Hamas and Ideology: Sheikh Yūsuf al-Qaraḍāwī on the Jews, Zionism and Israel

273 Pages·2017·2.69 MB·English

by  Shaul Bartal

Hamas and Ideology
Sheikh Yūsuf al-Qaraḍāwī is regarded as the most influential contemporary Muslim religious
figure. His best-selling book, Al-Ḥalal wal-Ḥaram fi al-Islam (The Forbidden and the
Permitted in Islam), is perhaps one of the most widely read Islamic works, after the Qurʾān.
The subject of jihad in Palestine is a salient feature of Qaraḍāwī’s thought and is addressed
frequently in his books. His views on Israel and on the Jews shape those of many Muslims
throughout the world.
This book paints al-Qaraḍāwī’s portrait within the context of the subject of the struggle for
Palestine and assesses why he is committed so fervently to the Palestinian course. It also sheds
light on another important aspect of al-Qaraḍāwī’s thought, namely the marked contrast
between his ideas regarding the Muslim world and his views on relations with other religions
and countries. Whereas al-Qaraḍāwī is considered to be a moderate in Islamic matters, his
attitude toward the Jews and to Israel is one of abiding hatred and uncompromising struggle.
The book aims to classify Qaraḍāwī’s thought along the axis of moderation and extremism by
drawing comparisons between Qaraḍāwī’s teachings and those of other Muslim jurists.
Furthermore, it compares the features of antisemitic writing with that of Qaraḍāwī in order to
answer the question as to whether Qaraḍāwī’s teachings actually constitute an expression of
anti-semitism.
Despite the subject of jihad in Palestine being so central to Qaraḍāwī’s thought, there has
not been a comprehensive and systematic academic study of this to date. The book therefore
represents a major contribution to the field and will appeal to anyone studying the Israel–
Palestine Conflict, Islamic Studies, Jewish Studies, Terrorism and Political Violence.
Shaul Bartal is a teaching associate in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies at Bar-Ilan
University. He is a specialist on Palestinian affairs and Islamic fundamentalism.
Nesya Rubinstein-Shemer is Assistant Professor in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies
at Bar-Ilan University. Her research focuses on classical Islamic law and the relations between
Islam and Judaism.
Israeli History, Politics and Society
Series Editor: Efraim Karsh
King’s College London
For a full list of titles in the series: www.routledge.com/middleeaststudies/series/SE0790
This series provides a multidisciplinary examination of all aspects of Israeli history, politics and
society, and serves as a means of communication between the various communities interested
in Israel: academics, policy-makers; practitioners; journalists and the informed public.
62 Israel, the Arabs and Iran
International Relations and Status Quo, 2011–2016
Ehud Eilam
63 The Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1956–1975
From violent conflict to a peace process
Moshe Gat
64 Hamas and Ideology
Sheikh Yūsuf al-Qaraḍāwī on the Jews, Zionism and Israel
Shaul Bartal and Nesya Rubinstein-Shemer
Israel: The First Hundred Years (Mini Series)
Edited by Efraim Karsh
1 Israel’s Transition from Community to State, edited by Efraim Karsh
2 From War to Peace? edited by Efraim Karsh
3 Politics and Society since 1948, edited by Efraim Karsh
4 Israel in the International Arena, edited by Efraim Karsh
5 Israel in the Next Century, edited by Efraim Karsh
Hamas and Ideology
Sheikh Yūsuf al-Qaraḍāwī on the Jews, Zionism and Israel
Shaul Bartal and Nesya Rubinstein-Shemer
First published 2018
by Routledge
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© 2018 Shaul Bartal and Nesya Rubinstein-Shemer
The right of Shaul Bartal and Nesya Rubinstein-Shemer to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in
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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Bartal, Shaul, author. | Rubinsten-Shemer, Nesya, author.
Title: Hamas and ideology : Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi on the Jews,
Zionism and Israel / Shaul Bartal and Nesya Rubinsten-Shemer.
Other titles: Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi on the Jews, Zionism and Israel |
Cass series—Israeli history, politics, and society ; 64.
Description: Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge,
2018. | Series: Israeli history, politics and society ; 64 | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017037921 | ISBN 9781138300392 (hbk) | ISBN
9780203733554 (ebk)
Subjects: LCSH: Qaradawi, Yusuf. | Harakat al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyah. |
Zionism. | Antisemitism. | Jewish-Arab relations—Religious aspects—
Islam. | Arab-Israeli conflict.
Classification: LCC BP80.Q357 B37 2018 | DDC 320.55/7—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017037921
ISBN: 978-1-138-30039-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-73355-4 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
Introduction
1 Qaraḍāwī’s ties to Palestine
1. The landscape of Qaraḍāwī’s youth
2. First visit to Palestine
3. Second visit to Palestine
4. The last visit to Palestine, May 2013
5. A role model
Conclusion
2 Spiritual forefathers: Ḥasan al-Banna, Hajj Amīn al-Ḥuseini, Sayyid Quṭb
1. Ḥasan al-Banna
2. The Mufti, Hajj Amīn al-Ḥuseinī
3. Sayyid Quṭb
Conclusion
3 Religious sources of the Israel-Palestine conflict
1. Islamic ties to Palestine
2. The roots of the conflict: Muhammad and the Jews of Medina
