Salafi Responses to Hamas Movement, in the Occupied Palestine

Salafi-Jihadi Movements and Democracy

Islam's interaction with democracy is of key importance for salafi-jihadi groups, which hold as sacred doctrine their rejection of both Western democracy and man-made laws in favor of the principle of divine law. Power derived from human beings rather than from Allah is, for them, a form of kufr or heresy. In recent years, the subject of elections has become more controversial as Muslims living in the West have increasingly questioned the religious legitimacy of participating in Western elections. Books on this topic, especially those opposing the participation of Muslims in democratic processes, are now translated by Salafi scholars and groups into English. In response to American efforts to bring democracy to the Arab world, salafi-jihadi groups contend that democracy not only is a heresy, but is also an integral part of the new "Crusader" campaign of colonialism (al-Hamlah al-Salibiyyah al-Jadidah) and the historical conspiracy against the Muslim world. Even more moderate Islamic elements in the Arab world, especially mainstream Saudi and Egyptian clerics and scholars, support this view, which contributed to the controversy surrounding the last Iraqi elections.

Democracy is also a threatening prospect for most Arab governments, be they kingdoms or republics. Arab nationalist scholars describe democracy as a form of "Western political-cultural imperialism or colonialism, " a description that reflects in part the ideological legacies of the Soviet Union and Arab socialism. Complicating the situation even more is the fact that, in many Arab countries, it is oppressed Islamic movements that are leading the opposition and the demand for civil rights. The Algerian FIS began this trend; the Saudi Islamic reform movement and others continue it.

In recent years, meanwhile, several famous fatwas from salafi-jihadi scholars have been issued against democracy and against elections. Salafi scholars and activists made intensive use of these fatwas in order to criticize the Palestinian elections in general and Hamas' participation in particular. On January 18, 2006, the webmaster of the Al-Maqrizi Center in London, which is headed by the Egyptian Islamist Dr. Hani al-Siba`i, posted on the jihadi forum Al-Hesbah the names of 102 Islamic clerics (some now deceased) who strongly opposed any participation in parliamentary elections in the Muslim world. Meant to discourage Hamas from taking part in the elections, the list included 52 Egyptians, 22 Saudis, 5 Jordanians (among them "Shaykh" Abu Mus`ab al-Zarqawi), 5 Syrians, 4 Moroccans, 2 Sudanese, 2 Lebanese, 2 Kuwaitis, an Iraqi, a Nigerian, a Mauritanian, and a Yemeni. The dominance of Egyptians and Saudis on the list reflects the important role they have played in the development of salafi-jihadi ideology, which is largely the product of the collaboration among Wahhabi scholars and Egyptian Brotherhood exiles in Saudi Arabia.

There were also four Palestinians on the list who had no links to Hamas or the Brotherhood. Among them, two individuals—Taqi al-Din al-Nabahani and Abd al-Qadim Zaloum, the founders and first two leaders of the Hizb al-Tahrir (Islamic Liberation Party—HT)—are particularly interesting. Another past HT leader, Ahmad al-Da`our, is listed among the Jordanian clerics. The presence of these HT leaders is significant because in the debate over the elections in Iraq, Egypt, and the Palestinian Authority, supporters of salafi-jihadi ideology bestowed, for the first time, a sense of legitimacy on HT and its well-known rejection of democracy and elections. In pamphlets it published and distributed in the Palestinian Authority, and on its websites, the HT called for a boycott of the Palestinian elections, as well as those in Iraq. Several prominent members of the party took part in debates in jihadi forums on the Internet—the main platform nowadays for jihadisalafi-jihadis even relied on and circulated material issued by HT, including fatwas.

Though traditionally somewhat ambivalent about elections, HT developed its stronger, more assertive opposition to them in light of events in Iraq and Central Asia. Wide ideological gaps still exist between HT and salafi-jihadi groups—gaps made manifest by previous salafi-jihadi attacks on HT on a variety of issues. Nonetheless, their agreement on the issue of democracy and elections might provide a basis for closer relations in the future. Even though the HT regards itself as being in a theoretical phase (nazari) and not yet a practical one (`amali), the dynamics of the global jihadi movement bring HT's younger generation closer to jihadi ideas than to those of the Brotherhood.

The most popular rulings used by salafi-jihadi opponents of democratic elections are those written by the Palestinian-Jordanian Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, the spiritual father of Al-Tawhid wal-Jihad; Abu Basir al-Tartousi, the Syrian in exile in London; and the old-time ideologue of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Abd al-Qader bin Abd al-Aziz jihadi sympathizers cited their writings quite often to intimidate Hamas prior to the elections.

Illustrative of the salafi-jihadi criticism of Hamas are the opinions expressed by Abu Jandal al-Azdi, a Saudi Wahhabi cleric and one of the first leaders of al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia, who has been imprisoned there since 2003. In an interview, al-Azdi castigated Hamas for its support of Arafat and the Palestinian national struggle. Arafat, according to al-Azdi, was a murtadd—the worst form of apostate—"a greater enemy than the Jews" who should have been killed. Hamas' support of Arafat was unforgivable because it poisoned the entire movement, turning all its members into infidels. Hamas also supported Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen, a "known Baha'i" in jihadi eyes, and held discussions with the Egyptian intelligence services.

