From AP, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is prepared to include the militant Hamas group in a new Palestinian leadership organization that would function alongside the Palestinian Authority, a Palestinian newspaper reported Monday.The Al Ayyam daily, which is close to Arafat's Fatah faction, said Arafat was willing to include Hamas and Islamic Jihad, another militant organization, in a unified leadership group, though it did not specify what the group's function would be.
In the past Palestinian Authority officials have said they would be willing to cooperate with Hamas if it recognized the authority's leadership. Hamas has so far not responded to the proposals.
Al Ayyam quoted Fatah Central Committee member Hani al-Hassan as saying the new leadership group could easily coexist alongside the existing leadership structure.
``Forming a unified Palestinian leadership does not contradict the Palestinian Authority as it is an internal Palestinian factional issue,'' it quoted him as saying.
Arafat's critics have accused him of being an autocratic leader, unwilling to share power with his prime minister and refusing to groom a successor.
Over the past several days, the Palestinian Authority has been holding meetings with Palestinian militant groups on how to run the Gaza Strip after a possible Israeli withdrawal. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Likud Party says he is committed to a complete withdrawal.
Hamas has so far not agreed to cooperate with the Palestinian Authority in running Gaza.
It should be remembered that Hamas has gloried in the murders of numerous civilians in Israel. It would also be a good idea at this point to review a few selections from the Hamas Charter, which I discuss in depth in Onward Muslim Soldiers as a key obstacle to any negotiated peace settlement:
"Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it" (The Martyr, Imam Hassan al-Banna, of blessed memory).Article One:
The Islamic Resistance Movement: The Movement's programme is Islam. From it, it draws its ideas, ways of thinking and understanding of the universe, life and man. It resorts to it for judgement in all its conduct, and it is inspired by it for guidance of its steps.The Islamic Resistance Movement's Relation With the Moslem Brotherhood Group:
Article Two:
The Islamic Resistance Movement is one of the wings of Moslem Brotherhood in Palestine. Moslem Brotherhood Movement is a universal organization which constitutes the largest Islamic movement in modern times. It is characterised by its deep understanding, accurate comprehension and its complete embrace of all Islamic concepts of all aspects of life, culture, creed, politics, economics, education, society, justice and judgement, the spreading of Islam, education, art, information, science of the occult and conversion to Islam.Article Five:
Time extent of the Islamic Resistance Movement: By adopting Islam as its way of life, the Movement goes back to the time of the birth of the Islamic message, of the righteous ancestor, for Allah is its target, the Prophet is its example and the Koran is its constitution. Its extent in place is anywhere that there are Moslems who embrace Islam as their way of life everywhere in the globe. This being so, it extends to the depth of the earth and reaches out to the heaven. ...Article Six:
The Islamic Resistance Movement is a distinguished Palestinian movement, whose allegiance is to Allah, and whose way of life is Islam. It strives to raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine, for under the wing of Islam followers of all religions can coexist in security and safety where their lives, possessions and rights are concerned. In the absence of Islam, strife will be rife, oppression spreads, evil prevails and schisms and wars will break out.How excellent was the Moslem poet, Mohamed Ikbal, when he wrote:
"If faith is lost, there is no security and there is no life for him who does not adhere to religion. He who accepts life without religion, has taken annihilation as his companion for life."
The Universality of the Islamic Resistance Movement:
Article Seven:
As a result of the fact that those Moslems who adhere to the ways of the Islamic Resistance Movement spread all over the world, rally support for it and its stands, strive towards enhancing its struggle, the Movement is a universal one. It is well-equipped for that because of the clarity of its ideology, the nobility of its aim and the loftiness of its objectives. ...The Islamic Resistance Movement is one of the links in the chain of the struggle against the Zionist invaders. It goes back to 1939, to the emergence of the martyr Izz al-Din al Kissam and his brethren the fighters, members of Moslem Brotherhood. It goes on to reach out and become one with another chain that includes the struggle of the Palestinians and Moslem Brotherhood in the 1948 war and the Jihad operations of the Moslem Brotherhood in 1968 and after.
Moreover, if the links have been distant from each other and if obstacles, placed by those who are the lackeys of Zionism in the way of the fighters obstructed the continuation of the struggle, the Islamic Resistance Movement aspires to the realisation of Allah's promise, no matter how long that should take. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him salvation, has said:
"The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only the Gharkad tree, (evidently a certain kind of tree) would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews." (related by al-Bukhari and Moslem).
The Slogan of the Islamic Resistance Movement:
Article Eight:
Allah is its target, the Prophet is its model, the Koran its constitution: Jihad is its path and death for the sake of Allah is the loftiest of its wishes.Article Eleven:
The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Moslem generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up. Neither a single Arab country nor all Arab countries, neither any king or president, nor all the kings and presidents, neither any organization nor all of them, be they Palestinian or Arab, possess the right to do that. Palestine is an Islamic Waqf land consecrated for Moslem generations until Judgement Day. This being so, who could claim to have the right to represent Moslem generations till Judgement Day?This is the law governing the land of Palestine in the Islamic Sharia (law) and the same goes for any land the Moslems have conquered by force, because during the times of (Islamic) conquests, the Moslems consecrated these lands to Moslem generations till the Day of Judgement.
There is much more. The whole document should be studied closely at this point.
From the article:
"Only the Gharkad tree, (evidently a certain kind of tree) would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews."
Ha ha ha ha ha. I can see it now.
"What kind of a sapling are you, to never call your ailing mother?"
"Are you still tangling your roots with that shiksa fig tree?"
Oh, that's rich. Thanks for the chuckle, Hamas. And for the record, I like Jews. I hope I don't offend anybody with my "Annie Hall" spiel.
I have only one message for Arafat: Can you say Barrett 50Cal BMG?
"This Surat 9 curse reflects only to a peoples in that region of that time."
This is not a widespread view in Islam, particularly among radical Muslims.
"Note that he was content to drive the Jews out of Arabia, not to pursue them further."
Unclear. He was advancing beyond Arabia not long before his death (Tabuk).
"Much of his statements were his own, and not divinely inspired. There is a lot of dispute over that as well."
Indeed. I personally would not presume to distinguish divinely-inspired utterances of Muhammad from ones that weren't. Muslims believe that all of the Qur'an was dictated by Allah and is his word. I am not a Muslim myself, and ultimately such disputes don't concern me. I was only pointing out that radical Muslims believe that 9:30 refers to all Jews, and that sura 9 abrogates earlier revelations where there is conflict, and that therefore Palazzi's interpretation would convince no one in Hamas. What we need is a moderate Islam that actually convinces the radicals of its truth on Islamic grounds. There is no such animal at this point.
RS
I just thought it ironic to call it a brotherhood should be more like muslims against peace. Again proff positive there is no such thing as a peace loving muslim.
The picture, one demon smootching the other's forehead saying, "Where we're goin', there's no need to dress warm" Arafat's days are numbered.
WHy has Arafat made a U turn in this inclusion .
It was often reported that he was an enemy of Yassins'.
Such an association will make any negotiations impossible. Mot that they were much different before.
Israel is now in the position to be called to negotiate with an enemy that wants nothing but its destruction and will pounce on any sign of weakness from Israel.
Buld the wall already !
Afafat has joined with Hamas because he realizes that he can't survive alone, and he is a survivalist.
Regardless of the original inent and meaning of the Suras, it is clear that Radical Islam has decided to use these verses as justification for world conquest. Period.
Oops. Arafat is a survivor, not a survivalist.
I hope the next picture we see of Arafat is of him kissing his ass goodbye.