item f-4: hamas covenant - full and correct version - al-maqdisi translation

8/9/2019 Item F-4: Hamas Covenant - Full and Correct Version - Al-Maqdisi Translation

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CHARTEROF THEISLAMICRESISTANCEMOVEMENTHAMAS)

OF PALESTINE

[Thecharter astranslated yMuhammadMaqdsifor he slamic ssociationorPal-estine, allas, Texas, n 1990.1

Ye re the est f eoples,volvedforumanity,enjoininghatsright,orbiddinghat s wrong,andbelievingnAllah. f only he eople f heBookhad aith, t were est or them: mongthem re omewho ave aith, ut most f hemarepervertedransgressors.hey ill oyounoharm, arring triflingnnoyance;f hey omeout o ight ou, hey ill how ou their acks,andnohelp hall hey et. Shamespitched verthemlike tent) hereverheyrefound,xceptwhen nder covenantofprotection)fromllahandfrom eople; hey raw n themselvesrath

from llah nd itchedver hems the ent f)destitution. his ecausehey ejectedhe ignsofAllah, nd slew heProphetsn defiancefright; his ecausehey ebellednd ransgressedbeyond ounds.The Holy Quran Sura 3: Ali-'Imran:110-112Israel ill eestablishedndwill tay stablisheduntil slamnullifiest as it nullified hatwasbefore t.

The Martyred mam Hasan al-Banna(may Allah have mercy pon him)

Indeedheslamic orldsburning,hereforet sobligatoryneveryne o ut little f tout ohecan xtinguishhat e s abletodowithoutwaitingfornyonelse.

ShaykhAmjad al-Zahawee(may Allah have mercy pon him)

IntroductionAllpraise s to Allah. We seekHis aid,

forgiveness,ndguidance,ndon Himdowerely. Wesend eace nd blessingsn Allah'smessenger-his amily, ompanions, hosewhofollow im, alled with is message ndadhered o his way-may the blessing ndpeacebe continued or s long s theheavensand earth ast.AndAfter

0 peoplefrom he center f the affair,from he ea of truggle, rom hebeat fbe-lieving earts, mmaculaterms; ponreali-zation f the duty, esponding o the com-mand of Allah, the call, meeting ndgathering as performed]he iscipline ereall based on the ystem f Allah. The willwas persistent o offer ts role n ife urpass-ing ll obstacles urmounting hehazards fthe ath he reparation ascontinuous,ndthewillingnesso pend he ody nd oul forthe ake of Allah. It was that he eed wasformed nd began forging ts path n the

stormy ea of hopes nd dreams, esire ndwishes, anger nd obstacles, nd pains ndchallengesrom ithin nd without.

When the dea matured, nd the seedgrew, ndthe lant was firmly ootedn real-ity ar wayfrom he momentarymotionaloutburst nddespicable ashness, he slamic

Journal fPalestinetudies XII,no. 4 (Summer 993), pp. 122-134.



HAMAS CHARTER 123

Resistance ovement ent orth operformits roleMujahidastruggling)or he ake ofit's Lord. The Movement laced ts handswith hehands f ll theMujahidinho triveto free alestine. he soulsof tsMujahidingather ith ll the ouls f he Mujahidinhostrove ith heir ouls on the and of Pales-tine or lltime ince t wasconqueredy hecompanionsf heMessengerf Allah saas)until oday.

This is the charter f Harakat al-Muqawamal-IslamiyyaHamas)l the slamic

Resistance ovement] anifestingts form,unveilingts dentity, tatingtsposition, lar-ifying ts expectations,iscussingts hopes,and calling or id, support, nd members.Ourbattle ith heJews s long nd danger-ous, requiring ll dedicated fforts. t is aphasewhichmust e followed y ucceedingphases, battalion hichmust e supportedby battalion fter attalion f the dividedArab nd Islamicworld ntil he enemy sovercome,nd the ictory f Allahdescends.

This s how we perceive hem pproach-

ingover he horizon.And ou hall ertainlynowhe ruth f t all)after while.

Sura 8:Sad:88Allahhas decreed: t is I and MyMessengerswhomust revailfor llah s one ull f trengthableto nforce iswill.

Sura 8:Mujadila:21Say hou: his smyWay: do nvite nto llahonevidencelear s the eeing ith ne's yes,and whoeverollowsme. Glory o Allah nd

never ill oingodswith llahSura12:Yusuf:108

Chapter ne

Introductiono the Movement* IdeologicalriginArticle :

The slamic esistance ovement: slamis its system. rom slam t reaches or tsideology, undamentalrecepts, nd worldview f ife, he niverse ndhumanity;nd t

judges ll ts ctions ccordingo slam nd sinspired y slam o correct ts rrors.

* The slamic esistance ovement'sConnection ith he ociety f theMuslim rotherhood

Article :

The Islamic ResistanceMovements abranch f he Muslim rotherhood hapternPalestine.The MuslimBrotherhood ove-ment s an international rganization. t isoneof today's argest slamicmovements. tprofesses comprehensivenderstandingndprecise conceptualization f the Islamicprecepts n all aspects f ife: concept ndbelief, olitics nd economics, ducationndsocial ervice,urisdictionnd aw, exhorta-tion nd training, ommunicationnd arts,the een nd the nseen, nd the est f ife's

ways.* Structurend FormationArticle :

The structure f the Islamic ResistanceMovementonsists fMuslims ho gave heirloyalty oAllah. They herefore orshippedHim s He truly eserves:I have nly reatedJinnsndHumanshat heymayworship e.

Sura51:Zariyat:56They new heir bligation owardshem-

selves, heir eople nd their ountry. heyachieved aqwa ofAllah n all that their b-ligation]. hey aised hebanner f Jihad nthe faceof the transgressorso free ountryand folk rom the ransgressors']ilth,mpu-rity, nd evil.Nay,Wehurl he ruth gainstalsehood,nd tknocksut tsbrain, ndbehold,alsehoodothperish

Sura21:Anbiya':18

Article :The Islamic Resistance Movementwelcomesll Muslims ho dopt ts doctrines

and ideology, nact ts program, uard tssecrets,nddesire o oin tsranks o performthe obligationnd receive heir eward romAllah.