Al-Azdi's main criticism of Hamas, however, centered on the distinction it makes between external and internal enemies, a distinction that Hamas adopted from Muslim Brotherhood doctrine and that al-Azdi and supporters of global jihadi firmly reject as being too narrow. In this, al-Azdi cited the Palestinian jihadi cleric Abu Qutada, who wrote,

[T]he jihad of the Muslim Brotherhood has only one meaning and narrow-minded understanding— the jihad against the foreigners. The Egyptians should fight the British, the Palestinians against the Jews, and the Afghans against the Russians. They have never thought about fighting the Arab enemies, since they lack the legal basis for such a struggle, which understands the Tawhid according to the understanding of the Salaf—the companions of the Prophet.

Al-Azdi also rejected the idea of any temporary truce (hudnah) with the Jews or Israel unless it included the strict conditions of Salafism. He concluded his article, nonetheless, by leaving an interesting opening for Hamas. He wrote that "the benefit of peaceful coexistence—sulh—for the interest of the Muslim public might be greater than war. In such a case you are even allowed to prolong the truce for more than ten years." The traditional Islamic principle of community interest apparently carries weight even among the salafi-jihadis, and could plausibly serve in the future, provided the proper and compelling conditions, as the basis for a turn toward a more pragmatic, albeit still ideologically extremist, orientation.

Responses to Hamas' Electoral Victory

Hamas' electoral victory created a vigorous debate in salafi-jihadi Internet forums, which subsequently lost some of its initial enthusiasm due to the "virtual Jihad" against Denmark during the cartoon crisis. The stunning victory of Hamas heightened the ambivalence of the responses by Salafists. Early public statements by Hamas leaders, as well as Israeli, American, and European reactions, however, helped generate sharp criticism over Hamas. In particular, members of these forums expressed fear that the movement might change policies in favor of entering the political process with Israel.

The Kuwaiti salafi-jihadi cleric Hamed al-Ali, a very popular figure among the younger generation of supporters of global Jihad, exemplified the tone of the critics. In an article entitled "Hamas' Dilemma," which appeared in the jihadi internet forum Al-Hesbah on January 27, 2006, al-Ali criticized Hamas, even though he could not refrain from blessing them for their political achievement. [7] According to al-Ali, Palestine re mains the focus of the jihadi struggle and "a microcosm of the entire Ummah." But Palestine is not, he explained, the sole "property of the Palestinians; hence, they cannot decide by themselves what way to choose." Even though Hamas deserves applause for its electoral victory and for gaining the trust of the Palestinian public, "it is badly in need of the advice and guidance of the Islamic nation." Hamas should therefore consult the rest of the Salafists in making its future decisions. It should also choose the only ideologically acceptable strategy of the Salafists, which is armed resistance to Israel.

By winning the elections and becoming a governing authority, al-Ali said, Hamas now has only two unacceptable choices: falling under a strangling siege, or following the path of Fatah—that is, compromising with the Jews. He outlined three challenges that currently confront Hamas. The first results from the contradiction between its Islamist ideology and its political position, which stands in opposition to that ideology. Every Islamic movement that joins the "path of democracy" faces this dilemma and trap. The second problem arises from the contradiction between Hamas' solid, uncompromising positions regarding any concessions in Palestine and its need to soften those positions now that the movement is in charge of the government. Finally, Hamas now must confront the contradiction between its desire to preserve the honor and noble values of its martyrs and its desire to preserve its rule. Hamas is now, al-Ali explains, like a "sheep besieged by wild animals that want to ###### her blood."

In short, al-Ali criticizes Hamas for participating in a process that put the movement in an almost impossible situation. At the same time, however, he urges other Islamists to assist Hamas and guide it on the right path rather than condemn it and ignore its dilemma. Al-Ali's "softened" words represent a sort of qualified salafi-jihadi patronage of Hamas. They further suggest that Hamas should bear in mind that its victory is not only its own, but one that should be shared with the rest of the Muslim world so as to avoid future mistakes.

Responses to al-Ali's article covered a wide spectrum of opinion. Some stricter Salafists eschewed the "soft" tone, unable to forgive Hamas for disobeying Allah's rules by participating in the elections. More sympathetic commentators, however, applauded Hamas for its social work among the Palestinians and noted the difficulty of fighting simultaneously on so many fronts. Some of these even called for modifying the Islamist project in Palestine by breaking it down into several stages. They asserted that improving the welfare of the Palestinian public is a noble phase in its own right, and one that only Hamas is capable of achieving. Less sympathetic were some supporters of global Jihad who claimed that the Palestinians should view themselves as part of the entire oppressed Islamic nation, and should not isolate their case as Hamas seems to do.