing that goal closer to real­ ization. This revival has been unable to “ guide the political con­ struction of the contemporary Arab countries, to unify these countries, and to create the will in them to confront Israel, or to firmly respond to the violation of the Islamic holy places in Palestine. This revival has failed to enrich the idea of national unity, and failed in its dialogue with other political doctrines and ideologies, and in containing the spread of these doctrines and ideologies, or in mini­ mizing their impact on the vanguard groups in the Arab society.” 1 The Arab Islamic movements reject the validity of such an ar­ gument: “We must not imagine that the ends are attained in the presence of the means .... The goal of the Muslim Brotherhood is to rule by God’s book and to live by His laws in all walks of life. No man can make the judgement that we have not achieved this goal at a given point in time . because this goal is a long-range objective that is renewed with the renewal of days. The range of this goal does not end on any given day in order for us to say that we have reached our goal.”2 While some Islamic intellectuals acknowledge that the Islamic movements have so far been unable “ to establish the Islamic state and resume Islamic life” in their respective societies, these intellec­ tuals argue that the movements have, nevertheless, “ left behind, as a legacy, a great wealth of experience in the realm of work and preparation for the achievement of this goal, and have also left a vast intellectual heritage that paves the way for the birth of one international Islamic movement which will combat the ignorance of the twentieth century.” 3 The Islamic movement in the Occupied Territories is an integral XIV Introduction part of the world Islamic movement, affecting it and affected by it, both positively and negatively. The Muslim Brotherhood Society is considered one of the oldest political groups in Palestine, enjoying a historical, organizational, and objective presence that cannot be ignored. However, the society did not become a major contender for the leadership of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Terri­ tories until after the eruption of the popular uprising (intifada) of December 1987. The intifada has transformed the Islamic move­ ment in the Occupied Territories into a major force that has become able to shake up the existing balance of political power in the Pales­ tinian society. However, it is premature to make a final assessment of the extent of success or failure of the Islamic movement in the West Bank and Gaza.

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