The Palestinian Hamas [Paperback]

Professor Shaul Mishal (Author), Professor Avraham Sela (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2000

Since it emerged as a challenger to the PLO during the Palestinian Intifada, Hamas (the Islamic Resistance Movement) has been associated in the public mind with terror and violence. Now two Israeli experts show that, contrary to its image, Hamas is essentially a social and political movement, providing extensive community services and responding constantly to political realities through bargaining and power brokering. The authors lift the veil on Hamas's strategic decision-making methods at each of the crucial crossroads it has confronted: the Intifada and the struggle with the PLO, the Oslo accords and the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority, and the dilemmas surrounding the choice between absolute Jihad against Israel versus the option of controlled violence.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This work makes a significant and long overdue contribution to scholarship on Hamas and Islamist groups in general...Mishal and Sela have made here an excellent contribution to the field with a thoughtful, analytical, and well-documented case study which goes far in revealing a realist, 'de-demonized' Hamas." -- Middle East Journal

"The book The Palestinian Hamas... is required reading for anyone who wishes to understand Hamas." -- Mitchell Plitnick, Jewish Voice for Peace

Review

"Two Israeli scholars weigh in with a provocative argument that runs counter to much of the false received wisdom on the subject.... A convincing intervention in the public debate regarding Hamas -- a debate that is mainly dominated by the group's demonization." -- Rashid Khalidi, author of Palestinian Identity

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (May 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231116756
• ISBN-13: 978-0231116756
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,823,038 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hamas - continuing Palestinian resistance, February 18, 2002

By 

Brendan Russell (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Palestinian Hamas (Paperback)

As Hamas has grown in influence within Palestinian society and has taken the lead in the organised physical resistance to the Israeli occupation, any book that is able to provide an objective analysis of the movement, its goals and tactics is to be much welcomed.

What emerges from this account is a fascinating picture of a complex organisation, which continues to operate in a much more adaptive and pragmatic manner than might be expected by those who see Hamas only as it commonly portrayed in the Western media - hardline, fundamentalist, uncompromising.

The reality is far more complex, as Mishal and Sela show. The details concerning Hamas's internal agonising over whether to participate in the Palestinian elections is an enthralling and detailed example of the different forces at play within Hamas and the sometimes conflicting agendas of the various parts of its leadership.

They also make clear that Hamas is primarily about nationalism and resistance to occupation, rather than a part of some global Islamic movement. Its struggle is strictly defined with the borders of Palestine and has no interest in wider Islamic issues.

What a pity therefore that such an interesting subject and one that the authors clearly know well, should be marred by such stilted and jargon ridden prose. The book clearly suffers from having been written buy two authors with quite different styles. The first and last thirds are fairly painful to read, while the middle section flows reasonably well and carries the reader along. One or both authors has something of an obsession with the use of the word "normative" and sprinkles it liberally throughout. Towards the end of the book I counted six successive paragraphs each of which contained the word, which shows both poor style and bad editing.

One curious aspect of the book is that the authors make little of the fact (although they don't dispute it either) that Israel originally encouraged and facilitated the development and growth of what became Hamas, in order to provide a counterweight to the PLO and to try and divide the Palestinians and thereby deny the PLO its claim to be the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. I was at BirZeit University (the leading Palestinian university in the Occupied Territories) when the Israelis helped bus in `militants' from the Islamic University in Gaza who then attacked students who were aligned with Fatah and the PLO.

It's a startling irony that the Israelis now bombard the Palestinian Authority for failing to `control' a resistance movement that Israel helped to create in the first place.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read for the initiated, February 2, 2002

By 

E. Capurro (England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Palestinian Hamas (Paperback)

For those who have some knowledge of the background of the conflict in the Middle East - this is an excellent read. It is essentially a book which is aimed more at the Middle Eastern Studies student. However, if like me, you are someone who is not one of the latter but who wants to know more - then read some basic background information first and then head into this book. I found it an accessable read and very interesting. Whilst at times I found it a little confusing with its references to peace agreements and events - that was down to my lack of background reading rather than the book itself. Having now read several books on the conflict I will certainly go back to this book to make the most of the information and conclusions it holds.

It achieves what it sets out to do - and that is to reflect the true nature of Hamas - not just as an organization with a reputation for violence, but as an organization which has serious social, educational and religios concerns within Palestinian society. It shows the way in which the organization has adapted to the political changes and certainly gave me much to think about.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well-Researched Text, October 9, 2007

By 

Valerie J. Saturen (Tacoma, WA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Palestinian Hamas (Paperback)

This book is full of detailed analysis, though things have changed immensely since it was written (2000), so you are best served by reading its more recent edition. It makes important points, debunking the popular view of Hamas as a rigid organization--while rigid in its views, the organization has had to rely upon adaptability and compromise with the PLO (and hence, indirectly, with Israel) while under PLO leadership. While under PLO domination, Hamas (for the most part) painstakingly avoided confrontation with other Palestinian factions, a principle so important it is decreed at length in the Hamas charter and was constantly reiterated in the faction's propaganda. It is interesting how quickly this fundamental precept has been gruesomely abandoned following Hamas' rise to power. The book also addresses the rift between the organization's "inside" and "outside" leadership, the latter tending to be more radical because it doesn't face the daily realities of occupation. Finally, it emphasizes the fact that Hamas owes most of its popularity to its vast charity work rather than its ideology. One of the most interesting parts is the book's inclusion of the full text Hamas charter, which is striking in its blatant anti-Semitism, extolling the virtues of killing "Jews" (as opposed to just "Zionists") and making frequent reference to wild conspiracy theories and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. While well-researched, the book is written in a dry, academic style, so I would recommend it for people who already have an academic background in the subject rather than those looking for a basic introduction.