* The Historical nd GeographicalDimensionf The slamic esistanceMovement

Article :The historical imension f the slamic

ResistanceMovement riginates rom tsadoption f Islam as a system f life. Itreaches ar ack to the birth f the slamicMessageand to the Pious Predecessors.Therefore, llah s its goal, heMessengertsleader, nd the Quran tsconstitution.

As for ts geographical imension,t is

1. Hamas: Force nd bravery. l-Majam l-wasit, ol.1.

2. Taqwa: Awareness nd fear f Allah, onscious fAllah'swatchful aze.



124 JOURNALOF PALESTINE STUDIES

wherever uslims-those ho adopt slamas a system f ife-are found, n any regionon the face f the arth. Therefore,t estab-lishes firm oundationn the depths f theearth nd reaching igh n the heavens.Seest hou ot ow llah ets orth parable?goodlyWord ike goodly ree, whose oot sftrmlyfixed,nd ts ranchesreach) o he eav-ens. t brings orth ts ruit t all times, y heleave f ts ord. o Allah ets orth arablesorpeople,n order hat heymay eceivedmoni-tion.

Sura14:Ibrahim:24-25

* Differentiationnd ndependenceArticle :

The IslamicResistance ovements anoutstandingype f Palestinian ovement.tgives ts oyalty oAllah, dopts slam s asystem f ife, nd works oward aising hebanner f Allahon every nch of Palestine.Therefore,n the hadow f slam, t s possi-ble for ll followers f different eligionsolive n peace nd with ecurity ver heir er-son,property, nd rights. n the bsence fIslam, iscord akes orm, ppressionndde-struction re rampant, nd wars nd battlestake lace.

The Muslim oet Muhammad qbalelo-quently eclares:Whenaith s ost here s no ecurityor ife or

he who oesnot evive eligion;Andwhoeverssatisfied ithife ithout eligion

then e would ave et annihilation e hispartner.

* TheUniversalityf The slamicResistance ovementArticle :

Muslims hroughoutheworld dopt hesystem f the slamicResistance ovement;they work owards iding t, accepting tsstands, nd amplifyingtsJihad. herefore,tis an international ovement-it s preparedfor his task] ecause f he larity f ts de-ology, ts ofty oal,and the sanctity f tsobjectives. pon his asis t should e con-sidered, iven fair valuationnd dmissionof its role. Whoever heats t of its right,turns wayfrom iding t, or is blinded ohide ts ole,s a person ho rgues ith ate.Andwhoeverloses is yes romeeing eal-ity, nintentionallyr ntentionally, illoneday wake o find hat he world as eft imbehind, nd the ustification illwearhimdown rying odefend is position. here-ward s or hose ho re early.Theoppressionf the closerelationss more

painfuln he oul, han he ssault f shaTpsword.To heeWe ent he cripturen ruth, onfirningthe cripture hat ame eforet, nd uarding tin afety: o udge etweenhem y what llahhath evealed,nd ollow ot heir ain esires,divergingfromhe ruth hat ath ome othee.To each mong ou haveweprescribed Lawand an OpenWay. fAllahhad o willed, ewould avemade ou single eople, ut Hisplan s) to est ou nwhat ehath iven ou; ostrives in race n ll virtues. he oalofyouall is to Allah;t is He thatwill how outhetruth f hemattersn which e dispute.

Sura5:Maida:48The Islamic ResistanceMovements a

link n [along] hain f heJihad gainst heZionist ccupation, hich s connected ndtiedwith he nitiation of heJihadl f theMartyrIzzal-Din l-QassamndhisMujahidbrothers n 1936. And the chain ontinueson to connect nd tie nother pisode o addto hejihad f he alestiniansnd hejihad fthe Muslim rotherhoodn the warof 1948

andthe ihad peration f heMuslim roth-erhood n 1968and thereafter. ven houghthe pisodeswere ew nd far etween, ndwerenot ontinuous nJihad ue to the b-stacles laced y hosenthe phere f influ-enceof] heZionist ntity n the face f theMujahidin. ven though he slamicResist-ance Movementooksforward o fulfill hepromise fAllahno matter ow ong t takesbecause heProphet f Allah saas)says:The astHourwould ot ome ntil heMuslimsfight gainst he ewsnd heMuslims ould illthem, nd until he ewswould ide hemselvesbehind stone r a tree nd a stone r a treewoulday.Muslimr ervantfAllah heres aJew ehind e; omendkill im; ut he ree fGharqad ould ot ay t, or t s the ree f heJews Bukhari nd Muslim).3

* The Motto f The slamic esistanceMovement:

Article :Allah s tsGoal.TheMessengers ts eader.TheQurans ts Constitution.

Jihad s ts methodology,ndDeath or he ake fAllahs ts most oveteddesire.

3. Imam Muslim, ahih Muslim, ol. 4. Translated yAbdul Hamid Siddiqi Lahore, Pakistan: h. Muham-mad Ashraf, 976), p.1510, Hadith no. 6985.



HAMASCHARTER 125

Chapter wo* GoalsArticle :

The slamic esistance ovementvolvedin a timewhere he ackof he slamic pirithas brought boutdistortedudgement ndabsurd omprehension. alueshavedeterio-rated, heplague f the vilfolk nd oppres-sion and darkness avebecomerampant,cowardshave become ferocious.Nationshave been occupied, heir eopleexpelledand fallen n their aces in humiliation]everywheren earth. Thenation f truth sabsent nd thenation f vilhasbeen stab-lished; s long as Islamdoes not take tsrightful lace n the world rena verythingwillcontinue ochange or heworse.Thegoal of the IslamicResistanceMovementthereforesto onquer vil, reak tswill, ndannihilatet o that ruth ay revail,othatthe country ayreturn o its rightful lace,and o that he allmay ebroadcastver heMinaretAlit. Mosques] roclaiminghe s-lamic tate. And id s sought rom llah.Anddid not Allah heck ne set ofpeople ymeans f nother, he arth ouldndeed e ullofmischief utAllahs/full fbountyo ll theworlds.

