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Hamas: Political Thought and Practice

Only Khaled Hroub, with his unique access to resources and authorities open to him by virtue of his association with the movement, could have produced such a book as early as 1996. It is an excellent account of the Hamas's political thought and continues to be an important academic reference. In any case, few books have been written on the movement thus far. The book is a direct narrative of the movement's history, and an honest account of its political thought and its stand on various issues from armed struggle to power-sharing. In the first chapter Hroub traces the historic roots of the movement, linking it to the Muslim Brotherhood whose presence in Palestine dates back to the mid-1930s. He discusses the formation and dynamics of the Brotherhood in both Gaza and the West Bank, theories about links between it and Fatah (set up in the mid-1960s), and ends with the emergence of Hamas at the onset of the 1987 uprising. In the second chapter, Hroub addresses Hamas's political perspective on conflict. This is not as straightforward a topic as the narrative preceding it, because of (understandable) sensitivities and preferences within the Palestinian Islamic movement in favour of one opinion or the other. Nevertheless , it is still an honest account of the debate within the movement, as its leaders are challenged to put forward a political programme of some sort. Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, usually referred to as the founder and leader, is credited for Hamas's offer of truce as an interim solution to the problem. Overall, in spite of the difficulties posed to the decision-making process, the movement has managed to maintain a balanced position. On the one hand, not a single inch of historic Palestine is negotiable, while, on the other, the movement avoids embroiling itself in conflict of any sort with other countries inside or outside the region, something that has cost the PLO so much since the late 1960s. Chapter 3 follows up logically and leads on to deal with Hamas's relations with other Palestinian factions. This too is an issue on which Hamas leading figures and cadres have had different opinions. But Hamas has been more than once vindicated. Significant here is its suspicion of the PLO and of the Palestinian Authority that was born out of the marriage at Oslo between the PLO and Israel. The movement must now be relieved that it resisted …