Hamas and Ideology

Sheikh Yūsuf al-Qaraḍāwī on the Jews, Zionism and Israel

Shaul Bartal, Nesya Rubinstein-Shemer

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781351403757
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Regional Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

Sheikh Yus?f al- Qara??w? is regarded as the most influential contemporary Muslim religious figure. His best-selling book, Al-?alal wal-?aram fi al-Islam ("The Forbidden and the Permitted in Islam") is perhaps one of the most widely read Islamic works, after the Qur'?n. The subject of jihad in Palestine is a salient feature of Qara??w?'s thought and is addressed frequently in his books. His views on Israel and on the Jews shape those of many Muslims throughout the world.

This book paints al- Qara??w?'s portrait within the context of the subject of the struggle for Palestine and assesses why he is committed so fervently to the Palestinian course. It also sheds light on another important aspect of al-Qaradawi's thought, namely the marked contrast between his ideas regarding the Muslim world and his views on relations with other religions and countries. Whereas al- Qara??w? is considered to be a moderate in Islamic matters, his attitude toward the Jews and to Israel is one of abiding hatred and uncompromising struggle. The book aims to classify Qara??w?'s thought along the axis of moderation and extremism by drawing comparisons between Qara??w?'s teachings and those of other Muslim jurists. Furthermore, it compares the features of antisemitic writing with that of Qara??w? in order to answer the question as to whether Qara??w?'s teachings actually constitute an expression of anti-semitism.

Despite the subject of jihad in Palestine being so central to Qara??w?'s thought, there has not been a comprehensive and systematic academic study of this to date. The book therefore represents a major contribution to the field and will appeal to anyone studying the Israel-Palestine conflict, Islamic Studies, Jewish Studies, Terrorism and Political Violence.

1
Qaraḍāwī’s ties to Palestine

1. The landscape of Qaraḍāwī’s youth

In 2010, a special conference in honor of Qaraḍāwī was held by the Hamas government as a tribute for all of his efforts, activities and his staunch support of the Palestinians in their struggle against Israel. After the event, a large volume was published, entitled, The Efforts of Dr. Yūsuf al-Qaraḍāwī in the Service of Islam and of Victory in the Palestinian Cause.¹ The book contains summaries of all of the lectures presented at the conference that dealt with the different aspects of the persona of Qaraḍāwī: Qaraḍāwī, the poet; Qaraḍāwī, the legal authority; and, of course, Qaraḍāwī the fighter for the Palestinian cause. Throughout the work, Qaraḍāwī is referred to as the “Sheikh of Palestine,” especially by his disciple, Ismail Haniyeh, former head of the Hamas government, and chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau.² Therefore, we must ask why Qaraḍāwī is committed so fervently to the Palestinian cause and why is it so close to his heart.

To answer this question, we shall present a brief biography of Qaraḍāwī in order to review the events during his lifetime that bound him to Palestine and made a lasting impression upon him. Qaraḍāwī’s memoirs are the major source for this chapter. There he describes personal experiences that had a lasting impact on the formation of his worldview. Qaraḍāwī supplements the personal content in his memoirs with ideological and educational material, such as quotations from the Qurʾān, the Ḥadīth and statements by Muslim thinkers who influenced him.

Yūsuf Abdallah al-Qaraḍāwī was born in 1926 in the village of Ṣaft al-Turab in the Delta region of Egypt. His family was poor and his father died when he was two years old, leaving him an orphan. Qaraḍāwī was educated in the local religion class (Kuttāb). An outstanding pupil, he knew the Qurʾān by heart at the age of nine.³ Qaraḍāwī’s early education was of a religious Islamic character and the Qurʾān was its guiding principle. The latter explains the fact that religion was so important in his life and that he looks at the world and interprets reality from an Islamic perspective.

At the age of fourteen, he left the village for the Al-Azhar Institute in the city of Tanta, Egypt. There he first became acquainted with Ḥasan al-Banna and decided to join the Muslim Brotherhood Society. He formed a special bond with the Muslim Brotherhood in general and to Ḥasan al-Banna in particular. Qaraḍāwī was profoundly influenced by his personality and became loyal to his way of Wasaṭiyya.⁴ He regarded Ḥasan al-Banna as his revered teacher and master. On a visit to Tanta, when al-Banna preached a sermon to the high school students, Qaraḍāwī recited a lengthy encomium that he had written in his honor.⁵ According to Qaraḍāwī, Ḥasan al-Banna was more aware than others of the Jewish peril and of schemes of Jewish expansion in Arab countries and regarded him mission as rousing the Arabs from their indifference to events in Palestine.