3. Deeper roots: Isaac and Ishmael
4. Ishmael as the spiritual successor of Abraham
5. The story of the binding of Isaac (the ‘Aqedah’, קחצי תדקע)
6. Canaanites vs. Khazars
7. The purchase of the cave of the Patriarchs
Conclusion
4 What is Zionism?
1. Know the enemy
2. The character of the Jews
3. Zionism: a conspiracy against the Muslim world
4. The reasons for the conflict and hatred between Muslims and the Zionist state
5. The Judaization of the world
6. The Judaization of the Arab mind (Tahwῑd al-ʿAql al-ʿArabῑ)
7. The Freemasons: the long arm of world Jewry
8. Learning from the enemy: unity; faith; democracy
Conclusion
5 Sheikh Qaraḍāwῑ: spiritual leader of Hamas and the Islamic Movement in Israel
1. Successor to Aḥmad Yāsīn
2. Hamas activism according to Qaraḍāwī
3. Qaraḍāwī and acts of sacrifice
4. The difference between Al-Qaeda and Hamas
5. Wither Hamas?
6. Support for the Islamic Movement and the judaization of Jerusalem
7. Like pupil to his master: Sheikh Raed Salah and Qaraḍāwī
Conclusion
6 A true partnership: Qaraḍāwī, Hamas and the Islamic Movement
1. Legal subordination and financial aid
2. The perpetuation of the legacy of Qaraḍāwī by Hamas
3. Qaraḍāwī’s place in the military and organizational writings of Hamas
4. Qaraḍāwī and the Islamic Movement headed by Raed Salah
5. Qaraḍāwī in the service of Hamas and the trade in the tunnels
6. The question of visiting Jerusalem
7. Qaraḍāwī’s support for Hamas during the wars in Gaza
8. Gaza: the most important Jihad
9. Jihad in Palestine: an obligation for every Palestinian
10. Hamas is not a terrorist organization
11.Islamic solidarity
Conclusion
7 Qaraḍāwī: between anti-Zionism and anti-semitism
1. Is it only anti-Zionist thought?
2. Features of the new anti-semitism
3. Political anti-semitism
4. Ideological anti-semitism
5. Religious anti-semitism
6. Cultural anti-semitism
7. Economic anti-semitism
8. Holocaust denial
9. Justifying terror against Jews
10. Discrimination against Israel
11. The historical background of Qaraḍāwī’s work
12. “Am I an antisemite?”: Qaraḍāwī assesses himself
Conclusion
Epilogue
Bibliography
Index
Introduction
Sheikh Yūsuf al-Qaraḍāwī (b. 1926) is an extremely popular Egyptian-Qatari Muslim legal
authority who wields great influence upon large swaths of the Muslim public. Many scholars
regard him as the most influential Muslim jurist of our time.1 Qaraḍāwī owes his popularity
and influence mainly to successful use of the media, namely, television, internet and the
circulation of his books. His weekly program on the Al Jazeera network, Al-Sharīʿa wal-Ḥayāt
(Islamic Law and Life), attracted some 60 million Muslims worldwide.2 Therefore, Qaraḍāwī
has become the topic of numerous studies by Western scholars. These may be divided into
several categories, according to subject, as follows:
There are many works about the nature of Qaraḍāwī’s thought. These deal with deciphering his complex and
controversial persona. Some have attempted to dwell upon the nature of his thought and categorize it by asking whether
it is modern, moderate, liberal or Islamist. Among the scholars who have written about Qaraḍāwī and Modernism are
Samuel Helfont3 and Wendelin Wenzel-Teuber.4 Wenzel-Teuber regards Qaraḍāwī as a modernist and a moderate, while
Helfont presents a more complex picture and shows the different aspects of Qaraḍāwī’s thought. According to Helfont,
his thought is basically Islamist and the fact that he uses modern arguments does not make him into a moderate. The
reason why Qaraḍāwī is considered a moderate in the West derives from the fact that he perceives himself as belonging
to the school of Wasaṭiyya (literally, the center) – the centrist path between religious extremism and secularism.
Qaraḍāwī, however, objects to both of them. Sagi Polka,5 Raymond W. Baker6 and Bettina Gräf7 have written studies
about Wasaṭiyya. Gudrun Krämer has written about Qaraḍāwī’s perception of secularism and argues that he is relatively
moderate according to radical Muslims, but not liberal enough for Westerners.8 In contrast, basing himself upon
Qaraḍāwī’s opinions about radicalism, Charles Kurzman9 argues that he actually is liberal. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy
that Qaraḍāwī has expressed conservative views on subjects such as secularism and attitudes toward minorities and
homosexuals. These studies only provide a partial picture because they are based upon different writings of Qaraḍāwī. As
the individual studies are based only on a part of his work, each one reveals a different aspect of his complex personality.
Beside these works there are also some researches dealing with Qaraḍāwī’s Personal Biography.10
Qaraḍāwī is one of the inventors of the new doctrine in Islamic law entitled Fiqh al-
Aqalliyyāt, laws for Muslim minorities living in the West. Thus, there are several studies about
this new system of legal rullings and its place in Muslim life in Europe.11
Qaraḍāwī is known for his support in the Islamic revival in the Arab World and the West.
Scholarly works have been written regarding his political outlook concerning the Islamic
revival.12
Different studies analyze Qaraḍāwī’s methods of making legal decisions and rulings. There
are studies about Qaraḍāwī’s methods of making legal decisions on specific issues such as
Islamic banking or the status of women.13 Some focus upon his rulings (fatāwā).14
Qaraḍāwī Global activity is also a case study. There are studies about Qaraḍāwī’s