The Hamas Covenant and Jihad

Power Line points out that MEMRI has a new translation of the Hamas Covenant:

In view of the recent victory of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the Palestinian Authority Legislative Council elections, it is important to make the Hamas covenant [1] available in English for English speaking readers. The English version which is currently posted in a number of websites is not satisfactory, and therefore MEMRI is providing here a closer, more accurate translation.

Power Line notes:

A reading of the covenant demonstrates that Hamas exists for two purposes alone: 1) to eliminate the state of Israel, and 2) to replace it with an Islamic state. These purposes are apparent in every article of the charter, though in some more concisely than others. Article Six, for example, provides:

The Islamic Resistance Movement is a distinct Palestinian movement that is loyal to Allah, adopts Islam as a way of life and works to raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine. Under the wing of Islam, followers of other religions can all live safe and secure in their life, property and rights; whereas in the absence of Islam, discord arises, injustice spreads, corruption burgeons, and there are conflicts and wars.

Article Eight is even more concise:

Allah is its goal, the Prophet its model to be followed, the Koran its constitution, Jihad its way, and death for the sake of Allah its loftiest desire.

First of all, the idea that "Under the wing of Islam, followers of other religions can all live safe and secure in their life, property and rights" has 2 problems:

1. It is contingent upon living as dhimmis, second class citizens with restrictions and a protection-tax.

2. It just isn't true:

At various times, Jews in Muslim lands were able to live in relative peace and thrive culturally and economically. The position of the Jews was never secure, however, and changes in the political or social climate would often lead to persecution, violence and death. Jews were generally viewed with contempt by their Muslim neighbors; peaceful coexistence between the two groups involved the subordination and degradation of the Jews.

Read the rest for a history of the Moslem persecution and murder of Jews.

Secondly, on the issue of Jihad and death for the sake of Allah -- Hamas, along with others, have mangled the concept of Jihad, badly. According to Bernard Lewis in The Crisis of Islam:

Those who are killed in the jihad are called martyrs, in Arabic and other Muslim languages shahid...The Arabic term shahid also means "witness" and is usually translated "martyr," but it has a rather different connotation. In Islamic usage the term martyrdom is normally interpreted to mean death in a jihad and reward is eternal bliss, described in some detail in early religious texts. Suicide, by contrast, is a mortal sin and earns eternal damnation, even for those who would otherwise have earned a place in paradise. The classical jurists distinguish clearly between facing certain death at the hands of the enemy and killing oneself by one's own hand. The one leads to heaven, the other to hell. Some recent fundamentalist jurists and others have blurred or even dismissed this distinction, but their view is by no means unanimously accepted. The suicide bomber is thus taking a considerable risk on a theological nicety. (p38-39 emphasis added)

Of course, this is assuming that the suicide bombers themselves--as well as their enablers--are really taking Islam and sharia into account, or just using it for purely politcal and military aims.

Then there is the issue of the murder of innocent women and children in Islam. Lewis writes:

Because holy war is an obligation of the faith, it is elaborately regulated in the sharia. Fighters in a jihad are enjoined not to kill women, children, and the aged unless they attack first, not to torture or mutilate prisoner, to give fair warning of the resumption of hostilities after a truce, and to honor agreements.

Lewis presents this as straightforward. He does not address the excuses used by terrorists that every Israeli (even children?) are part of the Israeli army. As far as sharia requiring agreements to be honored, someone obviously forgot to tell the PA...and Hamas.

On the issue of Kassam rockets, sharia apparently provides Hamas with some leeway... :

...The medieval jurists and theologians discuss at some length the rules of warfare, including questions such as which weapons are permitted and which are not. There is even some discussion in medieval texts of the lawfulness of missile and chemical warfare, the one relating to mangonels and catapults, the other to poison-tipped arrows and the poisoning of enemy water supplies. On these points there is considerable variation. Some jurists permit, some restrict, some disapprove of the use of these weapons. The stated reason for concern is the indiscriminate casualties that they inflict. [emphasis added]

...but seemingly not when it comes to suicide bombers:

At no point do the basic texts of Islam enjoin terrorism and murder. At no point--as far as I am aware--do they even consider the random slaughter of uninvolved bystanders.

In The Danish Cartoons and The Hijacking of Islam, I quoted Lewis on extremist groups and their selective interpretation of Islam. Hamas is dressing up their own agenda in selective interpretation of sharia. In so doing, they fit right in with Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Al Qaeda--a distinction they no doubt are proud of.

Crossposted at Israpundit

Technorati Tag: Hamas and Terrorism and Israel and Islam.