Al-Banna explained to the Arabs that the Palestinians did not willingly sell their land to Jews and that they never abandoned the obligation of Jihad despite the fact that the British prevented them, though not the Jews, from possessing weapons. He spoke extensively about the uprisings of the Arabs in Palestine against British rule and against Jewish plots in 1929 and in 1936–1939. Al-Banna did everything he could in order to open the eyes of the Arabs to the enormity of the impending danger and to encourage them to enlist on behalf of the Palestinians.

Al-Banna was associated with Palestinian leaders and their chief Al-Mujāhid al-Kabīr (“the great fighter of Jihad”), Amīn al-Ḥuseini,⁶ the Mufti of Palestine. The latter would encourage the masses to protest against British policy toward Zionism, especially against the Balfour Declaration, and claim that “Palestine is not a land without a people to be given to a people without a land.”⁷ Qaraḍāwī repeats this statement throughout his sermons and in his many books on Palestine. Thus, for example, in his description of the terror of colonialism (Irhāb al-Istiʿmār) in his book, Fiqh al-Jihād (Jurisprudence of Jihad), Qaraḍāwī wrote:

And the Zionist Jews did this when they came to establish their state in Palestine when they say: a land without a people for a people without a land! This is a lie, without a doubt, because Palestine is not a land without a people waiting to receive a people without a land. The Palestinian people have lived here for thousands of years.⁸

Ḥasan al-Banna preached extensively about the violent struggle for Palestine and even wrote an article entitled “The Industry of Death” (Ṣināʿat al-Mawt) in his newsletter Al-Nadhīr in which he emphasizes the obligation of Jihad and readiness to die the death of a martyr, coining the phrase: “he who longs for death will be granted life” (man ḥaraṣa ‘alā al-mawt wuhibat lahu al-ḥayāt). Life is important, but death for the sake of Allāh, especially in the war against his enemies, is the highest goal, which a Muslim must fulfill as part of the commandment of Jihad. This message forms a part of the ideological legacy of Ḥasan al-Banna.⁹ The sermons of Qaraḍāwī frequently reiterate this expression. Therefore, he would later be called “the Sheikh of Death” because of his support for suicide bombings for the sake of the struggle on Palestinian soil.¹⁰ This expression is often repeated in the publications of Hamas that emphasize the longing for death for the sake of God and the pleasurable rewards in Paradise.¹¹ As a follower of Ḥasan al-Banna, Qaraḍāwī approves of suicide attacks (“acts of sacrifice”) executed by Hamas and Islamic Jihad without any connection to the amount of damage inflicted upon the enemy by such attacks.¹²

In 1948, when Qaraḍāwī was 22 years old, war broke out in Palestine. His sermons fondly recall memories of Ḥasan al-Banna’s inflammatory speeches to young men urging that they enthusiastically enlist in the Jihad in Palestine. “Only the Islamists understood the depth of the tragedy and the enormity of the catastrophe in Palestine. Ḥasan al-Banna, of blessed memory, was the one who broadened the people’s horizons, who motivated them to act on behalf of the Palestinian cause. Until 1948, when the establishment of the State of Israel was declared, he sent his supporters to the Jihad in Palestine.

The volunteers trained in camps that were set up in every city in Egypt. “I also was one of those young men who underwent training in those camps”, writes Qaraḍāwī.

Afterward, the volunteers left to fight in Palestine. Our imam, Sheikh Ḥasan al-Banna, did not allow high school students to go to fight, with the exception of one pious brother, the shahīd, Abd al-Wahhāb al-Batānūni. We had requested permission for this exception from Ḥasan al-Banna because he always dreamed about going to Palestine. He thought of Palestine day and night. At that time, there were exceptional acts of heroism that should be recalled for the next generations and written about in the pages of history and we should teach them by heart to our children. How many of those young men wished to die in the path of Allāh! How many of them competed among themselves for the Shahāda!