Sura2:Baqara:251

Article 0:While he slamic esistance ovements

forging ts path, t willbe a support o theweak, victor o the oppressed; ith ll itsmight, sing ll of ts energy, o realize hetruth nd defeat hefalsehood,ywords ndaction, ere nd everywheret can reach ndeffect change.

Chapter hreeStrategynd Means

TheStrategyf The slamic esistanceMovement: alestines an Islamic rust:

Article 1:The slamic esistance ovementfirmly]

believes hat he and of Palestines an Is-lamicWaqf Trust] ponall Muslim enera-tions ill the dayof Resurrection. t is notright ogive tupnor ny art f t. NeithersingleArab state nor all the Arab states,neither King or leader, or ll the kingsor eaders, or ny rganization-Palestinianor Arab-have such authority ecause theland fPalestines an Islamic rust pon llMuslimenerationsntil he ay fResurrec-tion. Andwho has the rue pokesmanshipfor ll the Muslim enerationsill hedayofResurrection?

This is the legislation n the IslamicShari'aJurisprudence),nd he ame oesforall the ands accessed nd consecrated yMuslims t the time f conquering or llMuslim enerations ill he dayof Resurrec-tion.

And o it was when he eaders f he s-lamicArmy, fter onqueringraqandSham[Greateryria], ent a letter] o the Muslims'Caliph Umar bn al-Khatab, sking orhisadvice oncerning he ccessed ands: Shallthey ivide t up among he rmy, r eave t

to the riginal wner, r what?After iscus-sion nd consultation etween he Caliph fthe Muslims, Umar bn al-Khatab, nd thecompanions f the Messengersaas), theycame to the decision hat hebenefits ndblessingsf he and hould tay n thehandsof its owner. As for ts real ownership, tshould ecome trust or he Muslim enera-tions ill he day f Resurrection. hosewhoareon the and have he rights othe and'sbenefits nly, nd this rust s permanent slong s the heavens nd the arth ast. Anyaction aken n contradiction o the slamicShari'a oncerning alestines unacceptableaction, o be taken ack by ts laimants.Verily,hiss the ery ruthnd ertainty.ocel-ebrate ith raises hename f thy ord, heSupreme.

Sura 6:Waqi'a:95-96

* Nation nd Nationalism rom he Point fView f The slamic esistanceMovement

Article 2:Nationalism,rom hepoint f view f he

IslamicResistanceMovement,s part andparcel f religious deology. here s not ahigher eak n nationalismr depth n devo-tion hanJihad hen n enemy ands n theMuslim erritories. ighting he enemy e-comes he ndividual bligationf very us-limman nd woman.Thewomans allowedogofight ithouthe ermissionf herhusbandand the slave without hepermissionf hismaster.

Nothing f the ort s found n any thersystem. his s a reality boutwhich here sno doubt. f other ationalisms avemate-rial,humanistic,nd geographicalies, henthe slamic Resistance ovement's ational-ismhas all of that, nd, more mportant, i-vinereasons rovidingt with ife nd spiritwhere t s connected ith he originator fthe pirit nd ifegiver,aisingn theheavensthe ivine anner o connect arth nd heav-ens with strong ond.When usa omes ndthrowshe ane




Indeed heMagicndMagicianre nvalid.Truth tands ut lear rom rror: whoevere-jects vil ndbelievesnAllah ath rasped hemost rustworthyandhold,hatnever reaks.AndAllah eareth ndknowethll things.

Sura2:Baqara:256

* Initiatives,eaceSolutionsndInternationalonferences

Article 3:The initiatives onflict, hat re called

"Peacefulolutions"nd"Internationalon-ferences" o solve the Palestinian roblem.Asfar s the deologyf the slamic Resist-anceMovements concerned, iving p anypart f Palestines like giving p part f tsreligion. The nationalism f the IslamicResistance ovements part f ts eligion,nthat t educates ts members, nd they er-form ihad o raise hebanner f Allah vertheir ation.AndAllahHath ull owerndcontrolver isaffairs; utmost mongmankind nowt not.

Sura12:Yusuf:21From ime o time he nvitation s madefor n internationalonferenceolook ntosolving heproblem. ome ccept nd somereject he dea, or nereason r nother, sk-ing for omecondition r conditions obefulfilledn order oagree o attend nd par-ticipaten the onference. ueto the slamicResistance ovement'snowledgef he ar-ticipating arties f the conference,nd theparticipants' ast and present pinions ndstands on Muslim nterests, he Islamic

Resistance ovement oes not perceive hatthe conferencesre able to deliver he de-mands, rovide herights, ordo ustice othe oppressed. hoseconferencesre noth-ing ut form f nforcinghe ule f he n-believersn the and of Muslims.Andwhenhave heunbelieversustly reated hebeliev-ers?Never ill he ewsr theChristiansesatisfiedwith hee nless houollowheirformf eligion.Say:"TheGuidancefAllah-that s the only)Guidance.Wert hou o ollowheir esiresfterthe knowledge hich ath reached hee, henwouldsthou indneither rotector orHelperagainst llah.

Sura2:Baqara:120There s no solution o the Palestinian

Problem xcept yJihad. he nitiatives,p-tions, nd international onferences re awaste f ime nd a kind f hild's lay. ThePalestinianeople re nobler han o be fid-dlingwith heir uture, ights,nddestiny. t

is mentioned n the honorable radition:ThePeople f Sham Greater yria) re God'swhipnHis arth; ith hem e takes evenge nwhom e pleases f His ervants.t s orbiddenon heir ypocritesoberulingver heir elieversand they ill ot xcept n worry nddarkness(Ahmad nd Tabami).

