P F Tinmore
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- Dec 6, 2009
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One of the least-noticed consequences of the Arab Spring might be called the mainstreaming of Hamas. The chief of the Palestinian party and militia, which the West knows chiefly for its suicide attacks on Israel, has declared repeatedly that it has decided to set aside violent resistance and, in the spirit of the Arab Spring, concentrate on demonstrations and other nonviolent methods. Nominally committed to the eradication of the Jewish State, Hamas now supports a negotiated peace agreement based on 1967 borders and without renouncing the option to pick up arms in the future vows to give Palestinian moderate leader Mahmoud Abbas the running room to see what talks can produce, according to Khaled Mashaal, chief of the groups political office.
Popular protests pack the power of a tsunami, Mashaal said just before Christmas in Cairo, where he was meeting with the leaders other Palestinian factions under the guiding hand of Egypt. Now we have a common ground that we can work on, the popular resistance, which represents the power of people.
It was a remarkable statement from a group that has embodied armed resistance against Israel. Mahdi Abdul Hadi, a respected East Jerusalem analyst who speaks with Mashaal, says Hamas is falling into line both with the spirit of the Arab Awakening, as he prefers to call it, and with the desires of Egypts new government, which is dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement Hamas grew out of.
You are seeing a new chapter of political Islam. I call it reformist, says Abdul Hadi, whose think tank is the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs, or PASSIA. This wave of reformists are talking about a civil state, not a religious state. Theyre talking about democracy. Theyre talking about sharing power .
Read more: Hamas and Fatah Unity Deal: Are the Islamists Becoming More Mainstream? | Global Spin | TIME.com
Popular protests pack the power of a tsunami, Mashaal said just before Christmas in Cairo, where he was meeting with the leaders other Palestinian factions under the guiding hand of Egypt. Now we have a common ground that we can work on, the popular resistance, which represents the power of people.
It was a remarkable statement from a group that has embodied armed resistance against Israel. Mahdi Abdul Hadi, a respected East Jerusalem analyst who speaks with Mashaal, says Hamas is falling into line both with the spirit of the Arab Awakening, as he prefers to call it, and with the desires of Egypts new government, which is dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement Hamas grew out of.
You are seeing a new chapter of political Islam. I call it reformist, says Abdul Hadi, whose think tank is the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs, or PASSIA. This wave of reformists are talking about a civil state, not a religious state. Theyre talking about democracy. Theyre talking about sharing power .
Read more: Hamas and Fatah Unity Deal: Are the Islamists Becoming More Mainstream? | Global Spin | TIME.com