In his book, The Brothers and the War in Palestine, Kamāl al-Sharīf wrote about the young lads who were with him:

If requested three or four volunteers for a mission, tens more would come. All of them wanted to be chosen and he would have to draw lots among them! There was no other solution. If one of them was wounded in battle, he would smile and say: ‘I am quickly coming to you, my master, so that you will be satisfied.’¹³

Ḥātim Yūsuf Abū Ziyāda noted 102 Muslim Brotherhood activists who met heroic deaths in battles against the Jews.¹⁴

In his memoirs, Qaraḍāwī longingly recalls memories of those days. He relates the story of his best friend several times, referring to him in his memoirs and sermons as “My friend, my brother, my beloved, the pious Shahīd” – Abd al-Wahhāb al-Batānūni, whom we have mentioned above.¹⁵ He recounts the special spiritual qualities of the friend whom he deeply loved. Throughout his life, Abd al-Wahhāb dreamed of going to fight in Palestine. There was only one obstacle on his path – his mother. Since he was an orphan, as his father had died, his mother raised him and his brothers. How could she allow him to go and die on the soil of Palestine? Together with two other friends, Qaraḍāwī could not endure the sorrow of Abd al-Wahhāb and took it upon themselves to go with him in order to help him persuade his mother. They traveled to his village where they sat and talked with her at length, telling her about the mothers of heroes throughout Islamic history and about the desire of Abd al-Wahhāb to take part in Jihad. They added that going into battle does not necessarily bring one closer to death, that he who does not die in battle will die in another way and that life and death are in the hands of Allāh. They stayed with her until she overcame her natural feelings of mercy toward her son and said, ‘If that is the wish of Abd al-Wahhāb, I shall not stand in his way. I shall leave the matter in the hands of Allāh and I shall pray for his victory and for that of his friends and that Allāh will bring them back home in peace.’ Abd al-Wahhāb was extremely pleased. A smile spread across his face. He kissed his mother’s hand and head and asked her permission to continue on his way.¹⁶ The motif of the mother who enables her son to fulfill the Jihad occurs later on in tales of shahīds and has been co-opted by the Hamas.¹⁷

Another obstacle in the way of Abd al-Wahhāb was official approval to leave for Palestine since Ḥasan al-Banna did not allow youth of high school age to fight. Qaraḍāwī points out that he was one of the young men who trained at training camps in preparation for departure for Palestine. He and three friends traveled to Cairo especially in order to request approval from the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood to go to fight in Palestine.¹⁸ Unfortunately, Qaraḍāwī did not succeed in becoming one of the brave mujāhidīn (“fighters in the holy war”) who fought in Palestine. On 23 December 1948, he was arrested during the riots following the assassination of Egyptian Prime Minister Al-Nuqrashī and served time in jail until 1949.¹⁹

Qaraḍāwī praises the acts of heroism in Palestine on the part of Batānūnī and his friends “who went to the land of the Isrā’ and the Mi ʿ rāj, the land of the first direction of the prayer (Qibla) and the land of the location of Islam’s third most important mosque, in order to fight against the enemies of Allāh, slayers of the prophets, the Jews, who stole the land and besmirched its honor.”²⁰ Batānūnī and his wounded comrades escaped from the Jews and hid inside a weapons factory. When they knew that they were mortally wounded, they sacrificed their lives and blew themselves up with all of the armaments in order that it would not fall to the Jews. Qaraḍāwī carefully kept the letter sent by Abd al-Wahhāb until he lost it while Egyptian security forces went through his possessions following his arrest. He ends the story of Abd al-Wahhāb as follows: “Abd al-Wahhāb’s death fulfilled the words of our teacher al-Bahī al-Khūlī: ‘Whenever one looked at Abd al-Wahhāb one saw the blood of the Shahāda (Martyrdom) splattering from his face. May Allāh have mercy upon him and may it come to pass that he will be an intercessor for his family and for us.’”²¹

Qaraḍāwī recalls another story that praises the devotion to P...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1 Qaraḍāwī’s ties to Palestine
• 2 Spiritual forefathers: Ḥasan al-Banna, Hajj Amīn al-Ḥuseini, Sayyid Quṭb
• 3 Religious sources of the Israel-Palestine conflict
• 4 What is Zionism?
• 5 Sheikh Qaraḍāwῑ: spiritual leader of Hamas and the Islamic Movement in Israel
• 6 A true partnership: Qaraḍāwī, Hamas and the Islamic Movement
• 7 Qaraḍāwī: between anti-Zionism and anti-semitism
• Epilogue
• Bibliography
• Index