* The Three pheresArticle 4:

The problem f liberating alestine srelated o three pheres: the Palestiniansphere, he Arab sphere, nd the Islamicsphere. very ne of hem asa role o playin the truggle gainst ionism. ach has ob-ligationso fulfill. t s a grave rror, nd ex-treme gnorance, o ignore ny of thesespheres, ecause alestines an Islamicandaccommodatinghe first ibla,4the thirdHoly anctuary,5 he placewhere he] scentof the Messengersaas)took lace.Glory oAllahwho idtakeHis servant orJourney ynight rom he acredMosqueotheFarthest osque, hose recincts e idBless-in order hat We

might howim ome

fOur

Signs: orHe stheOneWho earethnd eeth(all things).

Sura17:al-Isra':1Since his s the ase, he iberation fPal-

estine sobligatoryor very uslim, omat-ter where e is; it is on this basis that heproblem hould e viewed, ndevery uslimmust now his.

When the problem egins o be solvedfrom his asis,when ll the esources f hethree pheres re mployed,he urrent itua-

tionwill hange nd the ay f iberationill

be near.Of truth eare trongerthan hey) ecausefthe errorn heir earts,sent) y Allah.Thissbecauseheyre eople evoidfunderstanding.

Sura59:Hashr:13

* Jihad or heLiberationf PalestinesObligatory

Article 5:When an enemy ccupies ome of the

4. Qibla: The direction n which we face duringprayer. uring he formative eriod f slam, Muslimswere ommanded y Allah o face Masjid l-Aqsadur-ing prayer. t was later n that hecommandwas re-vealedfrom llah that Muslims hould hange hedi-rection o faceMecca.This ncident s recorded n theHolyQuran; ee 2:142-145, 49-150.5. The third oly anctuary efers o the uthentic ar-ration f the Prophet saas) in whichhe mentions hesanctity nd blessings f Bayt l-Maqdes nd the re-wards f praying t Masjid l-Aqsa.



HAMAS CHARTER

Muslim ands, ihad ecomes bligatory oreveryMuslim. n the struggle gainst heJewish ccupationf Palestine,he anner fJihadmust e raised. Thatrequires hat s-lamic ducation e passed o the masses o-cally, n the Arab worldl nd n the slamic[world],nd that he pirit f ihad-fightingand joining he ranks-must e broadcastamong he UmmaMuslim ommunity). heeducation rocessmust nvolveIslamic ndother) cholars,eachers,nd ducators,om-munications pecialists nd ournalists, he

educated asses,ndespecially,heyouth fthe Islamic Movement nd their cholars.Fundamentalhangesmust e brought boutin the ducationystem o iberatet from heeffects f the Ideologicalnvasion roughtabout t the hands of the OrientalistsndMissionaries, hose attack suddenly e-scended n the area after alah al-Din al-Ayubi efeatedheCrusaders. o theCrusad-ers hen new twas mpossibleodefeat heMuslims xcept y setting he tagewith nideologicalttack oconfuse heir the Mus-lims') thoughts, tain heir eritage nd de-fame heir istory, fter hich military t-tackwould ake lace.Thatwas to pavethewayfor n Imperialisticttack here Gen-eralEdmund) llenby laimedwhenhe en-tered Jerusalem Now the Crusades reover," nd General urud tood ySalah l-Din's Saladin's) rave aying, Herewe havereturned Saladin." mperialism ashelpedand is still helping he deological nvasion oestablish ts roots irmly. nd all that waspreparation or he oss of Palestine.

We must nstill n the minds f heMus-

limgenerationhat hePalestinianause s areligiousause.It must e solved n this a-sis because t contains slamic anctuarieswhereMasjid l-Aqsa s tied irmly oMasjidal-Haramin Mecca)never o be released,slong s the heavensndthe arth ast, ywayof the night ourney 'Isra) of Rasulallah(Saas)andascensionMi'raj) othe heavensfrom here al-Aqsa).ToguardMuslimsrominfidelsnAllah's ause or ne ay s better hantheworldnd whateverson ts urface,ndplacen aradisessmall s that ccupiedy hewhip f ne f ou s better han heworld ndwhat verson ts urface;nd morning'sr nevening'sourney hichheworshiperperson)nAllah'sause sbetter han heworldndwhatson ts u4face.6

ByHim n whose and s Muhammad'sife,

127

love o be killedn theway f Allah hen o berevivedo ife gain, hen o bekillednd hen obe revivedo fe nd hen obekilled. (Agreedupon.)

* Training heMuslim enerationArticle 6:

We must rain he Muslim enerationnour rea, n Islamic raininghat epends nperforminghe eligiousbligations,tudyingthe book of Allah verywell, the Propheticnarration sunna), he Islamichistory ndheritage rom ts authentic ourceswith headvice f specialistsnd scholars, nd usingthe urriculum hatwillprovide heMuslimwith he orrect orld iew n ideology ndthought. n addition s the necessityf care-ful tudy f the nemy's material nd humanability, knowing his weaknesses andstrengths, nowing hepowers hat upporthim nd tand yhis ide, long with hene-cessity f knowing urrent vents nd newtrends, tudying he nalysis nd commenta-ries on it. Also, here s the mportance fplanning or he present nd the future, ndstudyingvery rend here he fighting us-lim mujahid)an ive nhis imewith he ullknowledgefhis destiny, urpose, ath, ndthe vents urrounding im.Omy on saidLuqman),if here e but) heweightf mustard eed nd t werehidden)na rock, r anywhere)n he eavens r n arth,Allahwill ring t orth. orAllah nderstandsthefiner ysteries,and) s well-acquaintedwiththem). O my on Establishegularrayer, n-joinwhat s ust, nd orbid hat s wrongndbearwith atient onstancyhate'eretide hee;for his s firmnessof urpose)n the onductof)affairs. And well ot hy heekfor ride)at men, orwalkn nsolencehroughhe arth.forAllah oveth ot ny rrogant oaster.

