Hamas: A History from Within

by Azzam S. Tamimi

Book Overview

Hamas won an overwhelming electoral victory in January 2006, overturning many assumptions regionally and globally. Branded as terrorist by Israel and the West, it is the largest Palestinian militant Islamist organization, formed at the beginning of the first intifada. Its short-term objective is to drive Israeli forces from the West Bank and Gaza. It also has the long-term aim of establishing an Islamic state throughout historic Palestine. A grass-roots organization that commands wide respect among Palestinians for its incorruptibility, Hamas is divided into two main sections: one is responsible for establishing schools, hospitals and religious institutions; the other for military action and terror attacks carried out by its armed underground wing the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades. This book charts the origins of Hamas among the Muslim Brotherhood, details the influence of its exiled leadership in Syria and elsewhere, and sets out its internal structure and political objectives.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1566566894
• ISBN13: 9781566566896
• Release Date: May 2007
• Publisher: Olive Branch Press
• Length: 372 Pages
• Weight: 0.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

An important perspective.

Mr. Tamimi has given readers an excellent perspective from within Hamas. The author used his access to this group and its leadership to create a work that gives the reader the Hamas story as seen by Hamas. There is no filter, but instead the reader hears the Hamas perspective from their own mouths as they see themselves. This is a very important distinction because too often we get the Hamas story as told from the Western perspective. Hamas as viewed by the West is a limited and skewed perspective, and the only way to really get a whole picture is to see this group from their own vantage point as well. Any good student of history knows that the more angles one views a particular subject the more clearer the image becomes. Mr. Tamimi's work is a chronological history of Hamas from its ideological inception from the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood organization all the way to its electoral victories in the Palestinian elections. This book really gives the reader a sense of the evolution of this group from its humble beginnings trying to revitalize Palestinian society that was largely secular to its beginnings as a resistance organization to its eventual ascension to political power. The reader will be able to see how many different factors worked for and against this group and how these factors influenced the evolution of this group. What I most liked about this book is that it focuses in on leaders and on their philosophy. The author uses their own statements and writings to give the reader a sense of what they believe and what they are fighting for. Too often we hear that this group is simply a violent, racist group that cannot be reasoned with or expected to be reliable brokers at the negotiating table, but what we see in this book is that the leadership is filled with intelligent and articulate people. The author does a good job dispelling some of the myths and clearing up points of contention when it comes to Hamas' positions on things like peace with Israel, its vision of a Palestinian state and its willingness to dialogue with the West. The author does an excellent job detailing the Hamas position on peace with Israel, and the author describes the impediments as well. Like Hamas's inability to recognize Israel officially, although many would say they have de facto recognized Israel in many statements they have made. The author goes into this problem in detail and also describes how Hamas has suggested ways to overcome these problems through things like hudna which is system of truce. Once a hudna has been reached it is a sin to breach the truce. There are problems and risks inherent in any type of deal for both Israel and the Palestinians, but any possibility for peace no matter how imperfect should be explored, and the one thing that can be said for Hamas they are dedicated to Islam which requires them to respect the terms of the hudna. Some of my criticism of this book are the same things I praise it for such as its tendancy t