Sura 1:Luqman:16-18

* TheRoleof the MuslimWomanArticle 7:

TheMuslim oman as a role n the at-tlefor he iberation hich s no ess than herole f heman, or he s the actory fmen.Herrole n directing enerationsnd training

them s a bigrole.Theenemies ave ealizedher role: they hink hat f they re able todirect er nd raise er heway hey ant, arfrom slam, hen hey avewon the battle.You'llfind hat hey secontinuouspendingthrough assmedia nd the motion ictureindustry. hey lsouse the ducational ys-

6. Imam l-Bukhari, ahih l-Bukhani, Vol. 4. Trans-lated by M.M. Khan (Istanbul, Turkey: Hilaalyayinlari), . 91, Hadith no. 142. 7. AbdulHamid iddique, rans. electionsfromadith

(Kuwait: slamicBookPublishers), . 160.



128 JOURNALOF PALESTINESTUDIES

tem y way f their eachers hoarepart fZionist rganizations-whicho by differentnames nd forms, uch s [free] asons, o-tary lubs, ntelligence etworks,nd otherorganizations. heseare all centers or e-struction nddestroyers. hoseZionist rga-nizations ave reatmaterial esources hichallow hem o play significantolen societyto realize ionist oals, nd enforce heun-derstandinghat erves the nterests f] heenemy. Theseorganizationslaytheir olewhile slam s absent rom he rena nd s

estranged rom ts people. The Islamistshould layhis role n confrontingheplansof hose estroyers. hen he ay omes ndIslamhas its way n directing ife, t shalleliminate hose rganizations hich re op-posed ohumanitynd slam.

Article 8:Thewomen n the house f theMujahid,

(andthe triving amily),e she a mother rsister, as the most mportant ole n takingcare f hehome nd raising hildren f thi-

cal character nd understandinghat omesfrom slam, nd of training er children operform hereligious bligationsopreparethem or he Jihadic olethat waits hem.From his erspectivet s necessaryo takecare f chools ndthe urriculahat ducatetheMuslim irl o become righteous otheraware f her role n the battle f iberation.Shemust ave he necessarywareness ndattentivenessn running hehome.Being c-onomical nd far rom arefree pending fthefamily'sncome re requirementso con-tinue he trugglen the overwhelminglyr-duous ituation. he should lways eep nmind hatmoneysblood hatmust ot lowexcept n veins o sustain he ife f childrenand elders qually.For Muslimmen nd women, or believing enand women,ordevoutmen nd women,or truemen nd women, or men nd womenwho repatient nd constant, or men and women whohumble hemselves,or men nd women who ivein charity, or men and womenwho ast (anddeny hemselves),ormen nd women ho uardtheir hastity, ndfor men nd women who n-gage in Allah'spraise-for them as Allah pre-paredforgivenessnd great reward.

Sura 33:Ahzab:35

* The Roleof slamicArt n the Battle orLiberation

Article 9:Art has rules nd standards ithwhich

onecandetermine hethert s Islamic r g-norant. he slamic iberation s in need of

Islamic rt hat aises he pirit nd doesnotemphasize ne aspect f the humanity verthe others, ut raises ll aspects qually ndharmoniously. he human s of a strangemakeup, and ull f lay nd breathed pirit.Islamic rt ommunicates omankind n thisbasis. Ignorant rt ommunicates othe odyandemphasizeshe lay spect.

Books, articles, newsletters, rations,pamphlets, oetry, asheed songs), plays,and other materials,f the pecialties f s-lamic rt re ncludedn t, re necessary or

ideologicalducation nd invigorating our-ishment ocontinue he truggle ndrelaxingthe pirit ecause he truggle s long ndthetoil s hard. The souls willbe bored nd s-lamic rt evives he igor, mparts xcitementand nvokes n the oul the high pirits ndcorrect eliberation.Nothing orrects he oul f it is deliberating

than hange rom tate o tate.Allthis s serious ith o mirth ncluded e-cause nation tJihad oesnotknowmerri-ment.

* SocialWelfareArticle 0:

The Muslim ocietys a cooperativeoci-ety nd the Messengersaas)said"Best f hepeople re l-Asharites. hey ere, a difficultsituation efell hem,n residencer n travel,they ouldather hat hey aveofwealth)nddividet up equally mong hemselves."ndthis s the slamic pirit hatmust revail neveryMuslim ociety. he society hat p-posesa viciousNazienemy n its behavior,which oes not differentiateetweenmen rwomen, lder r youth, s foremost n beingadorned ith his slamic pirit. Ourenemyuses the method f collective unishment,robbing eople of their and and property,and chasing hem n their migration ndplacesof gathering. hey purposely reak(bodily) ones, irelive mmunition irectly)at women, hildren, lders sometimes) itha reason r without reason, reate oncen-tration amps oplacethousandsofpeople)in inhuman onditions, ot to mention he

demolition f homes, rphaning f children,and ssuance f yrannicalawson thousandsofyouth othey pend heir estyears n theobscurity f prisons.

The Nazism fJews as ncluded omenand children. error s for veryone, heyfrighten eople n their ivelihood,ake heirwealth, ndthreaten heir onor. They, iththeir hocking ctions, reat eople worsethan hey reat heworst f war criminals.Deportationrom ne's and s a form fmur-



HAMAS CHARTER 129

der.In confrontinghis ype f onduct, ocialcooperation ust redominatemong ll thepeople nd ll must ppose he nemy s onebody; f member f t s afflictedhewholeof he ody s nvolved oth n waking nd nfever.

Article 1:Part f socialwelfares providing id to

everyone ho s in needof t, be t material,or spiritual, r collectiveooperationo com-plete omeworks.Andupon hemembers fIslamicResistanceMovement allsthe re-sponsibilityf ooking fter heneeds f thepopulation s theywouldfor heir ersonalneeds.And an obligation)pon hemsthatthey hould ot pare n effort n realizingt,protectingt nd hem, nd hey hould void,without oul lay,whatmight dverselyffectfuture enerations. ecause he masses refrom hem, nd to them ts power s theirpower, tsfuture s their uture. duty ponallmembers f the slamic esistance ove-ment s to ake art npeople's appinessndgrief nd there hey hould ake s their utythe people'sdemands nd what ealizes hepeople's enefit nd theirs. When his pirit(of cooperation) verwhelms, ove willdeepen nd cooperationnd mercy ill ex-ist), nd rankswillbe strengthenedn con-frontation ith he nemies.

* ThePowers hat upport heEnemyArticle 2:

The enemy lanned ong ago and per-fected heir lan o that hey an chieve hat

they ant o achieve,akingnto ccount f-fective teps n runningmatters. o theyworked on gathering uge and effectiveamounts f wealth o achieve heir goal.Withwealth hey ontrolledhe nternationalmass media-news services, ewspapers,printing resses, broadcast tations, ndmore. With money hey gnited evolutionsin allparts f he world orealize heir ene-fits ndreap he ruits f hem. hey rebe-hind he French evolution,heCommunistRevolution,nd most f the revolutionsereand therewhichwe haveheard f and arehearing f. With wealth hey ormed ecretorganizationshroughoutheworld odestroysocietiesndpromote he ionist ause; heseorganizationsnclude he reemasons,heRo-tary nd Lions lubs, nd others. hese reall destructiventelligence-gatheringrgani-zations.Withwealth hey ontrolledmperi-alistic ations nd pushed hem o occupymany ations o exhaust heir natural) e-sourcesnd preadmischiefn them.

Concerning he local and internationalwars, peak without esitation. hey re be-hind he FirstWorldWar n which hey e-stroyed he slamic alipha nd gainedmate-rialprofit, onopolizedawwealth, nd gotthe Balfour eclaration. hey created heLeague f Nations o they ould ontrol heworld hrough hat rganization. hey rebehind he SecondWorld War where heygrossed uge profits rom heir rade f warmaterials,nd etdown he oundations o s-tablish heir ation y forming he UnitedNations nd Security ouncil, nstead f theLeague f Nations,n order o rule he worldthrough hat rganization.

There s not a war that oes on here rthere n which heir ingers re not playingbehind t.Everyimehey indlehefire fwar, llah othextinguisht;but heyever) trive odomischiefon arth. nd llahovethot hose ho o mis-chief.

Sura :Maida:64So the mperialistowersn theCapitalist

West nd Communistast upport he nemywith ll their might-material nd human-andthey hange oles.When slam s mani-fest, he unbelievers' owers nite gainst tbecause heNation f he unbelieverss one.Oye who elieve akenot nto our ntimacythose utsideyouranks: hey ill otfail o or-rupt ou. They nly esire our uin.Rank a-tred as already ppearedrom heir mouths.what heir earts onceals ar worse.Wehavemade t lain o ou he igns,fye avewisdom.

Sura :Ali-'Imran:118It s not by chance hat he above) yah

endswith if yehavewisdom."

Chapter our

OurPosition n:* A) The slamicMovementsArticle 3:

The slamic esistance ovement egardsthe other slamicMovements ith respectand honor ven f t disagrees ith hem n

an issue or viewpoint. owever, t agreeswith hem n many ssues and viewpointsand sees in thosemovements-if hey avegood ntentions hich re purely orAllah'ssake-that they allwithin he area of Ij-tihad.8Aslong s its ctions re within heIslamic Jurisprudence),o everyMujtahid

8. Ijtihad: Creative elf-exertion o derive egislationfrom egitimate ources. I. Faroqui, slamic English.)



130 JOURNALOF PALESTINESTUDIES

there s a reward.The slamic esistance ovementonsid-ers thosemovementss beneficial,nd asksAllah's uidancespiritual nd worldly on-duct) or veryone,nd t raises he anner funity nd continues triving orealize nitybasedon theQuran ndSunna.AndHoldfastlltogether,y he opewhich l-lah stretchesut oryou), nd be not dividedamong ourselves

Sura :Ali-'Imran:03

Article 4:The IslamicResistanceMovement oesnot allow lander r condemnationf ndi-viduals r movements,ecause he elieversnot slanderer r urser, owever,t sneces-sary o differentiateetween his nd posi-tions nd actions f individuals r groups.So,when here s a mistaken a position raction, he slamicResistance ovement asthe right o clarify he mistake nd warnagainst t and work o clarify hetruth ndadopt t n current ituations ith mpartial-

ity. So wisdom s the object of a perseveringquest f he elievers;etakes twherever efinds t.Allahovethot hat vil hould enoisedbroadin ublicpeech,xcept herenjusticeath eendone;orAllahs He who earethndknowethall things.Whetherepublish gooddeed rconcealt orcovervilwith ardon, erily llahdoth lot ut sins) ndhath owerintheudg-ment fvalues).

Sura :Nisa':148-149

* B) TheNationalist ovementsn thePalestinian renaArticle 5:

Given ue respect, ndconsideringts it-uation nd surrounding actors, amaswilllend upport o it as long s it does not giveits oyalty o the Communist ast or the Cru-sadingWest ndreassurests thenationalistmovement's) embersndvictors hat he s-lamicResistance ovements a moral ndJihadic ovement, oral nd attentive n itsview on life, nd in its cooperation ith

others. t hates opportunismnd does notwish nything xcept ood to people, itherindividuals r groups. t doesnot go aftermaterial ainnor personal ame, orrewardof people. It utilizes ts own resources ndwhat s available o t.Againsthem ake eadyyourtrengtho he t-most fyour ower.

Sura :Anfal:60It hasno other mbition han operform he

obligationnd win Allah's atisfaction.All nationalist lements orking n thearena for the sake of liberating alestineshould eassured hat t s a helper nd sup-porter ndwillnever e anything ut hat, ywork nd ction, ast nd present, yuniting,not ividing,epairingot estroying,aluingbenign dvice, ure ffort, nd powerful c-tions, losing he oor n the ace fpetty is-putes, ot istening o rumors nd defama-tionswhile ealizinghe ight f elf-defense.Everythinghat ontradicts hese uidelinessfabricatedrom he nemy, r hosewho readin their ootsteps,oachieve haos, leavageof ranks, nd entanglementn side ssues.Ohye who elieve f wickederson omes oyou with nynews, scertainhe ruth, est ehann eople nwittingly,nd fterwardsecomefull f repentancefwhat ehave one.

Sura 49:Hujurat:6

Article 6:The IslamicResistance ovement, hile

favorably iewing he Palestinian ationalistmovementshat re not oyal oEast r West,is not forbidden rom iscussinghe ptionson the ocal or nternationalrenas oncern-ing hePalestinian roblem.Here n objec-tive iscussion ill larify o what egree henationalist ovement s in the nationalnter-est-from n Islamic erspective.

* C) Palestine iberation rganizationArticle 7:

The Palestine iberation rganizationsclosest f the lose to the slamic Resistance

Movement,n that t s the ather,he rother,the relative, r friend; nd does the Muslimoffend is father, rother, elative,r friend?Our nation s one, plight s one, destiny sone, and our enemy s the same,being f-fected y the situation hat urrounded heformation f the rganizationPLO)and thechaotic deologieshat verwhelm he Arabworld ue to the deologicalnvasionhat e-fell he Arab world ince the defeat f theCrusades nd the ongoing onsolidationforientalism, issionary ork, nd imperial-ism. The organizationPLO) adopted heideaof secular tate, nd s suchweconsid-ered t.

Secularistdeologys n total ontradictiontoreligiousdeologies,nd t s upon deologythat positions, ctions, nd decisions remade. Fromhere,with ur respect or hePalestine iberation rganizationndwhat tmight ecome, nd not underestimatingtsrole n the Arab-Israelitruggle, e cannotexchange he urrent nd future f slam n



HAMASCHARTER 131

Palestine o adopt hesecular deology e-cause he slamic ature f hePalestinians-sue s part ndparcel f ur in ideologyndwayof ife) nd whosoever eglects art fhisdin s surely ost.Andwho urns way rom he eligionfAbra-ham ut uch s debase heir oulswitholly?

Sura2:Baqara:130When he Palestine iberation rganiza-

tion dopts slam s its ystem f ife, e willbe its soldiers nd the firewood f ts fire,whichwillburn he nemies. Until his ap-pens, nd we ask Allah hat t be soon, heposition f the slamic esistance ovementtoward hePalestine iberation rganizationis the osition f sontoward is father, ndthebrother oward is brother, nd the rela-tive oward is relative. e will be hurt fthorn ricks im; he supports im n con-fronting he nemy nd wishes uidance orhim.Your rother,our rother ewho asnobrother

is ike ne oing obattle ithout eapons.Andknow hat our ousin s ike ourwings;

anddoes he alconlywithout ings?

* D) TheArabCountriesnd slamicGovernments

Article 8:The Zionist nvasion s a vicious ttack

that oesnot havepiety ot o useall meth-ods low and despicable o fulfill ts obliga-tions; t depends normouslyn its penetra-tion f and ntelligenceperations ponthesecret rganizationshatwere offshoots f

it-such as the Masons,Rotary, nd Lionsclubs, nd other uchnetworks f pies-andall these ecret r public rganizations orkfor he enefit f ndwith he uidancef heZionists. ionists rebehind he rug nd l-cohol rade ecause f heir bility ofacilitatethe aseof ontrol nd expansion. he Arabcountriesurroundingsrael re requestedoopentheir orders or heMujahidinf theArab nd slamic ountries o they an taketheir ole and join their fforts ith heirMuslim rothers f Palestine.As for theother rabic nd Islamic ountries, hey reaskedto ease the movement f Mujahidinfrom t andto t-that s the east hey oulddo. We shouldn'tosethis pportunityore-mind very uslim hat when he Jews ccu-pied immaculate erusalemn 1967 theystood n the tairs f the blessedMasjid l-Aqsa oudly hanting: Muhammad asdiedand eft irls ehind."

So Israelwith ts Jewishnessnd tsJew-ishpopulationhallenges.slam ndMuslims.

Sothe yes f he owardso not leep.* Nationalistnd Religious rganizations,

Foundations,ntelligentsia,rab ndIslamicWorld

Article 9:The slamicResistance ovement ould

like ach nd very neof hese rganizationsto tand y ts ide, upporting t onall evels,taking p tsposition, ushing orthts ctivi-ties and movements,nd working o gainsupport or he slamic esistance ovement

so the slamic eople an be its upport ndits victors-a strategic imension n alllevels: human, material,media,historical,and geographical.t works hrough oldingsupportive onferences, roducing larifyingstatements, upportive rticles, urposefulpamphlets, nd keeping hepublic ware fthePalestinianituation ndwhat s facing tandwhat s being lotted gainst t, hrougheducating he Islamic people ideologically,morally,nd ulturallynorder oplay ts olein the attle or iberation,ust s it playedtsrole n defeating hecrusaders nd pushingback the Tartars nd saving uman iviliza-tion, nd that s not hard orAllah.'Allah asdecreed: It s andmymessengerswhomust revail": orAllah s onefull ofstrength,ble oenforce iswilL."

Sura 8:Mujadila:21

Article 0:Authors nd scholars, eopleof media

andoration, eople f rainingnd ducation,andthe est f he ifferent ieldsn theAraband slamic orld: Allofyou re alled ponto adoptyour ole nd perform our bliga-tion, ue o he erocityf he ionist nvasionand tspenetrationn most ountries,tsma-terialisticnd media ontrol, ndwhat t hasbuilt n most ountries f theworld.

Jihad s not only arrying eapons ndconfrontinghe nemy. hegoodword, x-cellent rticle, eneficial ook, id, and sup-port, f ntentions repure, othat he annerof Allah s the most-high,s a Jihad or hesake fAllah.He who rovidedquipmentofightern heway f Allah, hen e oughtndhewho emainedehindto ookfter he) amily fthe ightern the way f Allah,n act ought ntheway f Allah AbuDawadandTirmithi).

* ThePeople f Other aithsArticle 1:

The slamic esistance ovements a hu-manistic ovement hat akes are f humanrights ndfollowshe olerance f slamwithrespect opeople f other aiths. Never oes



HAMASCHARTER 133

Resistance ovement,nd tsway f dealingwith t, hould e, as Allahhas wished, ssupporter nd helper preadingts hand tohelp,with upport ollowedy upport ntilthe decision f Allah is manifested. heranks oin the ranks nd the MujahidsoinMujahidsnd other roups hich omeforthfrom verywheren the Muslimworld, n-swering he call of obligation, epeating"come oJihad"-a callbursting orth ntothe eightsf he Heavens,everberatingntilthe iberations complete nd the nvadersare rolled ack nd the victory f Allahde-scends.Allahwillcertainly id thosewho aid His(cause)-for erily llah sfull f trength,x-alted nmightable oenforce ill).

Sura 22:Haj:40

Chapter ive

Historical roof* Facing heEnemy hroughout istoryArticle 4:

Palestine s the heart f the earth, hemeeting f he ontinents,nd the ure f heavaricious ince the dawn of history. heMessengersaas)points o that n hisvener-able narration henhe saysto Mu'ath inJabal:OMu'ath, llah s going oopen oryou theGreater yria Ash ham) fter me. From l-Irish9 o the Euphratests men,women,ndchildrenre teadfastill he ay f esurrection.Whosoeverf you chooses coastal ite ofGreateryria rJerusalembayt l-maqdes)hen

he s n constantihad ill he ay of Resurrec-tion.The individuals aveenvied in taking)

Palestine ore han nce nd they looded twith rmies o fulfill heir oals.ThehoardsofCrusadersarryingheir elief nd crosseswere bletodefeat heMuslims or specificperiod f ime.TheMuslims id not etPal-estine ack until hey athered nder heirreligiousanner ndunited ogether,lorifiedtheir ord, ndtook ff s Mujahidsnder heleadershipf alah l-Din l-Ayubi or early

twodecades, nd then t wasa clear ictory,the crusaders efeated nd Palestine iber-ated.Sayto those ho ejectaith. "Soonwill ebevanquishednd gathered ogethero hell-anevil ed ndeed o ieon."

Sura :Ali-'Imran:12This s the nly way o iberation. hereis no doubt n the ruth f the historicalvi-dencewhich s a pattern f he niverse ndlawofnature-only etal reaksmetal-andnothing efeats corrupt elief xcept hetrue elief n slam ecause elief an only edefeated ybelief, nd n the nd the ictoryis for he ruth. ruth svictorious.Alreadyas urword een assed eforethis) oour ervantsent byus), that hey ould er-tainly eassisted,nd hat urforcesheymustsurelyonquer Sura 7:Saffat:171-173.

Article 5:The slamic esistance ovementonsid-

ers he efeat f he Crusaderst thehands fSalah l-Din l-Ayubi nd iberation fPales-tine, nd the defeat f he Tartar n the bat-tle) f Ayn alutnd he efeat f heir orcesat thehands f Qatuz ndZhair aybrus,ndthe rescue f the world rom he destructiveonslaught f the Tartar which estroys) lltraces f human ivilization,nd earns romthose valuable) essons nd wisdom. Thecurrent ionist nvasion was preceded ymany nvasions f the CrusadingWest andothers, ncluding artars rom he east. Asthe Muslims onfrontedhose nvasions ndprepared or ightingnddefeatinghem, heyshould e able to confront nddefeat he Zi-onist nvasion. And that s not difficult orAllah f ntentions repure, fforts re truth-ful, nd f Muslims avebenefited rom astexperiences,avebeen freed rom he ffectof he

deologicalnvasion,ndhave

ollowedtheway f their redecessors.

Postscript

The slamic esistance ovementreSoldiersArticle 6:

The IslamicResistance ovement, hileforging ts way oemphasize ime nd timeagain o all ourpeople-the Arab eople ndMuslim eople-that t doesnot want amefor tself, or materialisticain, or socialstatus, nd is not placed gainst ny of ourpeople oit can rival r take heir lace,willnever e against ny of the Muslims r thepeacefulness f the non-Muslims,n thisplaceor any lace, nd t shallnotbe exceptas an aid to all societies nd organizationsworking gainst he Zionist nemy nd thosein its orbit. The IslamicResistance ove-ment epends n slam s a way f ife, n tsbelief, tsreligion,ndonwhoever dopts s-

9. Al-Irish: ne of the major ities n the inai penin-sula.




lam as a wayof ifewhether e is here rthere, e it an organization,ommittee, rgroup. The IslamicResistance ovement snothing ut ts oldiers.Nothing ut.

We ask Allah to guide us and guide(others) hrough sandto decide etween sand our peoplewith he ruth.

Our ord Decide hou etween s ndour eo-ple n truth, or hou rt he est o decide.Sura 7:A'raf:89

And our ast prayer s "All praise s due toAllah, Lord of the Universe."Palestine: 1 Muharam 1409 A.H.

18 August 1988 A.D.

item f-4: hamas covenant - full and correct version - al-maqdisi translation

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